I have this weird thing I do when it comes to the holidays: I just can't listen to holiday music until December 1. But after the first, anything goes! Nothing gets me more pumped than finding a Christmas music diamond in the rough. So I've put together a list of musical jewels I've discovered in the past. And I hope you'll share some of your favorites with me so I can add to my collection.
Indigo Christmas
My all-time favorite Christmas CD is Indigo Christmas. I bought it years ago, can't remember where, maybe Barnes and Noble?? Have just about worn it out. Every track is a fresh, jazzy arrangement guaranteed to coolify any holiday party. So glad it is still available from Amazon. Backup copies have been made just in case!
Bethlehem After Dark
My second-favorite holiday CD is Bethlehem After Dark by featuring Butch Thompson on piano and Laura Sewell on cello, a match made in music heaven. I believe I first heard it on NPR some years ago. Classy without being stuffy - a goal all of us should aspire to!
Straight No Chaser
While sampling Straight No Chaser's (of 12 Days of Christmas 15-million-and-counting-hits-on-YouTube fame) Christmas album, I fell in love with their rendition of Let It Snow. Definitely the hippest version of this literal and figurative Christmas evergreen I have heard. The link below is to a YouTube video of their live performance at a radio station. If you can do without the video, try the album on Spotify instead. Lots of other cool tracks on that album, but this one is my fave.
Straight No Chaser - Let It Snow
Eva Beneke
I heard an interview with Eva Beneke on NPR. She is a world class guitarist. This CD is performed on a vintage Hermann Hauser guitar. Now, I don't know much about guitars. Apparently Hausers are the guitar version of the Stradivarius. The guitar she plays on this CD was on loan from its recent new owner. I checked online and if you want a new one, you are looking at $30,000 and up. A vintage one like this one (1952), one can only wonder what it sold for. I did find a site with a similar guitar for sale. The photos are gorgeous. And if it looks this good, you know it must sound phenomenal.
Anyway - as I was researching this Hauser thing, I clicked on Spotify's holiday playlist. Three songs in, I had to turn it off. So pedestrian, so overdone. I bet you can guess what the first three songs were.* So I turned it off, downloaded Ms. Beneke's beautiful CD, and have been enjoying it ever since.
*Mariah Carey, Bing Crosby, Bruce Springsteen (yawn)
And of course as soon as I snarktweet on Mariah Carey's Christmas song, I see this on Jezebel. Adorable pop-up munchkins: check. Fallon's mad kazoo skills: check. Mariah rockin' it sans Autotune: check. My Christmas is complete.
Jimmy Fallon, Mariah Carey, Roots - All I Want For Christmas is You
August Burns Red
This album first came to my attention when it bobbed to the top of my Spotify holiday music search. The band was completely unknown to me. I was so excited to forward it to my son, the metal band drumming wonder, to show him I was up on the latest metal band news. Of course he had already heard of them. Oh well!
This may not be your holiday music cup of tea, but I guarantee it will be different from anything else in your collection. Thanks to both of my children for keeping me informed about the music scene. Without them, I would never have listened to some of my favorite bands (Audioslave, Incubus, Rage Against The Machine). So kids, keep sending me stuff, and I will keep listening.
Stile Antico
Stile Antico (stee-lay an-TEE-co) roughly translates to 'old style', but that is much too rough a description for the heavenly sounds this British a capella choral group produces. Today's pick is a long concert, but so beautiful and guaranteed a fresh addition to your tired holiday playlist.
Stile Antico concert at St. Paul's Church, Cambridge MA aired on NPR 12/5/12
Whitney Houston
I love music. I really love Christmas music. And if I happen upon a new (to me) Christmas song that hasn't been done to death and can be enjoyed over and over again, well that just makes my day. Hope this one makes yours.
Whitney Houston with The Georgia Mass Choir - Joy To The World
I'm looking forward to adding to my holiday music collection. I'm hearing good things about Kelly Clarkson's Wrapped In Red. Tell me about your favorites in the comments.
I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute and subscribe to my email list.