Christmas season has become synonymous with that one song, but there are plenty of alternatives. And for a big part of the population, December is just as synonymous with Joni Mitchell's "River." Call it the mature Christmas.

Mitchell's anthem is the holiday song for those looking to escape Christmas, but hardly the only choice for those looking for real music in the holiday season. Here is a playlist for those fans who want a more realistic Christmas soundtrack.

Joni Mitchell, "River"

For many people, the holidays are an emotionally trying time. For those people, "River" is the Christmas anthem. Mitchell didn't originally record it as a Christmas song, but the opening notes that conjure up "Jingle Bells" and line, "It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees/They're putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace/Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on," sets the tone for those who struggle with the holidays. Many people wish they could skate away this time of year. Mitchell's December classic understands that feeling.

Kinks, "Father Christmas"

Another non-traditional Christmas tune, this Kinks rocker spits in the face of happy Christmas tunes. "But the last time I played Father Christmas/I stood outside a department store/A gang of kids came over and mugged me/And knocked my reindeer to the floor/They said/Father Christmas, give us some money/Don't mess around with those silly toys/We'll beat you up if you don't hand it over/We want your bread so don't make us annoyed/Give all the toys to the little rich boys." Gritty and real, this is the most rocking Christmas song there is.

Lori Carson, "Snow Come Down"

Though not a Christmas song per se, this criminally underrated gem conjures up winter as well as any song I can think of. A gorgeous and stunningly real love song where Carson asks the object of her affection to watch the snow come down with her, this masterpiece, from the equally underrated film Waking the Dead, with Jennifer Connelly and Billy Crudup, paints a picture of a winter wonderland.

Band Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas"

This 1984 all-star classic organized by Bob Geldof and written by Geldof and Midge Ure, was of course crafted to raise money for victims of the Ethiopian famine. There has been cynicism directed at this all-star track for a worthy cause, which makes you wonder what the hell is wrong with people. In places it might be cheesy or earnest, but the song holds up and was created with the best of intentions.

Counting Crows, "A Long December"

A great one from Counting Crows and frontman Adam Duritz, one of the best post-1990 songwriters in rock, this beautiful ballad is filled with wistfulness. But as Duritz told Rolling Stone, it's also a song about looking at the glass half full. "A long December and there's reason to believe/Maybe this year will be better than the last," Duritz sings. And maybe it will be.

Linkin Park, "My December"

This atmospheric, moody, somber beauty from Linkin Park is a stunningly poignant and bittersweet song mostly written by the band's Mike Shinoda about being on the road and missing home. Sung almost in a whisper by Chester Bennington it is a haunting and yearning look at loneliness. "And I'd give it all away/Just to have somewhere to go to."

Wham, "Last Christmas"'

Held out of No 1 in the U.K. by Band Aid, which Wham's George Michael also sang on, this has become one of the best pop Christmas standards. Lamenting a broken heart in upbeat pop fashion, Michael sings, "Last Christmas I gave you my heart/But the very next day you gave it away."

"Fairytale of New York," Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

You want to talk gritty and real for Christmas, this Irish-flavored holiday classic starts off, "It was Christmas eve, babe/In the drunk tank." It goes from there as MacColl and The Pogues' Shane MacGowan go at each other. "You're a bum, you're a punk/You're an old slut om junk...Happy Christmas your arse/I pray God it's our last."