Popnarcotic

Sleigh Tracks 2023 (Holiday Music Mix for, uh, 2023…)

December 20, 2023 at 7:00 am (Uncategorized) (Christmas, Music Mixes)

Yes, I know: there are like 6 people on the planet who are gonna “get” the title of this year’s seasonal music mix o’ joy and festivityness. And that’s OK. It amused me a lot, and that’s all that matters. This is a little bit late this year — sorry, blame my poor planning, and also the fact that, like most years, I had a version of this that I ended up just stripping out and almost starting over again to get something I was happy with.

One of my completely Christmas agnostic friends (so, yeah, basically “agnostic”) gave this a spin for me over the weekend and the main comment was “That first song might have people calling your mix ‘woke’.” And I’m thinking, first, that that’s fine by me. But also, that whole Christmas origin story what with the maternal empowerment and the refugees and such…it’s pretty much as woke as it gets. So yeah, we’re on theme.

For more than a decade, I’ve wanted to use that early Wailers song in a holiday mix, too. But I have never, not ever, been able to sort out how to segue in and out of reggae or ska without using the Clash, and as far as I know, there’s no Christmas hits by them floating around out there. I think I maybe cracked it this time, by finding that vintage track by The Ethiopians and also that excellent new Lou Rawls cover from the Black Pumas. (Who are great, btw.)

I also had no idea that The High Strung did a Christmas album back in 2000…and that said holiday album is so good, to boot. I’m a sucker for a rollicking holiday track that sounds like everyone recording it has been hitting the spiked eggnog first.

One of the biggest issues with my first run at this mix for 2023 is how many downer, cryin’ in my beer, I’m so miserable holiday tunes are out there currently. If you know me, you know I have zero time for doomerism, so I had to do some scrubbing. That being said, one bit of blue Christmas that survived that purge was a killer track from Aimee Mann and Ted Leo. The bridge on that song gives me goosebumps every time.

And so here’s a wild thing: one of the first holiday mixes I ever made — on a cassette tape — back in the 1990s, I put “Christmas Wrapping” on it. And over the years, I heard horror stories from friends who worked in malls and retail about hearing that song approximately 10 million times in any given December, so I’ve never used it since. (One friend of mine swears that the song played every 45 minutes at Urban Outfitters in the early Aughts.) But…it’s a cool tune. And Waitresses saxophone genius Mars Williams passed away this past year. So yeah, let’s bring that one back.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least make mention of the passing of Shane MacGowan earlier this month. “Fairytale of New York” has been part of my holiday mood-setting for more than 30 years now, and if you believe in such things, it’s nice to think that maybe in the great beyond, he and Kirsty can get together and have a pint and belt that one out again.

Anyway, I hope this li’l missive finds you all well, or with prospects to be doing well, and that however you celebrate this season that it’s a good one with new, happy memories to make. Y’all know the drill here by now: everything’s mixed to equalize the volume, and everything’s sequenced just so and held together as one MP3. Right-click and save the title, or just be a rebel and click and play if that’s your thing. Have a happy and safe holiday everyone!

Sleigh Tracks 2023 (Holiday Music Mix, 2023)

Track List:

1. Miley Cyrus “Santa Baby”
2. The High Strung “Here Comes The Cheer”
3. The Boy Least Likely To “The Wassail Song”
4. Aimee Mann & Ted Leo “Nothing Left To Do (Let’s Make This Christmas Blue”)
5. Matt Pond PA “This Winter”
6. Lola Kirke “Cross You Off My List”
7. The Leisure Society “Christmas Mistakes”
8. JD McPherson “Every Single Christmas”
9. The Ethiopians “Ding Dong Bell”
10. Bob Marley & The Wailers “Sound The Trumpet”
11. Black Pumas “Christmas Will Really Be Christmas”
12. Clarence Carter “Back Door Santa”
13. Peaness “Kiss Me, Sweetpea”
14. Au Revoir Simone “Fallen Snow”
15. The Waitresses “Christmas Wrapping”
16. The Great Escape “Season of Love”
17. Green Day “X-Mas Time Of Year”
18. The Elephant Stone “Another Year Gone”
19. Aretha Franklin “Winter Wonderland”
20. The Beths “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
21. Vale Shane MacGowan