Photo Lidi Faria, Creative Commons license Flickr.
1. “Little Saint Nick” – Hanson, from the album Snowed In
It’s bad enough that the entire Snowed In album sounds like the Hanson bros had a mortgage payment due; the whole thing is thrown together sloppily without much sentimentality or enthusiasm. The worst offender of the whole stale smorgasbord is their cover of the Beach Boys’ “Little Saint Nick.” What was once a playful Cali-style croon about Santa’s sweet, red ride is reduced to a mushy, layer-free Christmas trifle that’s squished into every crevice of your hopeful earholes, but somehow also leaves you feeling as though you’re chewing on tinfoil. Vocals that strain to hit the higher notes and fully bastardize the Beach Boys’ once pristine barbershop style harmonies, obnoxious bell jangling and electric guitar licks run rampant. Seriously.