DJLinus

We're well into the Christmas season and I'm late getting this thread up, but no matter. It's finally here! As always, feel free to post any new Christmas albums, EPs, and singles that you come across.

Some Christmas music (and otherwise) resources I check frequently:

Mistletunes (general Xmas music)
Christmas Underground (indie Xmas music)
Santas Working Overtime (general Xmas music, news, links)
NoiseTrade (an invaluable resource for free, legal music by mostly indie artists; lots of Xmas releases this time of year)
The Christmas Stocking (podcast with songs and Xmas history)
Feliz Navipod (a year round Xmas podcast, mostly interviews)


Notable New Releases

Honestly, it's a paltry year for major Christmas releases. These are the ones on my radar:

Earth, Wind & Fire - Holiday



Something soulful and/or funky, I presume?

Idina Menzel - Holiday Wishes



Your little daughter is screaming for you to buy this one. Michael Buble shows up, of course.

Seth MacFarlane - Holiday for Swing!



I haven't given this one a listen yet, but I actually think he's not a bad singer and he definitely has a love for big band music. Guest appearances by Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles.

Darius Rucker - Home for the Holidays



Hooty! Sheryl Crow is also on it.

Various Artists - Motown Christmas



New songs and reworked versions of old ones.

LeAnn Rimes - One Christmas: Chapter One



Country stuff.

Various Artists - Christmas at Downton Abbey



The stars of the show sing the Christmas hits!

Michael W. Smith - The Spirit of Christmas



Keeping the CCM in Christmas. There are a whole lot of guest vocalists on this one. (Even Bono.) I do like the retro cover art.

Los Campesinos! - A Los Campesinos! Christmas



I liked them when they first came out, then gradually lost interest. My curiosity is piqued.

Pentatonix - That's Christmas to Me



For those not keen on instruments.

Sara Evans - At Christmas



More country.

Various Artists - Christmas with Nashville



The stars of the show sing the Christmas hits!

My personal picks

Chris Farren - Like a Gift From God or Whatever



This week's episode of the Feliz Navipod podcast is an interview with him. I'd never heard of the guy. At the end the title track played and I immediately gave Bandcamp my $5. The whole album is great. One song features Mae Whitman. (Her?)

Nick D' & The Believers - Christmas in the City



This band out of my former home of Columbus, OH put out my Christmas Single of the Year.

Jon Windle - A Wonderful Christmas Time



This title track from an indie UK Christmas movie I haven't seen (yet) is pretty fun. It's a free download.

matt pond PA - Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)



Okay, so this George Harrison cover isn't technically a Christmas song. But it's got sleigh bells and does kinda sorta fit thematically with the season. It's another free download.

Samson Trinh & The Upper East Side Big Band - The Christmas Project



This is a local release featuring contributions from over 50 Richmond musicians. I saw them do a Christmas show at a microbrewery a couple of nights ago and was blown away. Great stuff. Their cover of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is now my favorite version of the song, especially when the groove kicks in after minute. (Mariah who?)

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Also, if you have Amazon Prime, they have an exclusive Christmas playlist full of new songs to stream. (It'll cost you to download 'em, though.)



All Is Bright

Trevor

Great post DJ, thanks as always!

rbrown498

Thanks for posting, DJ! You've given me lots of new stuff to nibble on!

A friend of mine posted his new song about a month ago--it's not a Christmas song per se, but it fits the mood of the season well:

Wyatt Funderburk, "Cold"

PhantomStranger

Good thread, I always enjoy good Christmas music.

A-aron

For those that like the mash-ups, there is a new Santastic (#9) available

http://www.stubbyschristmas.com/home/santastic-9

Ky-Fi

A bit of self-promotion here as I'm one of the contributing artists, but here's a new collection of ethereal/gothic Christmas songs:




Available to listen/buy at Bandcamp:


http://etherealdreams.bandcamp.com/releases

DJLinus

Thanks, guys. I'm a big fan of Christmas music and enjoy putting this thread together every year. I got bogged down by assembling my own mix for family and friends, but finally found time yesterday. I'll be uploading that mix (as well as the Spotify playlist) today.

Keep those releases coming!

Excellent! I checked several days ago to see if had been released yet, but it hadn't. This is always a highlight of the Christmas music season for me.

davidh777

The Pentatonix album is awesome, though I'm a fan so take that FWIW.

The new Idina Menzel and Michael Feinstein albums are good for fans of those artists (which I am).

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DJLinus

Happy Festivus! Here are two more new releases:

Tony Thaxton - A Very Merry Feliz Navipod To You, Your Friends and Family and Everybody Else!



Thaxton is the host of the Feliz Navipod podcast and a former drummer for Motion City Soundtrack. This is a fun EP of mostly originals. I got in on it a little early by being a Kickstarter backer. (Waiting on my mug!)

Various Artists - Paste Magazine Holiday Sampler 2014



I haven't given this comp a listen yet, but there's usually some gems on their annual mix. Plus it's free!

Speaking of mixes, mine's ready for public consumption, if anyone's interested:

http://open.spotify.com/user/jmblya/...81kij7YzfAAc6p

There are some songs on it that aren't on Spotify, so that's not the complete mix. If you want to download it, shoot me a PM and I'll direct you to where you can find it.