Kansas City Playlist: Surviving Hard Candy Christmas 2025

C'mon man . . . This Christmas season has been a bummer.

A quick review . . . 

The water is quickly drying up in Kansas and yet their biggest priority seems to be borrowing billions to poach pro-sports teams by way of new stadiums. 

And then . . .

The Country Club Plaza lost its last anchor tenant and the only hope for iconic entertainment district is NEARLY TWO HUNDRED MILLION in corporate welfare that include a clandestine public housing options that NOBODY wants to talk about and will never see a public vote.

And then . . .

Even good economic news reveals rising unemployment numbers met only with political promises mostly focused on midterm election partisanship.

And then . . .

And one of the greatest quarterbacks Kansas City has even witnessed tore his ACL and will likely never be the same as he struggles to recover before the start of next season. 

And all of this leads us to a not so stunning conclusion . . . 

Sure, Kansas City has confronted tougher times . . . But Christmas 2025 presents a unique array of challenges for the future that shouldn't be underestimated. 

And all of our doomscrolling inspires our www.TonysKansasCity.com playlist on the topic of depressing holiday tunes. . .

We begin with a word from the king of Rock & Roll and his campy holiday classic "Blue Christmas" that still makes us smile because of its corny yet earnest dedication.

"Please Come Home For Christmas" is probably the most pathetic holiday tune we've ever heard but contains one of our favorite lines: "My baby's gone, I have no friends . . ." Written in 1960 and released the same year by the American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown . . . There are many covers and this somewhat recent release from talented singer Teddy Swims is a new fave . . .

Our old school friends will remember when Merele Haggard sang this tune in 1973 . . . Here's an update cover:

For the bridge . . . Allow us our traditional tribute to 90s nostalgia and this very "Gen-X" holiday song from a singer who is to authenticity what Taylor Swift is to private planes . . . "I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas" by Aimee Mann is probably how your girlfriend/wife or wine mom REALLY feels about this holiday season.

Finally, the title track . . . She had a health care earlier in this year but the nation and the world are grateful that Dolly Parton is still with us and going strong . . . Hard Candy Christmas remains the saddest bit of holiday Americana we've ever heard . . . This grainy & worn footage speaks to old times & offers a reminder that anybody reading this has been through worse . . . And survived.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.