WELCOME TO THE 2009 HOLIDAY MIXES

Is the the sixth or seventh time I've done this? I'm going to need my head examined. I figure I'm good for a few more years before I put this thing to bed. In the meantime, a few more not-so traditional holiday tunes for you. Some tension in the past several weeks as both my home PC and work laptop crashed within a few weeks of one another. I salvaged all the home desktop files (but lost the preliminary playlists) as everything was backed up, but not so lucky with my work laptop files. Which is a shame as some of my music finds were only located on that piece of equipment. Oh well, such is life. A shout out to some of the better music blogs out there (most notably the realbigrockcandymountain) that have a love for the same types of music that I do - I recovered many lost music files there.

A few quick notes in 2010: In 2009, due to space issues, the 2003, 2004, and 2009 mixes required individual downloads. Not so anymore - as box.net has increased available space, all mixes can be downloaded once again as zip file. Moving forward, I'll attempt to make all future mixes available for download as zip files. Further, you can stream all the songs through the players. The 2009 mixes include some video from an infamous holiday special that first aired a long time ago in a galaxy far, far way...

A HIGH AND LONESOME CHRISTMAS

I recently started listening to this new Seattle group known as the Maldives, and these fellas have spent a whole of time listening to The Band and Blue Rodeo and early Wilco and the quieter moments by the Old 97's. Needless to say, I'm now a big fan and their lead track off their new album kicks off this mix of mostly contemporary songs that have a country or folk 9and the occasional bluegrass or western swing) feel - there are few classic cuts and covers thrown in for good measure as well - check out Dale Ann Bradley on her take on a U2 song. Lots of firepower on this mix, but the show might be stolen by the two Pattys - Griffin and Loveless...

1. Cold November - The Maldives
2. Pretty Paper - Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel
3. Darlin' (Christmas Is Coming) - Over The Rhine
4. Dark Streets Of London - The Pogues
5. Plastic Rosary (Winter 1970) - Will Quinlan & The Diviners
6. 'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel - The Cowboy Junkies
7. Winter Soldier - Jason Collett
8. A Voice From On High - The Haden Triplets
9. Here Comes The Sun - Nina Simone
10. Mary - Patty Griffin
11. Calling And Not Calling My Ex - Okkervil River
12. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Dale Ann Bradley
13. I Felt The Chill Before The Winter Came - Elvis Costello
14. Something To Hold On To At Christmas - Ron Sexsmith
15. Till The Rivers All Run Dry - Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane
16. Eldery Woman Behind The Counter... - Pearl Jam
17. Bluegrass, White Snow - Patty Loveless
18. Come On Now Inside - Izzy Stradlin & The JuJu Hounds
19. Mandolin Wind - Rod Stewart
20. Pilgrim - Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band

Download these songs as a zip file, or stream the songs in the player below:

A QUIET CHRISTMAS BY THE FIRE

This year's mostly acoustic affair, leaning towards some darker folk takes, and mixing in the usual assortment of classic country tunes as well as some interesting covers that tackle Prine, Modest Mouse, and...wait for it....Wham! Personal favorites on this mix include the Felice Brothers song and the demo of the Big Star classic, pulled from the recently issued (and stunning) box set Keep An Eye On The Sky. Grab a cup of hot cider and enjoy...

1. It's Almost Christmas - Chris Garneau
2. Jesus Christ (Demo) - Big Star
3. Snow Covered Mound - Ralph Stanley
4. Christmas Time - The Krayolas & Augie Meyers
5. Hello Santa Claus - Cecil Grant
6. Christmas Is Coming Soon - Blitzen Trapper
7. Goodbye England Covered In Snow - Laura Marling
8. Grey Ice Water - Sun Kil Moon
9. Last Christmas - Erlend Oye
10. Snowballs And Icicles - Brendan Canning
11. Christmas On Ward #7 - Chris Flew
12. Blue Shadows On A White Christmas Tree - Onbekende Artiest
13. Merry Christmas Darlin' - James Hand
14. Christmas Evermore - Mary Margaret O'Hara
15. Christmas Eve Can Kill You - The Everly Brothers
16. Christmas In Prison - Emmy The Great & Lightspeed Champion
17. Christmas Past - Mike Ireland
18. I Heard The Bells On Christmas - Pedro The Lion
19. All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue - Over The Rhine
20. Murder By Mistletoe - The Felice Brothers
21. Cold White Christmas - Casiotone For the Painfully Alone
22. Silent Night! Holy Night! - The Rhodes Kids
23. Be My Valentine On Christmas - Glenna Bell

Download these songs as a zip file, or stream the songs in the player below:

THIS WILL BE OUR YEAR

A case can be made that lots of the great 60s pop music has a seasonal feel to it (I think I just stumbled on one of the themes for my 2010 mixes). That came to mind recently as I rediscovered Odyssey and Oracle - the 1968 album by The Zombies, and proceeded to listen to it incessantly for several months. So, with that mind, one of their songs anchors this fairly mellow mix, which features a bunch of rock heavyweights, some indie stalwarts and cult heroes, and a couple of newcomers who sounds like they have been around forever (e.g., Naomi Shelton)

1. Bells of Christmas - The Beach Boys
2. Winter Song - SF Seals
3. I Dreamed I saw St. Augustine - John Doe
4. The Light That Guides You Home - Jim Cuddy
5. Brick - Ben Folds Five
6. I Am A Pilgrim - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
7. Country Disappeared - Wilco
8. Seasons (Surf Style) - Neil Halstead
9. Snowbound - Donald Fagen
10. First Of May - The Bee Gees
11. Winter On Victoria Street - The Clientele
12. Lonely Christmas - Marshall Crenshaw & The dB's
13. December Sparklers - Paul Burch
14. White As Snow - U2
15. Time Is Passing - Pete Townshend
16. 'Cross The Green Mountain - Bob Dylan
17. A Change Is Gonna Come - Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens
18. Ooh La La - Faces
19. Tomorrow Never Knows - Bruce Springsteen
20. This Will Be Our Year - The Zombies

Download these songs as a zip file from this location, or stream the songs in the player below:

SOCK IT TO ME, SANTA!

Everyone knows that the greatest holiday album of all time is Atlantic Records' Soul Christmas compilation, first released in 1968 and then reissued in 1991 (this is not up for debate). And, everyone also knows that A Christmas Gift You From Phil Spector is the second greatest holiday album of all time (this is also not up for debate - and remains at #2 despite Phil's descent into madness and murder). So, the burning question remains - what is in fact the third best holiday album of all time? Elvis? The Beach Boys? Ella Fitzgerald? All worthy candidates, but the answer is simple - New Orleans native Huey "Piano" Smith and His Clowns take everything up about 10 notches on their 1962 effort Twas The Night Before Christmas. Bonus points for Huey as this album features a very young Dr. John. So, Huey kicks things off for a rollicking mix which includes a bit of everything quite frankly - rockabilly, country, blues, twist music, surf, Keith Richards, and some absolutely naughty tunes courtesy of Jimmy Butler, Charlie Stewart, Roosevelt Sykes, and the mighty Kay Martin. "All I want for Christmas is a little bit of music..." Truer words never sung...

1. All I Want For Christmas - Huey "Piano" Smith
2. Christmas With The Snow - Marah & The Christmas Players
3. Barefooted Little Cowboy - Little Jimmy Dickens
4. Chimney Top Twist - The Robin Sisters
5. Gotta Get Lucky For Xmas - Johnny Rabb
6. I Don't Want To Spend Christmas Without You - Claudine Longet
7. Cool, Cool Christmas - Bobby and Boobie
8. Santa's Magical Bag - The Peppermint Kandy Kids
9. Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus - Pee Wee King
10. Holly Jolly Christmas - Old 97's
11. Trim Your Tree - Jimmy Butler
12. Merry Twist-Mas - The Marcels
13. Santa Claus Won't Come This Year - Charlie Stewart
14. Boogaloo Santa Claus - J.D. McDonald
15. Santa - Lightnin' Hopkins
16. Donde Este Santa Claus - Toni Stante
17. To Heck With Ole Santa Claus - Loretta Lynn
18. Santa's Gonne Shut 'Em Down - The Untamed Youth
19. Let Me Hang Your Stockings... - Roosevelt Sykes
20. Mr. Santa Claus - Nathaniel Mayer
21. Freedom Train - James Carr
22. Blue Grey Christmas - King Coleman
23. Santa Claus Is From The South - Benny Martin
24. The Empty Xmas Stocking - Lulu Belle & Scotty
25. Run Rudolph Run - Keith Richards
26. Crazy Santa Claus - The Debonairs
27. She's Underneath The Mistletoe Again - Antsy McClain
28. I Know What You Want For Xmas - Kay Martin And Her Bodyguards
29. Santa's Messin' With The Kid - Eddie C. Campbell

Download these songs as a zip file from this location, or stream the songs in the player below:

A VERY COLTRANE CHRISTMAS

One of my all time favorite recordings is the monumental set of John Coltrane recordings from the Village Vanguard in 1961. At the height of his powers, Coltrane and his legendary quartet (McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones) were joined by some other heavyweights (most notbaly Eric Dolphy), and proceeded to blow the roof off the Village Vanguard for five nights in early November. Coming off the heels of his "Africa / Brass Sessions" that summer, Coltrane pushed all of these players to the their limits, and although many compositions were repeated each night, the improvisation is fast and furious (and powerful) and there's little redundancy between takes. This music scared the heck out of critics back then, and within the last 10 years, folks are still a bit scared by it, but recognize the dates for what transpired, espcailly between Dolphy and Coltrane.

For this mix, I selected two cuts that definitely fall into the holiday category - Coltrane's take on Greensleeves, featuring the quartet, and very warm and wonderful take on Spiritual with Dolphy bringing the bass clarinet to the forefront as a legitimate jazz instrument. There's a slow build here, and the Coltrane cuts come near the end. Listen how the literally punch out and separate themselves from the other songs here. I threw in some vocals from some of my favorite female singers, as well as a nice father son take where Josh Haden (Spain) joins his dad Charlie on a down home take on Josh's own composition, also entitled Spiritual.

Personnel for the 1961 Village Vanguard Sessions:

John Coltrane (soprano & tenor saxophones)
Jimmy Garrison (bass)
McCoy Tyner (piano)
Elvin Jones (drums)

Guests:
Ahmed Abdul-Malik (oud)
Garvin Bushnell (oboe, contrabassoon)
Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, bass clarinet)
Reggie Workman (bass)
Roy Haynes (drums)

1. Warm December - Julie London
2. Theme From Hockey Night In Canada
3. Snowbird - Chet Atkins
4. Noite Feliz - Forro In The Dark
5. I've Got My Love To Keep My Warm - Reinhardt & Grapelli
6. Count Your Blessings - Sonny Rollins
7. Swingin' Silent Night - Asleep At The Wheel
8. Gulf Coast Blues - Teddy Grace
9. Now At Last - Blossom Dearie
10. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Herb Alpert
11. Winter Moon - Stan Getz & Laurindo Almeida
12. Jingles - Wes Montgomery
13. Spiritual - Charlie & Josh Haden
14. Greensleeves - John Coltrane
15. Both Sides Now - Herbie Hancock
16. Bag's Groove (Christmas Eve 1954, Take 2) - Miles Davis
17. Spiritual - John Coltrane

Download the mix here as a zip file, or stream the songs in the player below:

MUST BE DYLAN

"Many are the musical atrocities committed in the names of Christmas and charity; but rarely can they have been as downright weird as Christmas In The Heart." - The Independent Review

"It's a bizarre and bewildering collection...the man's serrated croon isn't just jarring -- it actually gives these chirpy old chestnuts a sense of menace. And it is awesome." - Washington Post Review

Clearly, you know where I stand. His video for "Must Be Santa" is pretty much how I always figured a yuletide bash thrown by Bob would unfold (Note: Sony won't allow me to link to the video anymore!) Sure, his "animals in a slaughterhouse delivery" is more than a bit jarring when paired with the super slick backing vocals that recall Ray Conniff in another dimension. But you know what? The playing is top notch and he sounds sincere, and that's good enough for me.

Anyway, for the blog mix, I selected only one tune (go out and buy the damn thing - all proceeds benefit the excellent and worthwhile Feeding America charity). The rest of the mix is a very quick trip spanning his whole career, from folkie to provocateur to recluse to born again to grizzled old bluesman - with some occasional help from his peers and his followers - covering Dylan always seems to bring out everyone's best effort. And that's all you can really ask for, right?

1. Talkin' New York (from Bob Dylan)
2. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan)
3. My Back Pages (from Another Side Of Bob Dylan)
4. Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds
5. If Not For You - George Harrison
6. Visions Of Johanna (from Blonde On Blonde)
7. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine (from John Wesley Harding)
8. I Shall Be Released - Nina Simone
9. Girl From The North Country (from Nashville Skyline)
10. Tomorrow Is Such a Long Time - Rod Stewart
11. Forever Young (from Planet Waves featuring The Band)
12. Pressing On - John Doe
13. Buckets Of Rain (from Blood On The Tracks)
14. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Antony & The Johnsons
15. Every Grain Of Sand (from Shot Of Love)
16. Ring Them Bells (from Oh Mercy)
17. Love Rescue Me - The Omagh Community Youth Choir
18. Marchin' To The City (from The Bootleg Series, Volume 8)
19. The Christmas Blues (from Christmas In The Heart)

Special thanks to Susan and Ted for figuring this would be the ideal music-related and holiday-related gift this year.

Download the songs as a zip file from this location, or stream the songs in the player below:

HAPPY LIFE DAY: A CHRISTMAS ODYSSEY

A mix that I'm sure the kids will flip over - featuring two of the songs from the 1980 Star Wars Christmas album - even the disastrous 1978 holiday special could not slow down the Lucas merchandising juggernaut - so it was probably inevitable that this album would surface. Sadly, the producers failed to include some of the gems from the special, such as Bea Arthur's saloon serenade and Carrie Fischer stoned out of her gourd warbling through a few choice cuts:



I think Carrie immediately left the taping of the holiday show, boarded a plane for Chicago and headed to the set of the Blues Brothers where the fun times continued. The goodness does not stop there. Check out Harrison Ford in his finest acting moment:



Without further ado, some Flaming Lips, some Pet Shop Boys, some Shonen Knife, and a few remixes sprinkled in for good measure. I'll be honest - there are more than a few head scratchers here with these songs, so it may not be your thing. But, in the spirit of the season, keep and open mind and give it a try. Oh, and here's a shot of the kids with their best buds when we recently attended Star Wars in Concert (featuring C-3PO as the narrator)! Several hours of awesomeness...


1. Harmony (Mellotron) - Spiritualized
2. Christmas In the Stars - A Star Wars Christmas
3. Beatnik's Wish - Patsy Raye
4. I Believe In Father Christmas - Emerson Lake and Palmer
5. Star Of Wonder - Sufjan Stevens
6. Harmony (Piano) - Spiritualized
7. Anoraak Christmas (Remix) - Sally Shapiro
8. The Christmas Song (Tonal Remix) - Jimmy McGriff
9. It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas - Pet Shop Boys
10. Holiday Mood - Apples In Stereo
11. Harmony (Voice) - Spiritualized
12. Christmas Reindeer - The Knife
13. Space Christmas - Shonen Knife
14. The Ice Storm - The Go! Team
15. Harmony (Accordian) - Spiritualized
16. Carol Of The Bells - Sleeping Kings Of Iona
17. Christmas Eve - TPGM
18. Ring The Bells - James
19. Harmony (Glockenspiel) - Spiritualized
20. Do You Realize?? (Floating In Space Remix) - The Flaming Lips
21. What Can You Get a Wookie... - A Star Wars Christmas
22. Christmas Wish - Andre Williams

Download these songs as a zip file, or stream the songs in the player below. And remember folks, if Christmas is just not cutting it this year, there's always Happy Life Day. Happy Life Day indeed: