Merry Christmax & Happy Neu Jeers
Merry Christmax & Happy Neu Jeers
Last year, I shared The Holidays Are All Plaidout. This year is a bit different. I began a playlist on December 26th of 2012, adding to it songs I’d hear, songs I’d read about throughout the year that reminded me of Christmas or of New Year’s Eve. The edited list includes many new discoveries and other songs like Joni Mitchell’s “River” or The Zombies’ “This Will Be Our Year” which have not appeared on a Christmas mix of mine. Speaking of, in addition to last year’s list, using Spotify I have also created a mix I shared with friends in 2005 of my family’s favorite Christmas songs, another mix of true Christmas Classics (all of these songs appeared in the Billboard Top Ten upon their initial release), an unedited list of music for New Year’s Eve Parties, and of course a mix of Christmas music sung by Willie Nelson, who, it turns out, may actually be Santa Claus.
This mix lacked a title until a couple days ago when I mistakenly typed “Merry Christmax” in an e-mail. With that, I give you this year’s slightly edited playlist of holiday tunes, broken up into suites.
Merry Christmax & Happy Neu Jeers
A Country Christmas Suite
1) Buck Owens – Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy
2) Loretta Lynn – Country Christmas
3) Peter Rowan – Christmas Time’s A-Coming
4) John Hiatt – Wintertime Blues
5) Alabama – Christmas in Dixie
6) The Everly Brothers – Christmas Eve Can Kill You
7) Elvis Presley – Santa Claus Is Back In Town
8) Merle Haggard – Goin’ Home For Christmas
9) Tammy Wynette – Blue Christmas
10) George Jones and Gene Watson – Silver Bells
11) Johnny Doe – Go Tell It On The Mountain
12) Dick Dale – It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
13) Townes Van Zandt – Snowin’ on Raton
14) John Prine – A John Prine Christmas
15) Robert Earl Keen – Merry Christmas From The Family
16) Hayes Carll – Grateful For Christmas
17) Willie Nelson – December Days
18) Tim O’Brien – Christ Was Born in Bethlehem
The Strings Suite
19) Jorma Kaukonen – Downhill Sleighride
20) Earl Scruggs – Jingle Bells
21) Elizabeth Cotten – New Year’s Eve
22) John Fahey – Irish Medley
23) John Fahey – Joy to the World
24) Branches – Holy, Holy, Holy
25) Early Music New York – New-Year’s Eve
A Sprinkling of Jazz and Soul Suite
26) Vince Guaraldi Trio – Greensleeves
27) Russell Malone – O Christmas Tree
28) Ray Charles – The Snow Is Falling
29) Bobby Darin – Christmas Auld Lang Syne
30) Ella Fitzgerald – The Secret of Christmas
31) Shirley Horn, Dimitri Tiomkin, & John Wallowitch – Come a Little Closer / Wild is the Wind
32) Otis Redding – White Christmas
33) The Swan Silvertones – Great Day in December
34) Victoria Spivey – I Ain’t Gonna Let You See My Santa Claus
35) Rev. J.M. Gates – Gettin’ Ready for Christmas Day
36) Carla Thomas – All I Want For Christmas Is You
37) Leon Redbone – Christmas Island
38) Dion – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
39) Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Ain’t No Chimneys in the Projects
40) Over The Rhine – All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue
A Suite of Baez
41) Joan Baez – Ave Maria
42) Joan Baez – Christmas In Washington
The Twee Suite
43) Catherine Feeny – The Christmas Song
44) The Head And The Heart – Winter Song
45) Oh, Starling – Come
46) Hey Rosetta! – Carry Me Home
47) Sleeping At Last – Snow
48) Birdy – White Winter Hymnal
49) Ray LaMontagne – Winter Birds
50) Iron & Wine – Winter Prayers
51) The Dodos – Winter
52) The Civil Wars – I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
53) Eef Barzelay – Joy to the World
54) Justin Jones – Christmas Night
55) The Lower Lights – Oh Come, All Ye Faithful
56) Beta Radio – The Song the Season Brings
57) Summer Fiction – Christmas Eve for Two
58) Camera Obscura – The Blizzard
59) Blitzen Trapper – Christmas Is Coming Soon!
60) Great Lake Swimmers – Gonna Make It Through This Year
61) Voxtrot – Warmest Part of the Winter
62) The Felice Brothers – Murder by Mistletoe
63) Glen Hansard and Mark Geary – Christmas Biscuits
64) Zach Gill – Silent Night
65) Gordon Lightfoot – Song For A Winter’s Night
66) Leona Naess – Christmas
67) Fiona Apple – Frosty the Snowman
68) Bahamas – Christmas Must Be Tonight
Some Favorites Suite
69) Jimi Hendrix – Little Drummer Boy / Silent Night / Auld Lang Syne
70) Prince – Another Lonely Christmas
71) Prince – A Case of You
72) Joni Mitchell – River
73) The Chieftains and Jackson Browne – The Rebel Jesus
74) Regina Spektor – My Dear Acquaintance
75) The Zombies – This Will Be Our Year
Season’s Greetings to you and yours. Between now and New Year’s, raise as many glasses as humanly possible with the ones you love.
