2 days until December

The past few years I have grown to like Christmas music more and more. My tastes may not be traditional, but I do like Christmas music. List 5 albums you generally liken to this time of year. They don't have to be "Christmas" albums, but if they are not, comment on why you choose to listen to them at this time of year.

Bjork - Medulla is one on my list that, upon it's release last year, I had listened to a lot at Christmas time, and has that December feel with choirs and celestial timing. I spun it this morning, and will be spun a few more times guaranteed in the month(s) to come.

Top 5:

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi
(I've been known to play this in the summer, and usually do, now, with no questions asked. In my Top 100 all-time)

2. Christmas - Low
3. Christmas - Bruce Cockburn
4. Bjork - Medulla
5. The Christmas Album - Neil Diamond

Honourable Mention: Time Out - Dave Brubeck Quartet

A Christmas Gift to You From Phil Spector is and will always be the album by which all other Christmas albums are measured.

edit: A Charlie Brown Christmas is really good too.

Will Downing's christmas set from last year - what an effort!!

quote:

Originally posted by dano:
A Christmas Gift to You From Phil Spector is and will always be the album by which all other Christmas albums are measured.

edit: A Charlie Brown Christmas is really good too.

The Phil Spector album is one of my favorites too, and Charlie Brown is a given. A few other favorites are:

"The Ventures Christmas Album"
"Elvis' Christmas Album"
"Reggae Christmas From Studio One" - This may be at the top of the list. If you haven't heard it, check it out.

I like "Christmas Caravan" by the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Double Crown records released a now sold-out surf instrumental v/a comp "Seasonal Favorites: Volume One" which was very good. I also liked the power pop seasonal v/a selection, "Hi-Fi Christmas Party" from a few years back.

The first couple "A Very Special Christmas" comps from the late 80s/early 90s had some good moments, I thought. I've meant to get a copy of James Brown's "Funky Christmas" album. Maybe this year I will.

Get a copy of James Brown's Funky Christmas! It may be my all time favorite James Brown album. Any Christmas album that has Charles Brown (the blues singer) on it, and Nat King Cole's Christmas music- and old copy w/out his daughter messing things up.

I enjoy listening to Handels's Messiah - A Soulful Celebration. Its pretty cool... every song from the Messiah is done in a different style of black music... from Negro Spiritual to Ragtime to Gospel to Hip Hop.

Some of the songs are that cheesy sounding early 90's vibetron balladry that I don't like but you take the good with the bad.

Christmas music becomes the target of my intense hatred this time of year. I work in a (sigh) grocery store and I'm subjected to non-stop Christmas music everyday after Thanksgiving. In short, it's hell soundtracked by Christina Aguilera's nauseating take on "This Christmas." But I do have a few favorites:

A Charlie Brown Christmas - I can't agree more with this. The only Christmas album I own (I realize this post is supposed to be about albums, my apologies.) It's great no matter what time of year, just beautiful music. Anyone know if any of Vince Guaraldi's other work is as good as this?

"Wonderful Christmas Time" - Wings - Weird, but weirdly lovable

"Blue Christmas" - Elvis Presley

"White Christmas" - Michael Bolton - This is purely for novelty's sake. Bolton sounds like he's absolutely haunted by the very White Christmases he's dreaming of. It's like a train wreck, really.

Anything by the Walkmen reminds me of Christmas/Winter, but their "Christmas Party" is especially suiting.

quote:

Originally posted by jackson frost:
Christmas music becomes the target of my intense hatred this time of year. I work in a (sigh) grocery store and I'm subjected to non-stop Christmas music everyday after Thanksgiving. In short, it's hell soundtracked by Christina Aguilera's nauseating take on "This Christmas."

So, so sorry, jf. I used to dread how we overplayed Christmas music when I worked in a record store many years ago, but at least we got to choose our poison.

quote:

Originally posted by jackson frost:
A Charlie Brown Christmas - I can't agree more with this. The only Christmas album I own (I realize this post is supposed to be about albums, my apologies.) It's great no matter what time of year, just beautiful music. Anyone know if any of Vince Guaraldi's other work is as good as this?

Absolutely, jf. Not only does Guaraldi's work stand up well outside of his considerable body of work scoring the Peanuts specials, but he actually managed to have something of a hit single outside of "Linus & Lucy" with his composition "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." Check out his Greatest Hits on Fantasy for that track and good, general overview of his career.

Now Playing: "Sid's Ahead" Miles Davis Milestones

quote:

"Wonderful Christmas Time" - Wings - Weird, but weirdly lovable

"Blue Christmas" - Elvis Presley

I agree with these two. I love your description of "Wonderful Christmas Time," It really is weirdly lovable!

I know it's early, don't shoot me, but I just bought a used cd copy of James Brown's Santa's Got A Brand New Bag and it's high on my fave Christmas album list. Can't beat "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto" and "Soulful Christmas" for pure R&B heart and funky soul. This album is a compilation of Brown's other three yule-time records and worth hunting down, good God ya'll, find it now!

What a coincidence....10 minutes before coming onto Metacritic I put on A Charlie Brown Christmas...Linus and Lucy currently playing....good timing for any new album suggestions.
Sarah Mclaghlin just released a new one....haven't heard it though..

Merry Christmas everyone!!! ooops, too early for that.

How about this? Any of you work in a record store at Christmas time and hear A Charlie Brown Christmas HUNDREDS of times each year, then you tell me if you EVER want to hear it again. I used to think it was alright. Now I absolutely HATE it. Words cannot express my contempt for Vince Guaraldi now. Not to detract from the work, which I originally enjoyed and can totally understand others enjoying.

I hate Christmas music more than life itself during the month of December. You'd think that a bunch of snobby record store clerks would try to give people something slightly different to listen to during the holiday while they're shopping, but NOOOOOO.....
Every year our owner insists that we play only Christmas records.

So anyway, two that I like are:
Jingle Cats Generally the bane of most people's existence, I believe there might be some soundclips up on allmusic that you could check out if one were so inclined. It is what it sounds like, a bunch of cats meowing Christmas tunes tunelessly. I have been banned from playing this at work at Christmas, every year I buy another copy and every year my co-workers either purposefully break it or hide it from me.

The Magic Organ - The Musical Magic of Christmas This one is super cheesy organ sounds and very simple percussion arrangements. It has a weird, lonely quality that makes it more tolerable than most others to me.

The Carpenters' A Christmas Portrait, because Karen Carpenter's voice is the aural equivalent of hot buttered rum and because it includes my favorite Christmas song, "Merry Christmas Darling".

My mom's a big fan of that Carpenter's Xmas album. It's pretty good.

Of course, the Charlie Brown one is golden. It really makes that Charlie Brown Christmas special. I still say the Garfield Christmas special is the better one though.

One Xmas album I've really come to love is the solo piano album by David Lanz. It's called Christmas Eve and it includes his very good interpretations of traditional Christmas songs as well as several excellent originals. I've learned to play many of these songs on the piano, and they're about the only songs I have any desire to play on the piano anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by jonathanbrisby:
So anyway, two that I like are:
Jingle Cats Generally the bane of most people's existence, I believe there might be some soundclips up on allmusic that you could check out if one were so inclined. It is what it sounds like, a bunch of cats meowing Christmas tunes tunelessly. I have been banned from playing this at work at Christmas, every year I buy another copy and every year my co-workers either purposefully break it or hide it from me.

The Magic Organ - The Musical Magic of Christmas This one is super cheesy organ sounds and very simple percussion arrangements. It has a weird, lonely quality that makes it more tolerable than most others to me.

Jingle Cats, that sounds hilarious. That second one sounds interesting though, as I am generally a fan of the organ as well as lonely music.

Oh god, there was a video for Jingle Cats I saw this morning and it was the most hideous thing I've ever seen. I'll have to find it again and show all of you.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Lv_-jO4o5Xo

And here it is.

Awesome! (ha ha ha)