Thursday, November 09, 2006

Christmas Song Inventory

Wherein the Christmas season doesn't start until Santa appears at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, so no music will be played until then


ALOTT5MA was looking for horrific christmas albums. Not too many were offered, but I did see a couple of recommendations I'll be checking out. I try to do an xmas mix CD each year and for this year the plan is to use new music. Either new new, as in I don't currently own it, or at least use albums that usually don't make the mix tape. Here's 2005's mix. And some of what I consider essential holiday music.

For comparison, I give you the 2004 mix:
  1. Christmas Wrapping, The Waitresses
  2. Back Door Santa, Clarence Carter
  3. Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, The Jackson 5
  4. A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square, The Manhattan Transfer
  5. Christmas Piglet, Presidents of the United States
  6. Rudolph the Manic Reindeer, Los Lobos
  7. The Night Before Christmas, The Chipmunks
  8. Jingle Bells, Rockin Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters
  9. Auld Lang Syne, Michael Doucet
  10. Mele Kalikimaka, Poi Dog Pondering with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
  11. Merry Christmas, Baby, Otis Redding
  12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, Jimmy Smith
  13. Twelves Days of Christmas, Bob and Doug McKenzie
  14. Overture - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  15. Toot Toot Tootie Toot - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  16. Peanut Brittle Brigade - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  17. Sugar Rum Cherry - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  18. Entr'acte - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  19. The Volga Vouty - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  20. Chinoiserie - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  21. Danse Of The Floreadores - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington
  22. Arabesque Cookie - NutCracker Suite, Duke Ellington



I am now requesting suggestions for albums or songs.

Checking iTunes, my Christmas Play List has 32 xmas albums and a handful of individual songs for a total of 452 individual tracks. I'll divide the albums into Great, Ok, and Hit Skip.

Great
  • 1940's Christmas
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas
  • A Creole Christmas
  • Alligator Stomp, Volume 4: Cajun Christmas
  • Charles Brown's Cool Christmas Blues
  • Jimmy Smith: Christmas Cookin'
  • Holidays On Ice, David Sedaris (Santaland Diaries)
  • How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Boris Karloff
  • Jackson 5 Christmas Album
  • Jingle All The Way (Soundtrack) -- only because it's my only copy of Backdoor Santa
  • Merry Christmas from the Chipmunks
  • Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
  • The McGarrigle Christmas Hour
  • Three Suites, Duke Ellington (NutCracker Suite)
  • VH1's The Big 80's – Christmas

OK
  • 20th Century Masters - The Christmas Collection: The Best of Stevie Wonder
  • John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together
  • A Dave Brubeck Christmas
  • A Very Special Christmas 2
  • Acoustic Christmas
  • Blue Yule: Christmas Blues And R&B Classics
  • Christmas Island, Jimmy Buffet
  • James Brown's Funky Christmas
  • Just Say Noel
  • Klezmer Nutcracker, Shirim
  • O Come All Ye Faithful
  • State Farm Holiday Collection, Volume Three, Steve Barta
  • The Ultimate Christmas Album Volumes 3 & 4

Just skip
  • Barbra Streisand: A Christmas Album
  • Christmas In The Caribbean, Holiday Songs Performed On Steel Drums
  • Christmas On The Beach, Master Tone
  • Rudolph, Frosty and Friends' Favorite Christmas Songs


And the scattered singles. Some are tucked away on other CDs and some were individual purchases.
  • Nutrocker, Emerson, Lake & Palmer (I Believe in Father Christmas - EP)
  • Fairytale Of New York, The Pogues (If I Should Fall From Grace With God)
  • A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, The Manhattan Transfer (Mecca for Moderns)
  • Merry Christmas, Baby, Otis Redding
  • White Christmas, Otis Redding
  • Speedy's Night Before Christmas (1983), Joe Soucheray, Patrick Reusse (The Best Of Sportstalk – Volume 1)
  • Dueling Christmas Carols (1984), Joe Soucheray, Patrick Reusse (The Best Of Sportstalk – Volume 1)
  • Gee Whiz It's Christmas, Carla Thomas (The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968, Volume 3)
  • All I Want For Christmas Is You, Carla Thomas (The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968, Volume 7)
  • Another Lonely Christmas, Prince (The Hits / The B-Sides (Box Set))
  • One More Sleep 'til Christmas, Kermit the Frog and Paul Williams (The Muppet Show: The 25th Anniversary Collection)
  • I Was Born On Christmas Day, Saint Etienne (Tiger Bay)
  • I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, John Wesley Harding
  • Talking Christmas Goodwill Blues, John Wesley Harding (God Made Me Do It: The Christmas EP)
  • Merry Christmas Brother, Gordon Gano/ Cynthia Gayneau (Hitting The Ground)
  • White Christmas, Sandra Bernhard (Without You I'm Nothing)
  • Cantique de Noel, Prudence Johnson
  • Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis, Tom Waits (Blue Valentine)

4 Comments:

Blogger Icepick said...

I don't see Run-DMC or The Kinks anywhere. Or are they buried in the compilations?

11/10/2006 07:53:00 AM  
Blogger bill said...

Christmas Is, Run-DMC (from one of the compilations)

No Kinks.

11/10/2006 09:58:00 AM  
Blogger reader_iam said...

Bill: Did I know you DJ'd in college and just forgot about it completely? Or did you keep this from me?

As of for your holiday selection: LOL. My college radio station audience would have loved that. Don't know that one could get away with it now, though.

11/10/2006 10:56:00 AM  
Blogger bill said...

DJing -- I think it's been mentioned. Took me awhile to become a regular college student, not until the early-mid 90s. Small school, smaller station. Maybe 7 watts? Mgmt was always pretty liberal -- play anything you want during your 2-hour shift, just try to stay away from stuff you'd hear on the commercial stations.

Staff was pretty evenly split between the hiphop and metal guys, with a few alternative DJs. I'd play anything and alter my playlist depending on what type of music was on before me. I'd do stuff like switch from Public Enemy to Gershwin, read Dr. Suess over heavy metal, and play civil defense records picked up at garage sales. Plenty of normal stuff too. There soon developed something called "Bill music." A label would send us a CD no one could genre-fy and I'd get it.

11/10/2006 11:22:00 AM  

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