From All of Us Too: Merry Christmas, various artists (Diet)

Our friends from Gävle, Sweden, who brought us From All of Us last year, are back with another effort from local musicians to benefit homeless services in 2007. This is a fairly eclectic sampling of rock styles, from the piano ballad "This Sacred Night" by Stefan Bjorling to the "American Idol"-friendly "Where R U? Come Christmas" by Emile, an r'nb handclapper. In between are the electro-pop ballad "Christmas Fire" by The Deertracks, Geemo's power pop jangler "Christmas Day," Bob & the Pop's quasi-music hall "Christmas Carol," La Corriente's breathy lament "Christmas in Denial," Chican's profane folk-pop "Scum and Loitering," Derry Quay's semi-Celtic "Deviest Molly," The Ballrom Bettys' punky "Homemade X-Mas Cards," and topping it all off is the epic progressive rock story of "And Terry Takes the Christmas Route" by Beardfish, which no doubt has Jack Black green with envy. Another great job by the guys from Gävle. UPDATE: This used to be orderable from their MySpace page, but a trip there just gives you the chance to stream four songs from it.