This is the point in the Mistletunes publish cycle when I'm pushing out the annual mix disc (watch the left sidebar for the liner notes in a few days now, meanwhile the disc is on its way to the usual suspects). But Christmas music news never stops, so here's a few items to hold you over.
- Esquire has a pretty neat roundup of what it calls the 30 best alternative Christmas songs. I'm pleased to note just about all of them have been immortalized here in the past. A bonus reason to click through is that every song is accompanied by a video for easy listening.
- Gareth Jones, whose music podcast has been crossing the Internets from Old Blighty for a number of years now, and who once hosted yours truly on said podcast, takes to the electric Internet post office to tell us his Christmas show is now up for your delectation. Rachel Neiman, label boss of Cherryade Records, maker of nearly a decade's worth of original Christmas compilations, is a guest, along with Slow Club. A previous year's show featuring Shonen Knife is also available via Gareth's archives.
- WXPN-FM in Philadelphia has been doing the 12 Days of Christmas with a new song by a local Philly artist each day, and they promise the whole kit 'n caboodle will be downloadable shortly. UPDATE: Make that now. Meanwhile, they've got a live stream of Jingle Jams.
- And finally, I have to tip my hat to old pal Stubby, who found this great song way ahead of me -- it's on his annual compilation and it's not on mine as a result of me not knowing about it until he sent it to me. There's a whole album connected to this fine tribute to a great artist, and I'll have something up on it soon, but meanwhile, enjoy "No Lou This Christmas" by Tom Dyer & His Queen's Pajamas.
Here's a new batch of holiday tunes from Kansas City area bands, recording for the Midwest Music Foundation, a nonprofit that helps local musicians with medical bills, among other things. The compilation is free (with donations accepted), and the MMF is hoping for online votes in Boulevard Brewing's charitable giving contest. I'm a longtime reader of Mistletunes and compiler of annual Christmas mixes, and I was delighted to be asked to brainstorm ideas for songs and bands in the early days of this project. About half of my initial picks became reality, which is still kind of miraculous to me. I hope you enjoy the results.
https://midwestmusicfoundation.bandcamp.com/