WELCOME TO THE 2010 HOLIDAY MIXES

Old Fezziwig's Ball returns for its eighth year of delivering just way too many holiday tunes. With that said, I think I'll cap it at 10 years - so 2012 will be my final foray into this insanity. The scary thing is...well, despite the wealth of tunes here, we're really just scratching the surface.

Some notes for this year: a lot of you ungrateful types complained about last year's move away from the zip file option. Well, I didn't like it either, but I had reached the cap on the account that allowed for the zip file option. However, the good folks at box.net finally realized that 5 GB of space does not cut in this day and age, and with a lot more room, I have returned to the zip file option. So, for 2010, as you hit each entry, you'll be able to stream the songs from the player, download individual songs that you like, or click on the link to go straight to a zip file download option. Also, it looks that all past mixes (including years 2003, 2004, and 2009) are now back up online with the zip file download option.

For the second year in a row, the majority of my music is not accessible to me as my computer is in storage while we fix a nagging issue in the basement (read: drain tile!). So, a couple of themes I wanted to explore will just need to wait for the final two years. However, I was able to roll out a couple of special mixes this year. These compilations include a look at what was at the top of the pop charts in America and the UK during the 50s and 60s during the holiday season, as well as a tribute to a legendary musician who should have had a ton of hits. And, as always, you'll also find the usual assortment of indie, jazz, country, pop, and just plain weirdness. I hope you find a couple of new holiday gems. Happy Holidays everyone.

One last note: Most of you have probably already seen this, but if you haven't, head on over to my other project this past fall: friends from the Uncle Tupelo mailing list contributed original and cover tunes to raise funds for Feeding America. Veteran readers of the Old Fezziwig blog will see that the idea for that project came about through one of my themed holiday mixes posted in 2009.