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Welcome To Hip Christmas! I think you'll enjoy my
dysfunctionally vast web archive dedicated to holiday music that rocks, rolls, swings, and twangs. If you do, please support
me by shopping at Amazon, iTunes,
and Sheet Music Plus! Regardless, the best of
the season to you - no matter what month it is! [about me] |
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A Christmas Gift For You. For a brief time, I'm offering free MP3's of a five
treasures from my voluminous collection - songs I love (or love to hate) and that I'm confident you
can't find easily at any store. For the second year in a row, we celebrate criminal justice reform with five songs about Christmas in prison, including rare treats by Neko Case and Paul Kelly. [listen or download] |
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What's New In 2016? I've scoured the interweb and compiled a big ol' list of this years Christmas releases, including Top 10 picks. As December proceeds, we'll see more singles and digital freebies, but the big news is already in, including new Loretta Lynn, old Ventures, and tons of vinyl. [gimme gimme] |
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the Christmas Jukebox. My online Christmas music player is bulging with over 350 hip tunes - and counting!
Now you can listen to the music I write about - the coolest, weirdest, and loudest holiday songs ever. All while enjoying my inimitable prose.... [press play] |
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Welcome to the 21st Century - again! Last year, I finally piled onto the social media scrum, and I'm looking forward to sharing new releases, golden oldies, and misfit toys for a second year. Check out the Hip Christmas Facebook page, and follow me for maximum holiday fun. [zucker my berg] |
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Sign of the Times. This year, I admitted that I can't keep up with the annual online torrent of new Christmas music. As if on cue, one of the year's highest profile releases, Jeremih & Chance the Rapper's Merry Christmas Lil' Mama, was posted for streaming only. [listen now] |
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Cool band, great price! They Might Be Giants have released their first Christmas song in quite a while - well, I think so, but they put out a lot of stuff.... Anyway, it's called "Christmas In The Big House" (which dovetails nicely with my Christmas Gift For You) and it's free! [get it] |
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the Wild Sounds of Christmas. Legendary New York indie Norton records has finally released a compilation of their Christmas singles - formerly available only on vinyl. This is, indeed, wild stuff - download only, proudly mastered from original 45's. [let's rock] |
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The Price Is Right. NoiseTrade's annual Holiday Mixtape features a number of indie standouts including Sloan, the LeeVees, Sugar & The Hi-Lows, and Miranda Dodson. As always, it's free for the taking, but be sure to support those fine artists! [leave a tip] |
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Red-Nosed Red Dirt. You might not think so, but Norman, Oklahoma is hip. The proof lies in the Blackwatch Christmas series, now in it's sixth year. It's presented by Fowler VW, a local car dealership, and all proceeds benefit public school music education. [okay, OK] |
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On Dasher, on Dancer, on Fender, on Strat! I guess the moral of my story is "Christmas music doesn't have to be boring." The Double Crown label has just bolstered my case with the fourth volume of Seasonal Favorites, their fabulous series of surf and garage instrumental rave-ups - some new, some old. [let’s rock] |
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A Kinder, Gentler Amazon. In 2014, Amazon started releasing their own Christmas music via playlists staring with All Is Bright and following up with Indie For The Holidays in 2015. This year they introduce Acoustic Christmas including exclusive tracks from Hayes Carll, Inara George, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, and Bob Schneider. [play me] |
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A Killer Christmas. As is their habit, Las Vegas' favorite sons The Killers are releasing a holiday benefit for the (RED) foundation. This time it's an album - a compilation of all previous singles plus a new track. It's an iTunes exclusive with a limited edition CD on December 9. [get killed] |
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No Holiday Soul Party This Year. Though it wasn't unexpected, I'm incredibly sad to note the passing of Sharon Jones, whose prodigious, funky Christmas output was compiled in last year's It's A Holiday Soul Party. Jones rose to fame late in life, and she left us far too soon. [learn more] |
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Hugs and Kisses For Xmas. For the ninth straight year, our friends at XO Publicity have compiled a free sampler of hip tunes - XO For The Holidays. And, you can still pick up volumes one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight - gratis, as usual. [download now] |
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Better than a tote bag. If you're a Carpenters fan, get ready to support your local PBS station. A newly compiled TV special is airing this season, and you can only get the DVD by pledging. Their albums Christmas Portrait
and Old Fashioned Christmas
are also being reissued this year - not sure what the deal is yet. [learn more] |
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Pretty Pages. Willie Nelson has released a lot of Christmas music in the past 50 years (read more), starting with the now-standard "Pretty Paper, first recorded by Roy Orbison in 1963. This year, with help from renowned biographer David Ritz, Willie's written a whole book based on the song. [buy now] |
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Top 100 Christmas Songs. Countdown to Christmas
Day with these always wonderful, frequently crazy songs - from Phil Spector's celebrated Wall Of
Sound to obscure punk, country, and rhythm & blues. [read
more] |
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Top 20 Christmas Albums. Actually, 40 - I
started unwrapping presents and just couldn't stop! Anyway, who said Christmas music has to be
boring? Not me! These sterling platters will put you in the Christmas spirit faster than you can
say, "Go Cat Go!" [read more] |
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Festive Freebies. These days a lot of new Christmas music is offered outside the world of traditional retail - and for free. However, most websites offer the chance to "name your price" or "tip" - and you should, Mr. Scrooge. The most obvious suspects in Noisetrade, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp - have fun! |
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Jews For Jesus. A surprising number of popular
Jewish entertainers have recorded Christmas albums and songs. From Irving Berlin to Beck, we've
got the shmutz on this strange phenomena. Plus, Jews we wish would record a Christmas
record - and Jews we hope do not! [read more] |
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Horny Holidays. Some people love to bask in
the warm glow of friends and family during the holiday season. Others feel like starting a
family (or something to that effect) at Christmas time. Read about the 20 naughtiest songs in the
history of the holiday. You'll never look at a candy cane quite the same. [read
more] |
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'Tis The Season For Stalkers. In the 50's
and 60's, a number of Christmas songs were recorded about the two most popular artists in rock
history - Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Read about this strange and obscure - and obsessive -
phenomenon. [read more] |
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Christmas In Vietnam. Most holiday music
is escapist. Who, after all, wants to think about death and mayhem during the season of hope? Nevertheless,
the Vietnam war intruded into this idyllic genre during the turbulent 60's, and we examine six
songs that looked at Christmas through the eyes of soldiers and their families. [read
more] |
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Mailbag. Despite the fact that I all but tell them not to (no, really), artists send me stuff, asking me to trumpet their music on my website.
Simply put, I can't keep up. Rather than have them completely waste their time and money, I throw the more substantial submissions on this page and let fate take its course. Hey, it's better than a lump of coal! [open the bag] |
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My Wish List. It
wouldn't be a record collector's website unless I published my wish list - Christmas songs
I'm still hunting down, and songs for which I'd happily barter from my relatively
vast treasure chest. If you have a copy of any of these rare goodies, let's talk! [read more] |
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Humbug Hit Parade. If the annual deluge of holiday music hokum is driving you to suicide-by-fruitcake, Spin Magazine has 25 of the weirdest, darkest, most awesome ought-a-be classics you'll never hear in a mall this season. [read more] |
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Top 40 Christmas Oldies Songs. The web is crammed with blogs and tweets, obscuring the fact that experts might know more than know-it-alls armed with a quick wit and a laptop. To me, that's sad, and this rock solid list from About.com shows why. [read more] |
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12 Worst/Best Songs of Christmas. I enjoyed this list from Spinner Magazine so much that I preserved it after the rag went belly up. I am proud to say I own all 12 best songs of Christmas - and all but one of the worst! [read more] |
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The 12 Plays Of Christmas. The Indie Rock Cafe has published an amazing set of holiday playlists ranging from a handful of classics to an endless supply of genuinely obscure bands sure to thrill the kiddies and stump obsessive collectors. [listen & download] |
