Alexis Ffrench - Christmas Piano with Alexis Lovely contemplative solo piano takes on two dozen , mostly, holiday standards. Ffrench is described as a "Classical Soul superstar' but this album leans more on the classical/jazz/easy listening side of things, a la George Winston. An excellent album. Voctive - It Feels Like Christmas I was all in on the acapella boom of a number of years ago that birthed the monster that is Pentatonix but after awhile I fell off the bandwagon, and out side of classic acts like The King’s Singers and Chanticleer, I don’t have a lot of it in my seas ..read more

  Christian Sands - Christmas Stories Excellent jazz Christmas album from pianist Sands. Absolutely going into this year's rotation.  David Foster & Katherine McPhee - Christmas Songs Expanded from last years mini-album. Excellent tracks crafted by an expert producer and a remarkable singer. Julie Benko & Mykal Kilgore -  (I Never Had a ) Christmas with You Nice soul tinged duet. I liked this one quite a bit. Tyler Shaw - Christmas All Over Again Perfectly good cover of Tom Petty’s holiday hit. Lisa Biales - At Christmas Solid Blues rock number. Dam ..read more

  Christmas Isn’t Christmas - Michael Bolton + Mickey Guyton I’m a fan, to some extent of both Bolton and Guyton but this generic bit of fluff, while inoffensive, won’t be finding its way into my rotation this year. Manger Throne - Phil Wickham Fairly standard Worship anthem. If you’re into it , you’re into it. Rock the Christmas Cheer! - The Bongos Generic tunes from artists who’ve done better work in the past seems to be the theme today. This time it’s generic indie/powerpop from critical darlings of a certain age, The Bongos.  I wanted this to be so much better. Snow Day ..read more

It's that time of year again so here's the first of this years round-ups of new Christmassy releases... Christmas - Cher  This one was never going to rate high with me, I haven’t really been a fan of Cher’s output  since the early 80’s. Guests include the Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Wonder and Michael Bublé. A Cher Christmas album from 30 to 50 years ago would have been awesome, but this does nothing for me. That said, if you’re a fan you’ll probably love it. The Greatest Christmas Hits - Pentatonix If Pentatonix had the restraint to keep their Christmas releases down to one every ..read more

 The Job of Joseph by George W. Cornell   Five part AP syndicated series published over Christmas week of 1972                      ..read more

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir featuring Kristin Chenoweth (2019) One in a long running series of annual Christmas specials. Each year a different celebrity is brought in to host and perform with the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra, and for the 2018 Christmas concert series, the special guest was the effervescent Kristin Chenoweth. The highlights of these shows were then released as this special in 2019. As expected, this is a fairly polished, tastefully middle brow production complete with the usual dashes of seasonal storytelling and large-scale dance numbers. Your overal ..read more

  Here's a little Christmas in July action with a selection of vintage cards featuring everybody's favorite (which were previously shared on Twitter ..read more

 The Shop Around the Corner (1940) (Here's the first in a new series spotlighting my favorite Christmas flicks. The funny thing is, I love The Shop Around the Corner so much i actually skipped watching it last year. I've found annual viewings of some holiday favorites makes them a bit too familiar. An overindulgence in A Christmas Story has actually ruined the movie for me in recent years, so I try to show a bit more restraint and skip a year or two on some of my faves.)   The holiday season is filled with cherished traditions, including gathering with loved ones, exchanging gift ..read more

  Eleven more holiday treats from Christmases Past.  Here's the Complete Playlist   Funny Little Snowman - Bobby Sabatino All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth - Danny Kaye & The Andrews Sisters  Remember Suite Christmas - Deanna Lee Getting That Christmas Feeling Sherry Lyn & Dialtones God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Joe Brown I Got A Cold For Christmas (1954) - The Ames Brothers Jolly Old Saint Nicholas (1949) - Ray Smith  Christmas Boogie - The Davis Sisters Christmas Tree ~ The Voices of Walter Schumann, Bill Lee (Soloi ..read more

You know how upset people got with Netflix when they felt that the Dahmer miniseries had been mistagged? That's sorta how I feel when people call these Hallmark-style products Christmas movies. This installment of my masochistic foray into assembly line holiday fare is a bit late because after subjecting myself to watching these flicks I couldn't face revisiting their memory to write up this post - until now. Our Italian Christmas Memories  Yeah. I've experienced a fair few Italian Christmases over the years, and none of them were this dull, soulless, and phony. Not a genuine or likab ..read more