With his trademark Wall of Sound, Spector’s curated mix of holiday tunes pushes the limits of Christmas music—whether it’s tweaking the lyrics of “White Christmas” or writing his own in “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. Spector, a Jew born on Christmas day, did what few were, or are, capable of doing. He made the largesse—both genuine and contrived—of Christmas even bigger.
Category: Holiday
A Reflection: Vince Guaraldi Trio — A Charlie Brown Christmas
There’s loneliness and companionship, joy and despair, truth-seeking and blithe celebration, all during what’s marketed to be the most wonderful time of the year. Your interpretation of the season begets your holiday spirit, whatever version it may be — bah humbug and good tidings. It’s little surprise then that Charlie Brown’s soundtrack, as well as our own, is something just as introspective and shifting. Something like jazz.
Lit Up Like A Christmas Tree: Vol I & II (A Vintage Holiday Mixtape)
Ah yes, go ahead and inhale the fecund ether of the season. Lit Up Like A Christmas celebrates the, er, other side of seasonal tidings – holiday esoterica from the far corners of vintage jazz, […]
Christmas Jambree :: A Vintage Jamaican Yuletide Mixtape
Yuletide in Jamaica glides in each December on what the locals call the Christmas Breeze, a slightly crisper air that tends to waft through the island this time of year. The other seasonal harbinger is […]
A Reflection: Vince Guaraldi Trio — A Charlie Brown Christmas
Lucy Van Pelt loves the beautiful sound of clinking nickels. She wants real estate for Christmas. Snoopy challenges passersby to find the true meaning of Christmas by winning “money, money, money” in his “spectacular super […]
Damien Jurado :: Christmas Time Is Here (Vince Guaraldi)
Damien Jurado takes on Vince Guaraldi’s yuletide classic, “Christmas Time Is Here.” Culled from 90% of your social circle’s favorite Christmas album , it’s a brave choice met with spirited results. Damien Jurado :: Christmas Time Is Here Related: Do not miss our interview with drummer Jerry Granelli discussing his work with the […]
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ Drummer Jerry Granelli :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
For many listeners, the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s music for 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas represents the best of the season, its sounds patient, relaxed, and warm. For drummer Jerry Granelli, it’s all those things, but it’s also […]
Clifton’s Corner :: Volume 27 – Stone Soul Christmas – A Mixtape
(Volume 27 of Clifton’s Corner . Clifton Weaver, aka DJ Soft Touch , shares some of his favorite spins, old and new, in the worlds of soul, r&b, funk, psych and beyond.) The long, strange year that has been 2016 […]
A Christmas Gift For You…From Phil Spector
If you have a window near, go ahead and look outside. Chances are, there are some Christmas lights up somewhere within view. In the coming weeks, you’ll probably frantically brave mall crowds and horrific parking […]
Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas :: Soundtrack (1977)
It’s the second week of December. The egg nog is spiked, the Christmas tree is trimmed, and if you grew up in the 80s, Jim Henson’s 1977 holiday epic, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas , really needs no further […]
Tom Waits :: Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
In December of 1978, Tom Waits recorded an episode of Austin City Limits. The now-mainstay music program was in its relative infancy – only its fourth season – and had built a solid fanbase of […]
Lit Up Like A Christmas Tree: Vol I & II (A Vintage Holiday Mixtape)
“Haul out the holly!! Put up the tree before my spirit falls aga…” Nope, just kidding, none of that here. Conversely, Lit Up Like A Christmas celebrates the, er, other side of seasonal tidings — […]
Marc Bolan :: T. Rexmas
We’re not sure who the mysterious folks behind the Bolan Boogie Bandcamp are, and even less sure how we missed the 4-track T.Rexmas! EP they uploaded last December, but here it is. T.Rexmas! is mainly built around the stomping […]
The Beatles :: Christmas Singles Club, 1963-1969
From 1963 to 1969 the Beatles issued limited edition Christmas fan-club singles on 7 inch flexi-discs. All very relaxed and off the cuff, it’s interesting to note how the cover art changed, along with the […]
A Christmas Gift For You…From Phil Spector
If you have a window near, go ahead and look outside. Chances are, there are some Christmas lights up somewhere within view. In the coming weeks, you’ll probably frantically brave mall crowds and horrific parking […]