Hip Christmas
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, Apple Music,
and Sheet Music Plus! Regardless, the best of
the season to you - no matter what month it is! [about me]
What Was New In 2024? Last year's new Christmas albums included lots of vinyl reissues, big names like Jennifer Hudson and Little Big Town, indie darlings like Dean & Britta and Phantom Planet, a full-length Tower Of Power album, a new collection from the Carpenters, and yet another Bear Family compilation. I've completed my annual obsessive, quixotic attempt to keep up with it all, including my Top 10 Albums and Top 25 Singles. [gimme gimme]
The Christmas Jukebox. My online Christmas music player is bulging with over 900 hip tunes - and counting! You can listen to the music I write about - the coolest, weirdest, and loudest holiday songs ever, all while enjoying my inimitable prose - or not! [press play]
My Face, Your Book. There's a lot of holiday hilarity going on 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 all year long. No Russian trolls, please. I also post cool cover art on Instagram and Pinterest. [follow me]
What A Wonderful Christmas. Surprisingly, jazz icon Louis Armstrong never released a Christmas album during his long, long career. But, he did cut a number of holiday singles and album tracks - enough to nearly fill up a long player. Nobody's ever compiled them all, though a couple of otherwise fine albums have come very close. [learn more]
No Relation to Kenny. When describing Christmas
Party With Eddie G. - his one-and-only compilation - famous record collector Eddie Gorodetsky said, "The great thing about this holiday cornucopia is its diversity," but "the message is still the same - good cheer to all." Oh, and Bob Dylan bankrolled it - maybe. [read more]
Just The Hits, Ma'am. In the 1990's, Rhino Records partnered with Billboard Magazine for a series of compilations that attempted to write the history of popular Christmas music from the top down. More than 30 years later, they are still an excellent place to start, even if they stop far short of telling the whole story. [read more]
Dreaming Of A Green Christmas. You'd think the combination of Al Green and Christmas would be magic, but the good Reverend was past his peak when he recorded White Christmas (1983), having long ago left the Hi Records stable where he cut his Memphis soul classics. Don't get me wrong - I like it. But "classic"? No way. [read more]
Is Murder A Disqualifying Offense? It's hard to overstate the importance and greatness of A Christmas Gift For You (1963). It's the best album Phil Spector ever produced, and Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is one of his very best singles. If you can separate the man from his music, this is required listening. [read more]
Christmas Is For Mugs. I'm a huge Graham Parker fan, and his 1979 album Squeezing Out Sparks is a touchstone. His 1994 EP Christmas Cracker is a different subject altogether - just three songs, recorded well past his prime. Which doesn't mean I don't like it. Any Christmas record that mentions sex toys is okay by me.... [read more]
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]
Exactly How Is This Stuff "Hip"? The music on Nickelodeon's Classic Cartoon Christmas series isn't very hip, but it's, um, hip adjacent. Every generation since the Boomers grew up watching Rudolph, Frosty, and Charlie Brown, and those cartoons - and their soundtracks - influenced the art they would make. [read
more]
The Red-Hatted Stranger. Who doesn't like Willie Nelson? He deserves a spot in the holiday pantheon if only for writing "Pretty Paper." But, I'm not as enthusiastic about the rest of his Christmas music. There are some wonderful moments, but it ranges from breathtaking to puzzling to offhand - and sometimes all three. [read more]
Santa Is Real. The Louvin Brothers are the most important brother act in the history of country music, and they were the direct antecedents of the Everly Brothers, the most important brother act in the history of rock 'n' roll. Not a bad pedigree, but their Christmas album is, sad to say, less impressive. [read more]
Shoplifting You Something For Christmas. Portland-based Tim/Kerr Records released It's Finally Christmas back when a whole album of alternative holiday rock was a rare thing and a reason to celebrate. There are, indeed, some great songs here. But, too often they are obscured by pointless dissonance and hipper-than-thou diffidence. [read more]
Christmas Time's A-Coming. Long ago, country music was called "hillbilly" music, and nobody took offense. Rhino
Records' Hillbilly
Holiday tells the story of Christmas music during the golden age of Nashville, and by embracing the old appellation, it makes a statement: The best country music never denies its roots. [read more]
Top 100 Christmas Songs. In which I attempt to boil thousand and thousands of Christmas songs in my library down to their purest essence. 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]
Come On Get Happy! You have to be of a certain (advanced) age to like - or even remember - the Partridge Family. As a person of that age (with a boy-crush on David Cassidy), I think their music is just fine - bubblegum pop of the highest order. And, their Christmas album follows suit. Great? Nope. Enjoyable? Absolutely. [read more]
What A Mess! Back in the 80's when alternative Christmas music was a rare thing, a New York record store started a label and created the Midnight Christmas Mess series - three vinyl albums, never reissued in the digital age, that documented the city's burgeoning garage rock scene and helped make holiday music hip again. [read more]
A Christmas Gift For You. Every year, I offer free MP3's from my voluminous collection - all unavailable easily or legitimately in the music marketplace. In 2024, I revisited the legendary, exceedingly rare Flagpole Christmas albums, filling in some gaping holes and sprucing up the sound quality. [listen or download]
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