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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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What's New In 2017? I've scoured the interweb and compiled a big ol' list of this year's Christmas releases, including my personal Top 10. As December proceeds, we'll see more singles and digital freebies, but the marquee releases are out, including an amazing Beatles box and the first-ever Cheap Trick Christmas album. [gimme gimme] |
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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. This year, I am spotlighting the semi-legendary Midnight Christmas Mess LP's that sprang from New York City's fertile garage rock revival in the 1980's. [listen or download] |
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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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My Face, Your Book. There's a lot going of holiday hilarity over at Facebook, in case you can't get enough on my website - or vice versa. Check out the Hip Christmas page, and follow me for maximum holiday fun. No Russian trolls, please. [like or love] |
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West of Dallas. I just discovered Lindby, an eclectic band from Ft. Worth, has been putting out free Christmas music every year since 2012. While not exactly to my taste - they're too, well, millennial - I'm from Texas, and I like Christmas music, so let's go to Cowtown. [download now] |
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North of the Wall. One festive freebie I've overlooked until now is in its ninth year! Ho! Ho! Ho! Canada is an offering from, oddly enough, an English indie music website called The Line of Best Fit. All the previous volumes are still available, but you'll have to dig deep into the website. [good day, eh] |
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Winter is Here, At Last. With her 1990 album Lost Winter's Dream, Lisa Mychols became a holiday hipster queen. Nearly three decades later, she's back with a brand new digital EP, Winter Is Here, and she hasn't lost a step! Her "Wake Up Christmas" also appears on Santa's Got A GTO Vol. 2 [wake up] |
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Ten Better. Last year, one of the year's highest profile releases, Jeremih & Chance the Rapper's Merry Christmas Lil' Mama, was posted for streaming only. This year, without much ceremony, a "re-wrapped" version with 10 extra tracks is available for download. [oh mama] |
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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 seventh 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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Our Thing. One of my favorite guys, Little Steven (aka Miami Steve Va Zandy, aka Silvio Dante), has covered a song, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)," by one of my favorite bands, the Ramones. What's not to like? [don't fight] |
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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 Austin's Miranda Dodson. As always, it's free for the taking, but be sure to support those fine artists! [get noisy] |
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Santa's Got Another GTO. Rodney Bingenheimer of Los Angeles radio station KROQ has released a sequel to Santa's Got A GTO, his marvelous holiday paean to punks and misfits toys from the Sunset Strip and beyond. Available from Amazon or direct from Gearhead. [hey ho, let's go] |
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13 Days of Xmas. I've been wondering when this would happen. Now I know. Bloodshot Records, the coolest record label in the world, has released an album of all new, mostly original Christmas music. Be afraid, Santa. Be very afraid. [get some] |
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When Christmas Hurts You This Way. The Minus 5's new Christmas album, Dear December, arrives at a poignant time. Leader Scott McCaughey recently suffered a stroke, so buying the album, contributing to his medical fund, or sending your happy thoughts means more than usual. [buy now] |
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Amazon Got Soul. Once again, Amazon is releasing exclusive Christmas music as a playlist, Christmas Soul, which you can stream with Amazon Prime or download with plain ol' cash. Former playlists include All Is Bright (2014), Indie For The Holidays (2015), and Acoustic Christmas (2016). [play me] |
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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] |
