The Sounds of the Season

For the past three years, I have worked to compile a mix of Christmas/holiday music that celebrates the season, but is performed by current indie bands. It's not because I dislike the old standards of the season... I just choose to not take the holidays quite as seriously as my local all-Christmas-all-the-time radio station might.

In 2007, the mix kicked off with The Dandy Warhols' psychedelic take on "The Little Drummer Boy," segued right into Save Ferris' Judaic send-up of "Christmas Wrapping" and, if I can say so myself, killed for 30+ minutes. It included the modern classic Barenaked Ladies/Sarah McLachlan "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and more.

Last year, I felt I upped the ante with 40 minutes of spirited tunes. Ringing in with The Raveonette's "Christmas Song" and rolling right through to Coldplay's lovely cover of "2,000 Miles."

This year, it was a harder task. The simple fact of the matter is that there is a finite number of indie/alternative Christmas songs. There are fewer yet Hanukkah songs, which is a damn shame. Still, with about six weeks of searching and playing with a mix (and an assist from a Zooey Deschanel song located last night), I think I've got it.

So, dear readers, here's the playlist of the season for me (and with two previous collections, I've got about 90 minute sof totally tolerable holiday fare):

1) Pearl Jam - "Someday at Christmas"
2) Zooey Deschanel (with Leon Redbone) - "Baby, It's Cold Outside"
3) Jack Johnson - "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
4) The Bird and the Bee - "Carol of the Bells"
5) My Morning Jacket - "Santa Claus is Back in Town"
6) The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "All I Want for Christmas"
7) Bright Eyes - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
8) Oscar the Grouch - "I Hate Christmas"
9) Phantom Planet - "Winter Wonderland"
10) The Raveonettes - "Come On Santa"
11) Jimmy Eat World - "Last Christmas"
12) Coldplay - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christas"
13) Jack White - "Christmastime Will Soon Be Over"

Comments

sarie said…
I love how into your mix you get every year. It's adorable. Especially for a Jew. xoxo
November 24, 2009 at 8:35 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tune Day: One or the Other

Image
This is either the best song ever or the worst, and, since the second time I heard it, I've thought the former. I'm guessing you are going to hate it. And then it will be stuck in your head. And then you will adore it. And hate yourself a little for doing so. As such, it might fit the definition of a perfect pop song. Thats Not My Name - The Ting Tings
Read more

Spanish for "The Meadows?"

Have you been to Vegas? You have? Why? Even my best friend, who has spent many a weekend in Vegas, says the whole town is fake. And he's right! I took a walk down the Strip Wednesday afternoon. Here's what I saw: Venetian gondoliers paddling tourists down a fake Venetian canal spanned by fake Rialto Bridge . Guys handing out cards for strippers, wearing shirts that say "Girls in your room in 20 minutes." A lot of overweight people. The Eiffel Tower... well a 5/8 replica of such. It was a spectacle, for sure. Here are the good things I can report on: The mountains, specifically the Spring Mountains and Mt. Charleston . I had an incredible view of this range from my hotel and let's just say I tried to keep my eyes there rather than on the Strip. The Bellagio Fountains . These were actually really cool. Though you have to wonder about any place whose best man-made attraction is basically a grand-scale version of something I once saw in a Cleveland shopping
Read more

Unapologetic rant against Counting Crows

Today, we're starting a new category of posts called "Making My Readers Mad." This is reserved for posts I think will incite the furor of some fraction of the small audience reading this fine blog. I hate Counting Crows. I have never liked Counting Crows. They came to being at a time in my life where if it didn't involve heavy guitars I hated it. Even today, when I love all kinds of rootsy bands - a little bit of just about everything, really - I cannot bear this band. Why? Let's review: They are vastly overrated. In my high school, when they first came out, every kid who loved them was an ass. And they went on and on about how great Counting Crows is. And how I just don't understand. And how the bands I like aren't nearly the musicians that the members of Counting Crows are. And, how that even though I saw Pink Floyd, Beck, an entire flipping Lollapalooza , R.E.M. and many more before graduation, I had not yet seen a "good" concert bec
Read more