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October 31, 2006

Xmas Music Buyer's Guide

While most of you are getting ready to be slutty nurses, or slutty vampires, or slutty Kele Okerekes, we have egg nog and tinsel on our minds. And so does Sufjan! There are so many Xmas records on tap for this season, it's hard not to heed the yule call -- but if you came in need of something to play during your Halloween party tonight, you probably can't get any scarier than Twisted Sister's A Twisted Christmas, which is streaming in full right here. So for your holiday shopping pleasure, here are 15 releases of note this season.

  • Sufjan Stevens - Songs For Christmas. Soof's celebrating Halloween by letting y'all listen to his Xmas collection. This release has been long in the making and he's finally compiled his holiday tunes from the past five years into a tidy boxed set. Go here to stream all five discs and preorder (it'll ship 11/14). Anyone making like Sufjan's Butterfly Brigade for Hallow's Eve?

  • Aimee Mann - One More Drifter In The Snow. You can't go wrong with Aimee in the stocking. This collection has Aimee doing standards and even a Grinch tune! Here's a classic for ya. (Buy At Amazon)

    Aimee Mann - "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (MP3)

  • Twisted Sister - Twisted Christmas. They're rocking the standards like it's the '80s. Again, stream it here. (Buy At Amazon)

  • James Taylor - James Taylor At Christmas. Few voices you'd rather hear in front of a glowing hearth. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Robin Gibb - My Favourite Carols. No Bee Gee has released a Christmas album until now! After selling 100 million records and scoring 8 Billboard #1s, it's time for a Gibb to do it holiday style. Out 11/21 on Koch Records.

  • Clay Aiken - All Is Well. Clay's going Walmart only on this five-song EP. It comes out on 12/22 (that's the EP, not Clay).

  • Bette Midler - Cool Yule. Standards and carols. Perfect your mom. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Brad Paisley - Brad Paisley Christmas. Brad's not into overestimating his audience, hence the succinct title. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Ali Lohan - Lohan Holiday. This one snuck up on you, didn't it? And by "this one," we mean Lindsay's soon-to-be-everywhere kid sister. Anyway, the title track features the original Blowhan, and it's probably a safe bet for your niece or kid sister. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Johnny Mathis - A 50th Anniversary Christmas Celebration. Perfect for grandpa. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong. This is Sarah's first release since '03's Afterglow, and has Pierre Marchand once again on production. Holiday standards join Joni's "River" and Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" and Sarah's pristine beam of a voice. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Wynonna Judd - A Classic Christmas. She's been up, she's been down, and now she's doing Christmas. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Various Artists - How Cool Is That Christmas. Rachael Ray is totally capitalizing on Forbes deeming her America's second most trustworthy celebrity by curating an Xmas album. And ya know what? People will bite. To her credit, she did get that Bowie/Bing Crosy "Little Drummer Boy" on there. (Buy At Amazon)

  • Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Christmas, Vol. 3. Doesn't matter what's on it, something about these collections annoy the fuck out of us.

  • Hall & Oates - Home For Christmas. It's their first ever Xmas release! Keep your eyes peeled for some promo gigs on Extra and Today.

    We know it's not too early for Christmas, 'cause just today we got our first piece of Xmas spam! Happy Holidays, everybody!

    Posted at 10:47 AM in
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    15 Comments

    What about the DB's "It's Christmas Time Again" re-issue with the DB's, Big Star, Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Whiskeytown, Ted Lyons, etc.? http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Time-Again-dBs-Friends/dp/B000IAZNDG/sr=8-3/qid=1162311432/ref=sr_1_3/002-2702814-1620062?ie=UTF8&s=music

    Posted by: tocci at 10/31/06 11:17 AM | Reply
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    I probally shouldn't have laughed at the clay aiken joke as loud as I did but meh. Also is anyone else excited about a brand new Sarah McLachlan cd or is it just the Canadian in me getting excited?

    Posted by: jon at 10/31/06 11:18 AM | Reply
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    slutty devil! slutty devil!

    Posted by: cat dirt at 10/31/06 11:27 AM | Reply
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    Slutty Kim Jong Il

    Posted by: scott at 10/31/06 11:57 AM | Reply
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    Just buy the Fahey christmas albums. Your kids love american primitave fingerstyle.

    Posted by: dannygutters at 10/31/06 12:10 PM | Reply
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    My label, Double Crown Records, is reissuing a 19 track Christmas surf/garage rock comp called Seasonal Favorites. Lots of great bands from around the world, including The Space Cossacks, Jon & The Nightriders, Frigg A Go Go, The Lunatics, The Neptunas and more. Available for preorder at http://www.dblcrown.com

    Posted by: Double Crown Records at 10/31/06 1:58 PM | Reply
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    I was thinking about going as slutty Kele, but I'm totally going as a slutty terrorist instead.

    Posted by: amrit at 10/31/06 4:36 PM | Reply
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    This is real helpful, thanks. I am a thing for the Christmas music. A sickness that grows every year, really. And you've added to my collection ... or allowed me to do so, even more (already have the Aimee and Sarah in my hot, hot hands).

    Posted by: Dainon at 10/31/06 4:46 PM | Reply
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    How can you mention Hall & Oates without giving a shoutout to Kenny Loggins' December?

    Posted by: Kenny Bloggins at 10/31/06 4:51 PM | Reply
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    This Christmas all the cool kids will be listening to Bootsy Collins' "Christmas Is 4 Ever." In fact, it drops tonight. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,3792196,00.html

    Posted by: Dale Cruse at 10/31/06 9:39 PM | Reply
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    Ugh, I'm no Scrooge, but it's 70 degrees in NYC today and we're talking Christmas seasonal music?
    Bite me.

    Posted by: Dfactor at 11/01/06 9:53 AM | Reply
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    Call me an old fart if you choose, but just about all modern holiday music is uniformly awful. In order to offend the least amount of religious persuasion and, in turn, rake in the most cash, we get treatise on weather. Songs involving precipitation won't offend Christian, Jew or Muslim, but yet another reading of "nice and rosy and comfy cozy" just makes me want to barfy-warfy.

    Then there are the promotional tie-in recordings, the contract fillers shoved onto whatever pop star is readily available, the collections that make you wanna shout, "What Th..?!" (I'm thinking of that Star Wars Christmas Album right about now).

    No, just give me Perry Como, Mario Lanza, maybe some old King Cole and I'll be fine. And leave that damned Disco Christmas thing home, else I'll shank you with a candy cane carved into a jailhouse shiv.

    DwD

    Posted by: Dw. Dunphy at 11/03/06 11:13 PM | Reply
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    Brad Paisley is pretty awesome, actually.

    Seriously.

    Posted by: harry blazer at 12/01/06 3:01 AM | Reply
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    This is my first C D that I am Intraducing to the world. Please give me some feedback on this product. ( Have A Steel Drum Christmas )

    Sel Wheeler

    Posted by: Sel Wheeler at 07/15/07 10:42 AM | Reply
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    Where are the best places to buy and sell new music on the internet?

    Posted by: Aaron Wolfson at 10/23/07 5:09 AM | Reply
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    Leave a comment


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