“I have to admit that most of the traditional Christmas songs make me frown and wince at this point. The chorus in The Little Drummer Boy that goes "A rum pa pum pum" is like sonic Chinese water torture to me. And the rest of those tunes just make me feel like a vast conspiracy of mall owners are trying to persuade me to shop, shop, shop.

“I do like some of the jazz modulations in The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire), but the performances are often too schmaltzy to bear. Somehow, I do like Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys (who can resist Brian Wilson's innocent falsetto? Certainly not me).

“But today, I'm going to choose Another Lonely Christmas by Prince. When he sings, "Darling, darling...You should have been THERE" and "You are the only one I CARE for," I believe him. The performance sounds like he probably played all the instruments himself, which makes the atmosphere that much more lonely. If I could go to the mall and hear Prince singing "Last night…I had another lonely Christmas"…oh, how I would shop.”

Listen: Another Lonely Christmas - Prince