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A Christmas bonus

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In addition to Steve Jones' playlist, published Tuesday, Brian Mansfield offers a Christmas bonus list. Meanwhile, in lists that you're compiling or voting for, keep the best songs nominations coming in -- right now there's a huge list of songs but very little consensus, so I'm hoping a longer voting period will establish some clear favorites.  Also, let me know your favorite albums of the year, and we'll put together a list of those as well.

Meanwhile, here's Brian's list of out-of-the-ordinary holiday music:

O Holy Night, Troy Andrews, et al.: The Dec. 4 episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip featured a gorgeous rendition of this song by trumpeter Troy Andrews and other New Orleans musicians. It's available from the NBC website.

Christmas on the Beach, Irene: Swedish pop-rockers bring a little of the Phil Spector sound to this ode to sand and starlight.

The Finest Gifts, Bullette & Hangnail Phillips: Delaware singer/songwriter Monika Bullette's website has several Christmas tunes, including this original duet from 2004.

Christmas Reindeer, The Knife: This icily electronic oddity from a Swedish brother-and-sister duo has been the holiday hit of the indie-rock blogosphere.

Another Christmas at Home, Eux Autres: This brother-and-sister duo hails from Portland, Ore., and offers up a shuffling indie-rock tune about returning home for the holidays.

Super Sharp Santa, Amillionsons: This British trio brings a drum 'n' bass beat to the holidays.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Aaron Shust: Contemporary Christian singer Shust brings a Middle Eastern vibe to this 15th-century French carol. (Note: Though this track is free, you will have to register to download it.)

Glorious, Wonderful Emmanuel, Brandon Heath: You have to sign up for this contemporary Christian singer/songwriter's mailing list to access this download, but if you want a lovely new song about the birth of Jesus, it's worth it.

Morning Star, The Brantley Family Band: The Brantleys, a husband-and-wife team in Durham, N.C., have posted online Christmas albums for each of the past three years, and you can still download them all from their website, including this gentle instrumental.

Carpenters Christmas (Karen Meets Roots Radics Uptown), Go Home Productions: The great British mash-up artist Mark Vidler seamlessly blends Karen Carpenter's performance of Sleigh Ride (as well as some Carpenters hits) into a dub-reggae background. While you're at his site, don't miss Christmas in Boston, which combines Boston's More Than a Feeling with The Beatles and Greg Lake, and Christmas on the Block, featuring J-Lo and Paul McCartney.

The Christmas Massacre of Charlie Brown, DJ John: California mix master DJ John does a number on Vince Guaraldi and the Peanuts gang. This track, as well as Christmas in Boston, appeared on 2005's Santastic! Holiday Boots 4 Your Stockings mash-up collection. This year's Santastic II: Clausome! is highlighted by dj BC's Imagine, which lays Michael Jackson over John Lennon. It even has its own video.

If that's not enough Christmas cheer for you, Kiddie Records Weekly offers streaming audio of vintage children's Christmas albums, and Sufjan Stevens is streaming his Christmas EPs. On top of that, the website for New York City freeform radio station WFMU boasts an amazing assortment of links to Christmas-music blogs ranging from the traditional to the seriously twisted. It's enough to keep any Christmas party grooving well into the night.

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Just curious. How is it legal to create mash-ups of songs and offer them for free on a website. Isn't this breaking all kinds of copyright laws?

Interesting stuff, but if I was the artist ...

Posted by: TomC | Dec 21, 2006 8:55:37 AM

Will there be a seperate album thread? You know i have a list.

Posted by: Matt in Milwaukee | Dec 21, 2006 11:46:46 AM

The version of O Holy Night on Studio 60 was beautiful! I was able to find a link to the clip on YouTube but it was taken down...so thank you so much for the link!!!

Posted by: beckstraordinary | Dec 21, 2006 12:56:17 PM

I'm glad that Brian caught the wonderful version of "Oh Holy Night" on Studio 60. I remember seeing that show and being so impressed with that performance. The whole TV sequence built around that music (the confession by Danny that he is falling love with Jordan) is one of those masterful TV moments that are all too rare these days.

Posted by: Jack | Dec 26, 2006 8:37:15 AM

Classic Sorkin. :)

Posted by: mom7801 | Dec 26, 2006 12:26:53 PM