The Anti-Holiday Playlist

It’s October, and if you’re reading this from literally anywhere in the Philippines with a mall, that means you’ve been hearing Christmas music for at least a solid month now. Jose Mari Chan has once again made his way into every waking moment, and while that’s great for the memes, it’s not the best thing for our sanity. We’re here to try and make things better. Here, for your consideration, is an Anti-holiday playlist, guaranteed to leech all the happiness and good cheer from your heart. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind. It’s all about balance. So if you’re all Christmassed out, queue this bad boy up and get back to your normal, melancholic self.

- Ren Alcantara

Please Come Home for Christmas Fiona Apple

You’re not going to find this track on Spotify, so you’re going to have to head over to YouTube to try and get a hit. It’s a recording of a Fiona Apple performance of an iconic Chrstmas blues song, and is dripping with the longing and heartache that can only come from missing someone during the most wonderful time of the year. By this point in your life, dear reader, I’m almost certain you’ve experienced this kind of yearning, so Fiona’s emotional rendition of an already sad song is certain to hit home. For maximum effect, listen to it sitting by a window facing an empty street.

Oi To The World No Doubt Everything In Time

No Doubt remains one of the biggest Ska bands to have ever broken into the mainstream, and for good reason. While this is a Christmas song, and does have tones of good cheer, you can completely overlook that and just run with the awesome ska sound that has been woefully absent from the airwaves for far too long. Steffani’s distinct vocals, coupled with that heavy Ska brass is a great distraction from all the sterile, hot cocoa and sweater music that we’re all accustomed to hearing this time of year.

Little Drum Machine Boy Beck Just Say Noel