Popnarcotic

There’s No Life Like The Snow Life

December 16, 2010 at 12:25 pm (Uncategorized)

With the snow coming down rather steadily outside, I think the time has arrived to unveil the 2010 Christmas Music Mix. If you can’t wait, just scroll on down and download or stream it. If you can, just let me mention that like every year, I stitched the tunes together as one big MP3, with everything sequenced a certain way, the volume all normalized (which means every tune plays at the same loudness; nothing kills a mix of songs faster than having to adjust the volume constantly on it!) It runs about an hour and 12 minutes or so, and of the 23 proper songs on it, 20 are brand new for Christmas 2010.

I will say that looking over the actual artist and track list for the mix, I’m struck by the unfortunate fact that there are a lot of bands that get lumped into the “hipster” category, that adjective having somehow become the bad word of the moment on the internet. Realize this please: folks like The Walkmen, Mark Crozer, Evangelicals, etc. didn’t find their way onto this mix for my sense of indie cred; about that I could give a rat’s tuckus. I’m too damn old to care about such silly stuff at this point. Those artists and the songs they perform made it onto this year’s mix because they moved me in some way; they’re where they are because I like the songs and they fit. If the entry from The Haunting Party on this mix doesn’t tug at your heart just a little, indie or no, I’m not sure you’re human.

Without much further blathering on from me, here’s the tunes!

“There’s No Life Like The Snow Life (Christmas Music Mix, 2010)”

(Either click that title to stream, or right click and “save as” to download it.)

This year’s track list:

1. Remember, it’s for Santa.
2. Yuletide Zeppelin — mojochronic (with an assist from The New Yardbirds)
3. “What’s This” Danny Elfman & Jack Skellington
4. “Snow Is Falling” Darker My Love
5. “Santa Stole My Lady” Fitz & The Tantrums
6. “Angel In The Snow (New Moon)” Elliott Smith
7. “Queuing Up For Christmas” The Keys
8. “Santa Claus” The Sonics
9. “Sleigh Ride” Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
10.”Snowflakes” Evangelicals
11.”Little Drummer Boy” The Dandy Warhols
12.”Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects” Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
13.”Last Of The Melting Snow” The Leisure Society
14.”Baby It’s Cold Outside” Brian Setzer Orchestra With Ann-Margret
15.”Next Christmas” Mark Crozer
16.”All Alone On Christmas” Parker Lewis & Matilda Berggren
17.”White Christmas” Esquivel
18.”Christmas Isn’t Christmas” The Boy Least Likely To
19.”I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix)” Kay Starr
20.”Carol Of The Bells” John Fahey
21.”While I Shovel The Snow” The Walkmen
22.”It’s Christmas” Coconut Records
23.”Home For Christmas” The Haunting Party
24.”Wonderful Christmas Time” Paul McCartney, super extended 12″ scratch remix.

(Ok, just kidding about track 24.  Every year the mix ends the same way.  You all know this.  I cannot fathom any listening experience more execrable than an extended scratch remix of the worst Holiday cash-in song ever recorded, which that Macca tune most likely is.)