It's Begining to Sound Alot Like Christmas Pt 1

Here it is, the 1st of December, and i've had my iPod pumping out Christmas tunes for the last 3 days. in truth, though, i started hunting for new music back in October. anyway, thanks to iTunes Essentials and their Genius program here are the highlights of what i got...

1. Mr. Heatmiser (the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies): Christmas is all about covers and this one is three shades of fabulous since it's from Santa Claus is Coming to Town, which is one of the best of the Claymation Christmas specials.

2. Christmas Baby Please Come Home (Death Cab for Cutie): though not my favorite version of this song (that would be Cher's from Another Rosie Christmas), this one is pretty damn good; it's haunting and mellow and really sentimental.

3. Ole Santa & Silent Night (Dinah Washington): i totally love her voice and had no idea she had any Christmas music in her repertoire. She's so sultry and jazzy; think Eartha Kitt meets Shirley Bassey...

4. With Bells On & Hard Candy Christmas (Dolly Parton): now, lemme say, i'm totally not a fan of country music but there's just something about Dolly. i'd only heard these songs sung by, of all people, RuPaul on her Christmas album (Ho! Ho! Ho!), but the originals totally blow those away thanks to Dolly's plaintive warble and that retro-seventies sound.

5. My Kind of Holiday* (Elliot Yamin): he has got such a wonderfully soulful and rich voice that lends itself very well to Christmas music; his traditional covers are fantastic but his non-traditional stuff (Backdoor Santa, a Very Merry Christmas, Christmas Without Carol, Let's Be Naughty and Save Santa the Trip, Warm Me Up,) are even better. i highly recommend picking them up.

6. A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas* (Kristen Chenoweth): an all around good Christmas album which deserves a place on the shelf next to Andy Williams, Bing Crosby and Doris Day. Kristen has such a delightfully sweet voice which makes the transition from Broadway to holiday seamlessly. the only odd choice is Sing, which i only remember from Sesame Street and doesn't seem to have anything to do with Christmas and is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head for days.

7. O Holy Night (Illicit mix) (Kristine W): another remix of Kristine's version of O Holy Night; it's typical Illicit; dancey and funky and fun.

8. Silent Night (Lifehouse): a great pop/rock rendition.

9. a New Thought for Christmas* (Melissa Etheridge): Mel's fun. She's rocky and bluesy and gritty and raw and somehow it translates well into a christmas album. not my favorite but it does have some good tracks.

10. Merry Christmas to Everyone (Pink Noise radio edit) (More!): more christmas dance music; fun and a little trancey but not weird/spacey like those Verve remix and Chill-Out cd's.

11. Merry Merry Christmas* (the New Kids on the Block): it's terrible; absolutely awful and not worth the $7 i paid for it, but i love it. it's got all the flavor of '80's/90's pop Christmas music like Wham's Last Christmas and the entire Very Special Christmas cd.

12. Jingle Bells (the Puppini Sisters): Bri-the-Pie-Guy recommended them to me, like a hundred years ago and somehow i never got around to downloading anything by them till now. they're terrific! like the Andrew's Sisters but better! it's a shame there's only 2 songs on the single, but their version of Silent Night is just wonderful.

13. Coming Out at Christmas (the San Francisco's Gay Men's Chorus): hysterically fabulous a capella! a must have!

14. Santa Baby (Sheila E): i'm pretty sure i now own every version of this song, ever made...now i can die. Sheila E's cover is cute and latiny, though a bit long; still it's nice to hear somehthing by her other than the Glamorous Life.

15: the Twelve Days of Christmas (Straight no Chaser): Nil posted this video on her blog last year and i stumbled upon it on iTunes. very cute.

*album title