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We've heard from the Maccabeats before regarding Hanukkah, and this 2018 single of the popular dreidel song is in an arrangement you might hear from Straight No Chaser or Pentatonix. Maybe too pop for some, but it's pretty lively.

There's been a slow-rolling trend toward glamorizing Hanukkah over the past couple of decades, mostly as a way of setting it up as the Jewish equivalent of Christmas. My Jewish friends have reminded me on numerous occasions that Hanukkah is actually a minor holiday on their religious calendar. This may explain why collections such as this 2019 compilation are comparatively rare. Some familiar names are on board, some less familiar, but it's an eclectic grouping. I was initially bumfuzzled by opening track "Oh Hanukkah" by Jack Black, as his solo vocal initially felt a bit Tenacious D-like performance-wise. Once the backing vocalists kicked in, I was a lot more comfortable with it. He comes back at the end of the collection with "Chad Gadya (Passover Bonus)" in a similar performance. It's left to Adam Green to inject a little humor with his original story song "Dreidels of Fire." Yo La Tengo, the band that's known for holding Hanukkah residencies with lots of special guests, offers a new original called "Eight Candles" in a sort of French chanson whisper-song arrangement, HAIM covers Leonard Cohen with "If It Be Your Will," and Flaming Lips offer up a typical-for-them original, "Sing It Now, Sing It Somehow." Alex Frankel brings us the synth-pop "Hanukkah in '96," Buzzy Lee continue in that vein with "Give You Everything," Tommy Guerrero performs the original ballad "Dedication," Watkins Family Hour goes bluegrass on "Hanukkah Dance," Craig Wedren sings his original "Sanctuary," and Loudon Wainwright III brings his typical levity to "Eight Nights a Week." All told, it's a kind of public radio-friendly approach to Hanukkah, and you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this.

This just dropped on iTunes, haven't seen it on Amazon, but I'm guessing you won't need much explanation of what this is. Hanukkah Alert, folks! Apparently these guys do this kind of thing a lot, see here. UPDATE: OK, Amazon has this song now.

Before Hanukkah completely passes us by, up-and-comers Haim channel Adam Sandler for us. This is from 2012, a performance for BBC Radio 6.

This is mostly Jewish humor for other Jews, but with Hanukkah bearing down on us I thought I should hurry this onto the site. Rachel Bloom is a comic and actress who cuts lots of short videos for use on YouTube and other sites, and she gathered up a bunch of friends to throw together this short collection of Hanukkah-centric goodies. Highlights include "Chanukah Honey," a parody of "Santa Baby" with a NSFW twist in the very last line; "Happy Epic Chanukah," a heavy metal take on the story of the holiday; "Foreskin Angels," less about the holiday and more about, well, you know; "Judaica," an electro-pop tribute to shopping for Jewish heritage goodies while traveling; "Let Me Be the Cantor In Your Temple," a bit of Wild Man Fischer-inspired ranting (and oh, is that what the kids are calling it this year?); "What Would Hashem Do," a light-hearted look at the extreme punishments described in the Old Testament; and "Think About All the Dead Jews," a klezmer version of "finish your peas, the starving children in India would love them." There are three "Elders of Zion" spoken-word bits that are probably more funny if you're Jewish, as they snark on Jewish stereotypes. Here, check out "Chanukah Honey":

This came out in 2012, and it's an interesting bit of historical analysis cast as a double-disc set in which one disc is Hanukkah and the other is Christmas. The Idelsohn Society is a volunteer historical group that studies Jewish history via music, and they've done a very nice job of presenting it, although the heavy lifting was done in the extensive annotation, which includes an essay by Greil Marcus among others. There aren't any big surprises in the song selections, which cut across all pop genres on the Christmas disc, and of course every Christmas song was performed and written by Jewish artists. The Hanukkah disc has very little pop sensibility, although Woody Guthrie's "Hanukkah Dance" is here as well as Don McLean's "Dreidel," the latter reprised by Luther Dickinson, Jeremiah Lockwood and Ethan Miller in an almost soundalike arrangement for some reason. Most of the rest is more traditional Hanukkah music. The Christmas disc has very little rock, but they did manage to get the Ramones and Bob Dylan in, and Lou Reed delivers a spoken holiday greeting. Theo Bikel performs the folky "Sweetest Dreams Be Thine" and a comedy piece "The Problem" directly addresses the competition between the two holidays. The rest is old-school pop music by Mel Torme, Dinah Shore, Benny Goodman, Danny Kaye, Eddie Cantor, Eddie Fisher, The Ames Brothers, Mitch Miller and that noted klezmer band Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. I bring this to your attention not because it provides a source for your mix discs, but because it's an interesting look at the two holidays together. (Although in 2013 Hanukkah actually starts on Thanksgiving....) The art links to an Amazon download, but you may wish to check the society's site if you're interested in all the annotation or the hardcopy version.

Aimee's Christmas cred is beyond question at this point, with several holiday releases preceding her full Christmas album, and she's made live Christmas shows a permanent part of her performance schedule. This live cut is slight, but it's good for giggles, a Hanukkah Alert, and it's free from her website.

Well, the title surely dispenses with the need for a Hanukkah alert. These guys (and a gal) have been a going concern in the southern California region, playing traditional Jewish songs in the surf music style. (I love that the bass player's name is Steve Bacon, by the way.) For 2011 they tighten the focus of their schtick to the eight crazy nights of light, although a cursory look at their discography suggests they've put "Hava Nagila" on every one of their albums, including this one. They even slip a bit of it into "Shleppin' and Kvetchin'," which features a guest appearance by Duane Eddy (it's really his "Moovin' & Groovin") on those big low strings. Now I'm not Jewish, so I don't have a deep knowledge of the traditional Hebrew folk song repertoire, but I'm guessing that a number of the songs on here are either originals or have been renamed for entertainment's sake. For example, I doubt that "Czech Mate" is a traditional Yiddish song, at least under that name. Info at the website is a bit sketchy in regard to songwriting credits. But I'm pretty sure the title song is an original, which treads a little closer to the Beach Boys/Standells realm than the rest of the album, which is more like the kind of stuff Dick Dale does. Probably due to it being the only tune with vocals, unless you count the Jewish mother bit at the front of "Bubbie's Kitchen." And there's little doubt about the provenance of "Oh Hanukkah" or "Dreidel Dreidel." Eighteen songs may be a bit much for what is a one-joke concept, but there's plenty to like here.

Do I need to say Hanukkah alert? The popular Jewish reggae performer finally drops a single for the eight nights of light in 2010. It's a festive modern reggae performance with pertinent lyrics, though I probably could have written that without listening to it. Those of you who drop a Hanukkah tune into your mix discs routinely should enjoy having this, and of course those of you for whom Hanukkah is the main holiday should like it as well.