- Sleeping At Last continues to add Christmas songs to its ongoing playlist. For 2021 we get "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," and the artist has announced another new song is coming as well. UPDATE: It was "Winter Wonderland."
- Ben Rector previously updated his 2020 album with another song, and now he's added yet another, "The Best Is Yet To Come (A Song for the New Year)." The current version is a piano vocal; a band take is expected December 10.
November 2021 Archives
Lee Aaron is a long-running female rock vocalist from Canada who started off with the hit "Metal Queen" in the 80s, and has since made albums in many different styles, mostly rock-based ones. She's almost completely unknown in the US, except possibly in border cities like Buffalo, Detroit and Seattle, due to Spinal Tap-like machinations by management and record companies (which are detailed in the bio on her website). For 2020 she's released a full album of Christmas songs in what can be best described as a 70s hard rock/pop style. Although this style isn't represented too well in the Billboard charts, it lives on in the hometown music venues of America (or it did until the pandemic arrived). Aaron and her band have rounded up a solid repertoire of tunes for this collection, mixing the familiar and the less familiar and performing them with gusto. She acquits herself well with such chestnuts as "Run Run Rudolph," "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," and "Zat You Santa Claus?," and provides solid versions of lesser-heard numbers like the Eels' "Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas," Pet Shop Boys' "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas," the Sonics' "Don't Believe in Christmas," Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody," Over the Rhine's "All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue," and Joni Mitchell's "The Fiddle and the Drum." That last isn't strictly a Christmas tune, but its presence here is set up nicely by the preceding song "Peace on Earth," the only original tune of the bunch. UPDATE: This album is reissued for 2021 and is more widely available through Amazon; click the album cover. Oh, and the 2021 edition adds two songs, "Almost Christmas" and "More Fun on the Naughty List."
Have you been holding out on this Waitresses' classic until somebody did a ska version? Well, 2021 is your year, this band receiving help from Angelo Moore of Fishbone and El Jefe of NOFX, and the whole performance being produced by NOFX's Fat Mike. It's a quick catchy romp through the familiar favorite, check it out.
King Crimson head honcho Robert Fripp is married to British pop star Toyah, and since the start of the pandemic they've been doing these light-hearted covers of familiar songs. As far as I know, this is the first one they did of a Christmas tune.
In the past, I've reviewed the individual singles from this annual release when I could get access to them, but as they aren't posting the individual songs for sampling until after the singles ship, I thought I should call attention to them now. As they ship from the Netherlands, the various supply chain and postal issues unique to the 2020s probably mean many people won't get their copies in time for Christmas unless they already live in the EU. So I'll just note for now that this year's singles are by Swansea Sound, The Boy Least Likely To, and The Shacks, and you should visit their Bandcamp page to order the vinyl artifacts sooner rather than later. Digital copies will post next Friday for Swansea Sound and The Boy Least Likely To, and December 10 for The Shacks.
I'd call this a mostly forgotten genre of music, except that its blues-rock-country fusion lives on in Billboard's country charts, even if the classic artists don't appear there. Cleopatra assembled this compilation for 2021 with a collection of artists that go from the classic southern rock genre to country-rock and on to actual country performers. Oddly, they didn't see fit to include (or couldn't license) southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band or 38 Special, but you can read about their holiday exploits elsewhere on this site. The Outlaws kick things off with "What Child Is This," the Artemis Pyle Band puts a bluegrass spin on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," Steve Morse does the hard-rock guitar god thing on "We Three Kings," Point Blank does an uptempo blues-rock take on "Merry Christmas Baby," and Charlie Daniels does a John Lee Hooker boogie on "It's Bad To Have the Blues (At Christmas Time)." Georgia Satellites does a typical southern rock take on "Run Rudolph Run," Adam Hood pushes that other Charles Brown classic "Please Come Home For Christmas" uptempo, Paul Nelson Band does a close-to-the-original version of Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody," Richie Furay medleys "Come and Praise Him" with the Band's "Christmas Must Be Tonight," and Blackfoot thrashes out on "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." Sammy Kershaw's "That Spirit of Christmas" is a straight country number, Pat Travers puts the southern rock stamp on "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," Black Oak Arkansas offer a ballad, "Christmas Everywhere," and Oak Ridge Boys wrap things up with "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town," combining the Spector arrangement with a country approach. Nothing earth-shaking here, but there are only a few songs I'd personally skip from this collection.
The 2021 winter pop charts may be under the sway of Adele and Taylor Swift's latest albums, but the queen of Americana has dropped a Christmas collection, and attention must be paid. Imagine if Car Wheels on a Gravel Road were a Christmas album, and you've pretty much got it, except for the fact that Lucinda has stuck pretty much to covers here. Not that her writerly sensibility has gone to waste; she recasts "Blue Christmas" as a shopping trip for blue Christmas lights, deepening the familiar tune's downcast vibe, and she turns the blues chestnut "Little Red Rooster" into a Christmas song. She adds three other blues to the playlist, Freddie King's "Christmas Tears" and Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Please Come Home For Christmas," and filters some jazz through her familiar approach on "Christmas in New Orleans," "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," the latter with the "muddle through" lyric. She takes a funkier approach to "If We Make It Through December" and covers some real funk with "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'." Also here is a cool minor-key take on "Run Rudolph Run" and a more heartfelt version of the Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)." Not just a great holiday album, but a record that you can use to explain to non-music fans what Americana is.
This band has a pretty big following; unfortunately, they're best known for being the band on stage during a terrorist attack on the Bataclan arena in Paris back in 2015. Boots Electric is a side project of the band's Jesse Hughes, and for 2021 he's put together an EP of four classic carols and a cover of "Put a Little Love In Your Heart," now considered a holiday tune on the strength of it being featured in the Bill Murray move "Scrooged." None of this, however, has anything to do with the various rock styles EODM is known for; this is music you'd expect to hear at your local church's pops concert, mostly piano backed straight readings with a chorale behind the lead singer. (There are drums on "Little Drummer Boy," of course.) Other songs are "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and two versions of "O Holy Night," one with instrumental backing and the other with the instruments dropped out. It's hard to know if they're being ironic about this, but either way you should sample this before you decide whether it fits your holiday mixes.
About a decade ago, this group did a Christmas single, and they're back for 2021 with a new one, a nice upbeat rocker that pretty much fits this website's mission statement. It straddles power pop and contemporary hit radio sounds and will sound good in just about any playlist you can devise. Available in all the usual places.
In the realm of things that make you say hmmm, we have this collection of electronic music tunes from this York, PA musician and comics author. "Seven out of this world Christmas songs" is the tag line, and I'll guarantee you he'll have no trouble justifying this if the Federal Trade Commission ever investigates. A cursory glance at his oeuvre indicates he has an overreaching story arc that binds all his artistic works together, and that it culminates in a "singularity" scheduled to occur on January 1, 2028, but I don't think I can do it justice in this short space, so I'll leave it to your investigation. Much of this is straight-up experimental synthesizer creations, although there are instances of vocals with guitar and drum accompaniment. The most pop-oriented thing here is "Singing Silent Night in a Rural Rock Church With Brother Tommy," which incorporates the familiar carol. Other tunes include "Waiting For Robin Sparrow On Christmas Tree Hill," "Date Night Ice Skating With Psychobilly Girl," the instrumentals "Mistletoe Kissing an Alien Siren Singer Girl," "Hanging Christmas Bulbs and Ice Sickles With Granny," "Reindeer Ride With Vixen the Reindeer," and a 28-minute closing epic, "Falling Asleep Under a Dreamscape Christmas Tree." Hawkwind and Krautrock fanatics are the ones most likely to enjoy this collection, along with folks who are deep into the whole synth music scene; casual listeners are encouraged to sample this music before committing.
Spotify has an ongoing Christmas playlist consisting of cuts that were commissioned by the service and can only be found there. New tunes on the list for 2021 include Spoon's "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)," the Beatles cover, rapper Ashnikko's cool electro-pop/hip-hop "Carol of the Bells," LOVA's version of ABBA's "Happy New Year," jdxn covering blink-182 on "Happy Holidays, You Bastard," MisterWives' solid update of "Jingle Bell Rock," Nao's cover of "This Christmas," Surfaces' very cool reggaeton take on "Little St. Nick," Korean singer LeeHi's "For You (Holiday Remix)," and El Alfa's "Prende el Arbolito." Previous years' songs live on in the now-three-hour-long playlist.
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Merseybeat tribute band The Weeklings have been flagged by this site before for their Beatles-parody and cover Christmas songs. For 2021 they dropped an original that has that British invasion sound, but the song steals a bit from Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" as well for a cool finger-snapping holiday number. Grab it.
Bouncing back from a COVID-limited 2020, Cherryade Records in Manchester, UK, with the help of DJ Gareth Jones once again, brings us a full CD of indie-pop-rock Christmas goodies for 2021. CD is the only way it's available, however; get your order in quick for one of the 200 copies. (International mail and Brexit-related cock-ups may make it difficult for US readers to get a copy, but give it a shot anyway.) We get 21 tunes from a number of British indie bands, as has been normal in the Cherryade series, and most are originals. The covers are DUCK's version of Throwing Muses' "Santa Claus," Mouses' version of Shakin' Stevens' "Merry Christmas Everyone," and Mega Emotions' version of a rare Paul McCartney number, "We All Stand Together," which doesn't have much in the way of holiday lyrics but fits in with the playlist anyway. Among the highlights of the disc are "Happy Xmas (our war has started)" by Pete Drake and Emma Solomon, a timely lament about supply chain difficulties threatening the holiday; Basic Bitches' poppy thrash "I Hope Your Holidays Are Fine"; Synthetic Villains' "There Was Snow On His Boots," an instrumental evoking the pre-"Pet Sounds" Beach Boys; and I like "Llega la Navidad" by The Yellow Melodies even though I don't understand the Spanish lyrics. "The Yellow Beard Santa Claus" by the Vegetablets has that mid-60s pop feeling, Kiss Me, Killer goes grungy with "Kiss Me, Christmas," Jonny Melodic addresses the "Office Xmas Party" with humor, synths, and scratchy rhythm guitars, the Hannah Barberas provide "Oh Santa Claus" in a slightly different version than their two previous recordings of it, and Bean Weevil offers a song about "Charades." Mouse Assassins waltz along to "Hey, Hey, It's Christmas Day," Mild Horses put a Raveonettes-type spin on "Alone For Christmas," The Old Married Couple breaks out the ukeleles for "Until Christmas," SUPER 8 give us a power pop "This Christmas," and Building Rockets conclude the disc with the spacey ballad "Song For Next Christmas." A very listenable collection, especially for indie-rock fans. You can stream samples of it at Bandcamp, too.
The Damaged Goods label remains a mainstay of the British punk scene, and their artists have had a fairly active Christmas life -- indeed, a number of the label's holiday works have featured on Mistletunes in the past. For those who haven't been following the Damaged saga, this collection will bring you up to speed quickly -- and enjoyably. The site has previously reviewed such items as Holly Golightly's "Christmas Tree On Fire," Wild Billy Childish's "Christmas 1979," TV Smith's "Xmas, Bloody Xmas," Goldblade's "City of Christmas Ghosts" featuring Poly Styrene, and Severe's version of "Stop the Cavalry." Add to that the Singing Loins' "Ding Dong Merrily On High," an almost skiffle-like tune that cops from traditional carols; Helen Love's much poppier take on the Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)"; another Holly Golightly song, the sweet ballad "Little Stars," done with the Greenhornes; Cuckooland's punked-out "Silver Bells"; Monkhouse's thrashy "Guinness and Wine," necessary holiday beverages for many; and Buff Medways wraps things up with "Merry Christmas Fritz." Thee Headcoatees are billed as providing their version of the Sonics' "Santa Claus," but my copy came with a different song by the band that has X-rated lyrics and is not about Christmas. I've tipped the label. UPDATE: Damaged Goods has chosen to press this collection on vinyl for 2021. They've rejiggered the playlist, adding The Courettes' "Christmas (I Can Hardly Wait)" to the proceedings. We'll see if they corrected the above-mentioned error with Thee Headcoatees' "Santa Claus."
- Kristen Chenoweth duets with Keb' Mo on "Merry Christmas Baby" from her newest Christmas album.
- She & Him celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first Christmas album with a deluxe vinyl reissue.
- Billy Idol re-releases his previous Christmas album on vinyl, adding one new song. Weirdly, the CD appears to be out of print and currently selling for stupid money.
- And Mariah Carey drops a new Christmas song for 2021, "Fall in Love at Christmas," featuring Khalid and Kirk Franklin. No doubt it will feature in her newest holiday special on Apple TV+.
- I prefer to steer clear of Kelly Clarkson, but I will give her props for an up-to-the-minute Christmas tune topic on her 2021 Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around: "Christmas Isn't Cancelled (Just You)."
Chris Daily, under his own name and that of Teflon Beast, has popped up on this site a lot over the past decade due to his obsession with Christmas music. He's back for 2021 with this short album or long EP, however you want to label it. This may be his best one yet, eight solid hooky rock holiday tunes. "I Will Survive the Holidays" starts things out strongly, "You're Alright (Cuffing Season Song)" and "Round About Christmas" are variations of power pop, "You Are Not Alone This Season" is a mid-tempo number with cool harmonies, "Riding the Rails on the Polar Express" is a bouncy little number, "What the Winter Brings" adds a little funk to the proceedings, "Christmas (Baby Let's Stay Home)" features Erica Michelle on vocals for a nice change of pace, and "The Ballad of St. Nicholas" is a more pensive number with backing music that reminds me of Bob Dylan's latest album, and I suspect the resemblance is intentional. All told, a listenable collection.
Just stumbled over this on Bandcamp, an EP called "Snowflake Singles" from 2019, though it's only the song mentioned above of the four that's a holiday tune. All four songs are in the Billy Bragg vein of protest folk, though "Proper Job Christmas" is a bouncy little number about thrifty folks celebrating the holiday. "Proper Job" is the name of a housewares store that, in the artist's description, is sort of a cross between a hardware store and a bodega. As the band is from Glastonbury, UK, you'll find that the concerns of these songs are mostly British politics, but "Proper Job Christmas" travels nicely outside its home country and everyone should check it out.
With acting and singing credentials that include "Glee" and "American Horror Story," you probably already expect this guy's 2021 release to be a full-on pop outing. And it absolutely is, encompassing everything from contemporary hit radio to country to show tunes. Although the artist's stated purpose was to call attention to lesser-known tunes, he didn't skimp on familiar favorites like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)," and "(Everybody's Waiting For) The Man With the Bag," the latter a duet with Adam Lambert. Points for a slightly hip-hop flavored "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas," a solid cover of John Mayer's "St. Patrick's Day," and the only original song, Darren's "Drunk For Christmas" with guest Laney Wilson, a country workout. He also duets with Evan Rachel Wood on "Somewhere In My Memory" from the movie "Home Alone," opens the show with Andy Williams' "Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season," and provides a more pop-oriented version of Regina Spektor's "New Year." Serious demerits, however, for the uptempo lounge lizard version of Joni Mitchell's "River," and I predict this will soundtrack a few derogatory Christmas memes before we're all too much older. But then, I'm pretty sure this disc wasn't aimed at me or the people who visit this website. Make up your own mind.
Longtime readers will note that this site occasionally struggles with country-oriented artists, since we're the home of a rock 'n roll Christmas and we've often said that somebody out there should do a similar site to Mistletunes aimed solely at country music. Presented with this disc and the Pistol Annies' new collection for 2021, I've determined we should concentrate on Shires and leave the Annies to the Nashville mavens out there. Mainly it's because Shires, in connection with her hubby Jason Isbell, falls more into the not-so-country channel of Nashville. You may quibble with this when you hear her voice, which is steeped in the influences of generations of female country singers (my wife yelled "Dolly Parton" upon hearing this collection), and is further buttressed with several guest appearances by the McCrary Sisters. But give Shires credit for a solid collection of original modern Christmas songs shorn of most other trappings of a typical Nashville production. These songs mostly play like 70s singer-songwriter tunes rather than the modern bro-country clanging of the male artists and the Barbie-doll stylings of the more popular female artists. Among the originals I favor are "A Real Tree This Year," "Blame It On the Mistletoe," "Home to Me," and especially "Gone For Christmas," a snarling breakup song that would play well in any genre of music. She also takes an original tack on "Silent Night," painting a much bleaker picture with modified lyrics over a minor key on what is ordinarily a major key song. The one cover, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," comes over as Nashville after hours. A solid collection of Americana music with a strong lean toward country.
This singer-songwriter, first name Stephen, has been much in the background over his career, writing for Pink, Kesha, and Backstreet Boys, but has been breaking through as a solo artist. For 2021 he dropped this five-song EP of holiday songs, four originals and a remarkable cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" that you should definitely seek out. Originals include his very own "This Christmas," not Wham's, "(It Wouldn't Be) Christmas Without You," the ukulele ballad "First Winter," and "Sometimes Christmas Is Hard," all solid pop/rock songwriting with modern hit radio production. It may be a little too hit radio-friendly for some of you, but "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is worth the whole thing.
This popular reggae toaster has some history in the holiday genre, having produced Christmas tunes for others and doing a single of "Silent Night" with Sting. For 2021 he drops a full album of mostly originals and a few covers, including the above-mentioned "Silent Night." As with most modern R'nB through reggae productions, there's plenty of co-billings throughout, with Sanchez on "No Icy Christmas," Omi & Shenseea on "We Got Us," Conkarah & Richie Stephens on "Take You to the Cool," Rayvon on the title tune, Ding-Dong & Ne-Yo on "Holiday in Jamaica," Joss Stone on "Sunny Celebration," and more. The originals are pretty much what you'd expect; solid upbeat Caribbean rhythms and as much talking as singing. As for the covers, along with the Sting duet we have "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "I'll Be Home For Christmas," and "We Three Kings," all nicely done reggae covers of these popular tunes. "12 Days of Christmas," however, is not the popular classic but another toasting extravaganza. This is a very listenable collection of tunes, more so if you're one of those who likes their holidays with lots of sunshine.
Ben previously joined the Christmas parade in 2012 with Jingles and Bells, an EP of classic carols rendered in a pop singer/songwriter vein. For 2020 he's back with another EP, a seven-song collection that's actually led by an original, "The Thanksgiving Song," honoring the holiday season's traditional gateway feast (although our retail sector has been relentless in making the holiday's start the day after Halloween). The remaining six tunes are familiar holiday favorites like "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "Frosty the Snowman," "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)," plus Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" and the Peanuts favorite "Christmas Time Is Here." UPDATE: For 2021, Ben has added a nicely funky reading of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to this collection.
"The Nihilistics were a stupid, obnoxious hardcore band from Long Island," says Trouser Press, and who are we to argue? Nevertheless, the publication liked their first EP and first album, originally released in 1982 and 1983. This Christmas EP originated in 1991, and the band has lately been merchandising this independently; I found out about it on Facebook this year after somehow not being aware of the group before this. Three songs of varying punk thrashiness, "Burning Yuel Log of Christmess," a general ode to the holiday, and that's how they spell "Yule"; "Christmess SOB," which is the sum total of the lyrics, only spelled out; and "As the Snowflakes Fell," an ode to stealing Christmas presents. If you need some old-school punk in your playlist, this is where to come. Only place it's available is MerchBucket.
Cliff's an indie soul/gospel artist with a few previous albums to his credit, and for 2021 he decided to get on the Christmas soul train. Most of what you hear adheres pretty solidly to the 70s funk sound, although his version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is more in a New Orleans vein, though with funk-band instrumentation. The title song is the only original in this collection, and it's a solid funky ode to the holidays. There aren't very many surprises in song selection -- as with so many soul artists, he can't resist doing "This Christmas" or the Supremes' version of "My Favorite Things," and he checks in with the album's only straight blues, the classic "Merry Christmas Baby." The funky treatment he gives to "Frosty the Snowman" is a nice touch, he makes "Zat You, Santa Claus" his own with modern touches, and he also does James Brown's "Soulful Christmas," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)," and a solidly R'nB version of "Run Rudolph Run." Overall, an energetic selection of holiday tunes to pack the dance floor.
This may be one of those Christmas records that makes you go hmmm. L. Shankar, no relation that I can find to Ravi, is a musician from India who actually has a pretty wide resume of playing with everyone from John McLaughlin to Elton John, not to mention Peter Gabriel, with whom he won a Grammy for the soundtrack to "Last Temptation of Christ." For 2021 he decided to make a Christmas album featuring two original compositions, "Christmas Time" and "Savior," plus a number of Christmas classics like "Joy To the World," "O Holy Night," "O Christmas Tree," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," "Deck the Halls," "The First Noel," and "Jingle Bells." He also covers such recent pop classics as "All I Want For Christmas Is You," "Do They Know It's Christmastime," and "Last Christmas." It's widely available enough to sample, so you can hear for yourself that if you can imagine crossing the instruments and arrangements for the Beatles' "Within You Without You" with the above-mentioned songs, you've pretty much got what's here. Nevertheless, it's fairly listenable and you may enjoy throwing a cut from this into your holiday playlists.
This guy scaled the heights of rock stardom as lead singer for Journey, but after some health problems that affected his singing, his band ousted him in favor of a young soundalike singer. In recent years he resumed performing as a solo artist, and now for 2021 he dropped this short album of six Christmas pop standards and two New Year's chestnuts that is absolutely non-rock. I'm only covering this as a warning, since many folks might glom onto this thinking they're going to get vintage Journey sounds and they're not; this is strictly old-school jazz-pop. I really don't think Steve's voice is suited for this sort of singing, given that he sounds like an older, shopworn version of his younger self on this material. I imagine his fans will be happy with this, but I think they'd be happier with a more rock-oriented program, and I think he'd sound a lot better with that sort of material.
The Matchbox Twenty singer is probably better known on his own these days, given his popularity as a solo artist and collaborator with Carlos Santana. For 2021, he pops out a full album of Christmas tuneage, and you should consider this more of a pop move than a rock move, given the smooth and sentimental music on offer. Longtime Christmas music mavens will recall his 2002 solo tune "A New York Christmas," and a newly recorded version of it is here, this time a more muted arrangement than the contemporary hit radio anthem treatment it received first time around. Rob further underlines his pop credentials by including a number of duets with name performers, two of which have an eye on country airplay: a cover of Dolly Parton's "I Believe in Santa Claus" with his recent tour-mate Abby Anderson, and "Santa Don't Come Here Anymore" with Brad Paisley. A gospel-inflected cover of Ray Charles' "That Spirit Of Christmas" features Bebe Winans, and Ingrid Michaelson steps up to sing Bryan Adams' "Christmas Time" with Rob. A sad "Doesn't Feel Like Christmas (Samy's Song)" is dedicated to his recently deceased dog, and a more uptempo, almost synth-pop "Small Town Christmas" helps balance out the sadness. Other tunes include "Save Some Christmas," "New Year's Day," and a cover of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I could have stood more Matchbox Twenty and less contemporary hit radio in this, but you already knew that.
Rock fans of course need no introduction to the Goo Goo Dolls, who were "alternative" in the 80s and crossed over to the charts in the 1990s. For 2020, they've planted their flag in the Christmas realm with this album, and fans will find plenty that's familiar, not just the band's sound but the reliance on cover tunes. Two of 10 songs are new originals, "This is Christmas" and "You Ain't Getting Nothin'," the former a holiday ballad and the latter a sassy warning about making the naughty list. They've also repurposed one of their older songs, "Better Days," to fit the holidays, featuring Sydney McGorman, daughter of the album's co-producer, on lead vocal. Also on the playlist is their version of Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again," Louie Prima's "Shake Hands With Santa Claus," the Chipmunks' classic "Christmas Don't Be Late," perennials "Let It Snow," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and "The Christmas Party," which is a carol medley taken from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." The band notes this was recorded under quarantine conditions, which may explain the reliance on covers. All told, a solid rocker but shined to a pop sheen to reach the largest audience. UPDATE: Reissued for 2021 with two additional songs, the new original "One Last Song About Christmas" and a version of "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" featuring Kudisan Kai. Check it out.
Actually, I only ever found this on a flexidisc from Britain's Flexipop magazine back in 1981. Taking the track from "Rapture," Debbie Harry and Fab Five Freddy do a little Christmas rapping, no Kurtis Blow reference intended. A fun item if a rare one; I think this has managed to go unissued from that day to this one. UPDATE: You can download this from Amazon or stream it pretty readily as of 2021, provided your search misspells it as "Yuletide Throwdown."
The modern tradition of the ugly Christmas sweater gets yet another airing in this sweet female vocal group rendition of an original song about the delights of wearing something that hurts other people's eyes, or at least their sense of style. It's in the modern pop style with slick production and a soft rock beat, and it's due for release November 11. Check it out.
It's so easy for us crunchy rockers to dismiss Norah Jones as adult contemporary, even easier when her big hit "Don't Know Why" from 15 years ago still plays on everything from your Amazon Echo Dot to your grocery store's PA system. But Norah's ability to blend pop, rock, soul and even country in a single song hasn't left her, and though this 2021 Christmas collection sits comfortably in her discography, it also demands a hearing from you insufferable music snobs out there. You may find that her original holiday tunes like "Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones)," "Christmas Glow," "Christmastime," "It's Only Christmas Once a Year," "You're Not Alone," and "A Holiday With You" might just take the place in your heart currently occupied by a classic Christmas standard. Also, you might not have expected to hear the Chipmunks' "Christmas Don't Be Late" as a torch song or "Run Rudolph Run" as a bossa nova, as you will when you cue up this album. She also puts her stamp on "White Christmas," "Blue Christmas," "Winter Wonderland," and "Christmas Time Is Here," closing with, not surprisingly, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" Yes, it's all medium tempo or slower, but it's also smooth and soulful. Shouldn't leave without noting Norah isn't new to the Christmas realm, having cut a holiday EP with Puss N Boots a couple years ago and contributing "Peace" to Holidays Rule 2.
Most of what you see here comes from professional musicians, but we've never shrunk from presenting people's homemade holiday visions here. Adam's Bandcamp page presents his credentials as a Christmas obsessive, including his music collection. For 2021 the Vancouver, BC native conjured up his very own Christmas album of original novelty songs. Opening tune "Shrunk Down For Christmas" indulges the album's title premise, "Christmas During COVID-19" is the almost obligatory nod to the pandemic, "Cheap Cheap Chocolate" is an ode to the Advent calendar, "Bumbles Don't Bounce" watches the Abominable Snowman fall off a ledge and die, "Late to the Christmas Craft Fair" is an R.E.M.-ish dirge that ends with a gun, "Old Time Rocker" is an old-time rocker about an old-time rocker giving a gun for Christmas, and "NORAD Tracks Santa Claus" imagines if the Air Force actually did track the jolly elf and he resisted their forays. "Santa's Watching You Funk" has him engaging in voyeurism, "The Plight Before Christmas" is a corrupted "Night Before" crossed with "Christmas Carol" set to New Orleans piano, and "Twelve Days Is Not Enough" is a folky strum in a gravelly voice, perhaps an ode to Tom Waits, taking off from the familiar carol and envisioning the singer gifting more and more birds for 44 days. "The Bruth About Christmas" is hard to explain as it's more of a skit than a song, "Accident Prone at Christmas" is a silly show tune about giving one's disability insurance a run for its money, "My Snowman" is about the singer's inability to make a good snowman, "Herb Alpert Swung By For Christmas" attempts to evoke the Tijuana Brass leader's music while discussing a (likely fictional) visit from the horn man, "Those Aren't the Original Reindeer" is a rockabilly take on the demise of Santa's herd, and "Those High Notes" is an excessively self-aware nod to Adam's limited singing ability. There are a fair number of laughs here, but owing to some vulgarities I'd apply the parental guidance sticker to this collection. As noted above, you can sample or download the whole thing at Bandcamp.
This North Carolina folk-rock band has been a steady presence on Americana radio over the past several years, and for 2021 they bring their sound to the Christmas season with this album. Band leader M.C. Taylor issued a press release stating he wanted to avoid the big brash sounds associated with the holiday in favor of something more contemplative, and that, in fact, is what we have here. Three originals, the moody "Hung Fire," the bouncy "Grace" and the country polka "By the Lights of St. Stephen" are nice new additions to the canon, and classic carols "Silent Night," "Joy to the World" and the title song are all in the contemplative mode discussed earlier. The collection is rounded out with some covers from farther afield, Spiritualized's "Shine a Light," Woody Guthrie's "Hanukkah Dance," and the Creedence Clearwater classic "As Long as I Can See the Light." Nothing much in the way of upbeat music here, but you'll find plenty of solid pace-changers for your holiday playlists.
Hip-hoppers from Duluth, MN pop out a holiday-oriented EP for 2021. Two short songs buffer between two normal-length numbers and don't add much to the holiday concept. One of them, sadly, has a great title that goes to waste: "Die Hard Is Definitely a Christmas Movie (Interlude)," as it's almost entirely instrumental. That leaves the songs "BOOG3YM3N Holiday Special" and "Nightmare Before Christmas," both of which are about what you'd expect for a hip-hop collection but not much more. Check them for yourself on Bandcamp.
Once again, Rock By the Sea, a charity based in the Georgia-Florida area, provides us with a compilation album of local artists performing holiday tunes. For 2021, the rundown includes the Jason Lee McKinney Band and its cover of "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'," Leah Belle Faser and Hoke Faser with a synth-pop/country hybrid version of Wham's "Last Christmas," Death On Two Wheels' easily recognizable "Blue Christmas," Vanessa Peters taking a blues classic country on "Please Come Home For Christmas," English Nick & the Yanks doing a faithful version of Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody," and Gin, Chocolate and Bottle Rockets giving us a typical piano-led "O Holy Night." Artists providing us with original tunes include Drew Angus with the folk-pop "Snow Globe," Run Katie Run's rockabilly swing number "Fa La La La'ing In Love," BIRDHEAD's lo-fi pop tune "Holiday Honey," Mike Mentz referencing the pandemic with the folky "Quarantine Christmas," The Farleys with their singalong special "Christmas Time," and Bob Malone wraps up the collection with "The After Christmas Song," a not-quite New Year's rock ballad. Once again, a warm and mellow playlist whose sale supports charitable works along the southeastern seaboard. Get it at Bandcamp.
Just uncovered this CBGB-era punk rock single, circa 1978. It's a great number, more power pop than punk, and it was produced by Jimmy Destri of Blondie. Gotta love this. The Student Teachers managed to be headliners in the New York scene, though they only ever released a single and EP before breaking up. A 2013 album compiling all their available songs was released and is still available in hard copy, to download or stream.
From 1978, the height of the British punk scene, this thrashy little number is about a junkie on the holiday (the title is probably a pun, according to some historians). But it's got a nice jumpy tempo, and if you like throwing the occasional turd in the holiday punchbowl, this song is a great way to do it. The Fall, as punk obsessives know, is the band that brought the late Mark E. Smith to prominence.
From 2004, this instrumental group recorded this album in Vancouver, which is appropriate, as this is a collection of West Coast 60s-style instrumentals of familiar Christmas carols. Although you'll hear surf music in this collection, there's also nods to Western swing and Cliff Richards' Shadows in their approach and song selection. "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," for example, combine swing and bluegrass influences, "Angels On High" has a Joe Meek-Phil Spector flavor about it, "Deck the Halls" throws in just a hint of "Tequila," "We Three Kings" nods to the Animals' version of "House of the Rising Sun," and "Jingle Bell Rock" hews closely to the almost-country sound of the Bobby Helms original. The one left-of-center choice is a cover of The Chessmen's early 1960s hit "Meadowlands," adapted from a Russian folk song. A nice selection of instrumentals. Amazon has it for download and streaming, but hardcopy was scarce at this writing.
This 2011 Christmas album was a collaboration between Tom Smith of the Editors and Andy Burrows, who was in Razorlight, We Are Scientists, and several other groups. They're still together and maintain a Facebook page that was updated as recently as June 2021, but it appears their debut album was this holiday collection. It's a modern pop-rock collection of originals and covers, although only opener "In the Bleak Midwinter" and closer "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)," the latter with a guest vocal by Agnes Obel, are immediately recognizable holiday classics. The sound is a sort of grown-up version of 80s-90s British post-New Wave balladry, with midtempo songs ruling the playlist. The artists' own "When the Thames Froze," "As the Snowflakes Fall," "Rosslyn," and "This Ain't New Jersey" set the more-winter, less-Christmas tone, as do Black's "Wonderful Life," Longpigs' "On and On," the title tune that originated with the band Delta, and Yazoo's non-holiday hit "Only You." The title tune is the hit here, although "Thames" was also released back in the day as a single in the UK. An enjoyable collection.
From 2019, this is quite the nice pop-rock number, combining old-school tunefulness with current production touches. Probably should give some props to producer Jon Levine, who played most of the instruments except for the strings and drums. Of course, it's Alessia who brings the personality to the lead vocal (and some of the backups as well.) Check this out. It's part of an EP that also includes "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)."
The late Salome Bey is widely known as a musical performer, actress, and promoter of the arts, particularly in Canada, which awarded her the Order of Canada for her career achievements. Born in the USA, she made her home in Toronto and was probably better known for her work in African American theatre than for her own musical performances. Nevertheless, she made a number of records, including this 2015 gospel/soul workout for the holidays. Her alto voice is strong, her use of it is very theatrical, and the arrangements of these songs are quite up-to-the-minute soulful. The title song is a midtempo musing on the "Christmas blues," and there are similar themes in "Why Can't the Christmas Spirit Be Always," "Christmastime Christmastime," and "It Is Time We Celebrate." There also are solid versions of "Joy To the World," "O Holy Night," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "What Child Is This," and a fine uptempo take on "Silent Night." Availability is spotty; it's not downloadable anywhere and Amazon only shows hardcopies at premium prices, although I did find it on Spotify. Bey died in 2020 at the age of 86.
As you might have construed from the name, this 2015 collection of indie Christmas tracks originated with a group of musicians in Baltimore, MD. Some of them are lo-fi amateur attempts, others are parodies or comedy bits. Jessie & Hughes pay twisted tribute to Sonny & Cher with "I Got (Snow) Shoes, Babe," Allison Clendaniel & Connor Kizer do "Good Kynge We Siestas" and "In the Bleakly Middle of Winter" over, presumably, a few holiday schnapps, Cricket Arrison takes three different shots at "Christmas at the Dam," Curiosity Rover channels Flaming Lips with the electro-pop anthem "Please Ask Santa If There's Christmas On Mars," as does The Dan Lips' version of "Some of White Christmas," and Tim Whatley & the Wenkers repurpose "Heat Miser" into "The Regifter Song." Ben O'Brien does a doomy parody of Melissa Etheridge on "Come To My Driveway," Dina Kelberman covers Mono Puff's "Careless Santa," Frogman performs Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" for some reason, and Meredith Moore takes a crack at "Hard Candy Christmas." Lola Pierson performs "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy," Jimmy Joe Roche mutates "Jingle Bells" on his "Jingk," and Becca Morrin & Jared Paolini tinsels up the theme from TV classic "Cheers." Then there's Alan Resnik's series of five demented holiday songs sprinkled throughout the playlist, each named "Chick-fa-la-la-la-la" followed by the names of cities, in which he cold-calls a Chick-fil-a restaurant, identifies himself as a 12-year-old boy (unconvincingly), and sings one of his songs over the phone. They're entertaining enough in a Wild Man Fischer on his meds sort of way, but maybe a few too many in total number. The folks behind Baltimas also made compilations in 2014 and 2016, and you can find them all on Bandcamp.
