alt-indie holiday tunes

'Tis the holiday season once again, and as per recent tradition, that means a new mix! As usual, I've tried to include a collection of oddities and oldies that you probably won't get to enjoy as you go about your Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa in-store shopping... If you like what you hear, check out my previous holiday mixes, or plug in the full five-year playlist (of available songs) on Spotify. ∞

Cambridge Holiday mix | Listen on Spotify | YouTube Playlist
Christmas is Coming Soon! - Blitzen Trapper
Christmas Treat (I Wish It Was Christmas Today) - Julian Casablancas
It Must Be Hannukah - Jason Fickel
Christmas Unicorn - Sufjan Stevens
Frosty the Snowman - Cocteau Twins
Gee Whiz, It's Christmas - Carla Thomas
The First Noel - Weezer
Green Grows The Holly - Calexico
All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue - Over The Rhine
My First Christmas (As A Woman) - Vandals
Space Christmas - Allo Darlin'
Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas - Eels
It's Christmas Time - Sammy Timberg
Santa's Drunk - Fathead
Christmas For Cowboys - John Denver
Drummer Boy - Matthew Bryan Beck
Christmas Song - Stars
Someday At Christmas - Stevie Wonder
Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis - Tom Waits
Auld Lang Syne - Andrew Bird

noel, noel

So I'm now in my fourth year of releasing a holiday music mix. (For your listening pleasure, please to check out the 2010, 2009, and 2007 playlists, plus a nice little GeekDad review dating back to last winter.) As in years past, I've included something for everyone... folk, alternative, indie pop, electronic, a cappella, soul, classic rock, and whatever you wanna call Beck's 7-minute spoken-word foray into the Jewish traditions ("spin around and around like a dreidel; kind of science that puts you back in the cradle"). For good measure, I even threw in a poignant protest song from the talented Brett Dennen, who I'm sure would encourage us to #OccupyChristmas. Oh, and please note that the last song is very much NSFW... Happy holidays, everyone! &infin

Cambridge Xmas mix | Listen on Spotify | YouTube Playlist
Merry Christmas, Baby (Please Don't Die) - Crocodiles & Dum Dum Girls
Joy To the World - Future of Forestry
Hazy Shade of Winter - The Bangles
Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto - James Brown
Valley Winter Song - Fountains of Wayne
The Little Drum Machine Boy - Beck
Coventry Carol - Sonos
Silent Night - Boys II Men
Lux Aurumque - Eric Whitacre
The Atheist Christmas Carol - Vienna Teng
Christmas in Prison - John Prine
Christmas Day (I Wish I Was Surfing) - Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler
The Holidays Are Here (And We're Still At War) - Brett Dennen
Little Drummer Boy / Silent Night / Auld Lang Syne - Jimi Hendrix
Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!) - Sufjan Stevens
Have Yourself a Bitter Little Christmas - David Ford
A Christmas Duel - The Hives & Cyndi Lauper