Best Christmas Mix - The Deuce

I apologize for the delay in posting the second part of my mix. I could say I was trying to give you time to truly experience the first part, but I just got caught up working on some other projects and didn’t find the time for this. But now I have the time, so here’s the track by track for part number two.

Best Christmas Mix – The Deuce

1. “Joy to the World” – The Mistletoe Disco Band. Joy is the key word in this arrangement. It’s just the perfect amount of strings and horns to keep me happy indefinitely. I especially love the repeating outro.

2. “Merry Christmas Everybody” – Rooney. This is just an excellent Christmas rock song. Pretty straightforward and fun. Need I say more?

3. “O Come, O Come Emanuel” – Sufjan Stevens. Sufjan is back with his banjo – there definitely isn’t enough banjo outside of bluegrass tunes. This is both a beautiful and harrowing song; I think it captures the bleakness and cold of winter while still conveying the beauty and hope born of Christ. I love the harmonies as Sufjan sings, “Rejoice.”

4. “Greensleeves” – Vince Guaraldi Trio. This song comes from the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. I love this smooth, unhurried, and simple jazz arrangement.

5. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” – Aimee Mann. Mann is back with this fun arrangement. While her voice is most prominent in the mix, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on with the instrumentation. Sleigh bells, horns, xylophone, etc. I love the electric guitar that comes in around the 1:00 mark of the song. It’s not very prominent, but I really dig the rhythm the guitarist lays down. A really solid arrangement.

6. “We Three Kings of Orient Are” – Sufjan Stevens. I promise that Sufjan does has songs on his Christmas albums that aren’t slow and quiet, but the songs I’ve chosen for this mix really stand out. He infuses the songs with serene beauty that I cannot deny.

7. “Deck the Halls” – The Soulful Strings. This is another one of my favorite finds of the holiday season, mainly because of the song’s unexpected key changes. It starts in the typical major key, but it doesn’t take long for things to change. I always have these strange images in my head of a Christmas movie that would use this music. Scenes with prisoners, orphans, and lonely drunkards all come to mind listening to this track, not exactly the stuff the season is made of. But if I were to try and justify the inclusion of this song for reasons other than its sheer awesomeness, I would say that it conveys a side of Christmas that is kept out of sight. We might cherish the happiness and warmth of the holiday season, but not everyone is as fortunate. Like we learn in Gremlins, a lot of people have depressing and/or traumatic experiences associated with Christmas. We should be mindful of them too.

8. “Jingle Bell Disco Rock” – Disco Beat. I’ve found that there aren’t many exciting, unique, and good variations to the classic Jingle Bells tune. This is one of them. It’s just fun all-around.

9. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” – Impressions. Impressions return with another track from Funky Christmas. This isn’t as stirring as their “Silent Night,” but is still a very solid track. I dig the bass and wish both it and the drums were a little more prominent in the mix – though probably only because it would make it more danceable. And who doesn’t dream of throwing a Christmas dance party?

10. “Carol of the Bells” – Celtic Woman. This is a very solid traditional arrangement of this classic. There balance between the vocals and instrumentation is perfect, and the combined effect is quite dramatic. This is one of my favorite carols, and this arrangement is fantastic.

11. “Medley: Hark the Herald Angels Sing / O Come, All Ye Faithful” – John Fahey. I felt like I needed to include another Fahey track in this mix. Here’s one that ought to make you yearn for all those Christmases on the farm. This just makes me happy.

12. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” – Willis Jackson. This man can play a saxomaphone (Simpsons allusion, anyone?). There’s a joy in listening to someone so obviously talented lay down a track like this. Nothing else in the song has to be remarkable in the least when there is one gifted musician leading the way.

13. “Once in Royal David’s City” – Sufjan Stevens. This is one of those neglected Christmas hymns in the LDS hymnbook, along with songs like “Ring Out, Wild Bells” among others. Sufjan puts his stamp on this one, and I happen to like it a lot.

14. “Winter Wonderland” – The Mistletoe Disco Band. I love the bass in this song. Give me a funky bass line, and I will be happy. It’s a shame it’s so low in the mix. If only I knew how to remix stuff. I would turn this into the ultimate Christmas groove.

15. “Away in a Manger” – Ray Brown and Deedee Bridgewater. I felt like I needed to include this classic carol, and this was the best version I could find among my Christmas music collection. It’s simple and beautiful and picks up as the songs goes on. Jazzy Christmas music might be my second favorite style after disco/funk Christmas songs.

16. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” – Sufjan Stevens. Okay, so this doesn’t fall under the heading of what you would consider a traditional Christmas song, but it’s about Christ and that should make it especially appropriate for the Christmas season. If that’s not enough for you, too bad. This is a beautiful song. It’s amazing what can be done with a few people singing and playing instruments. Music really is incredible, and this is quite the track, if I may say so.

17. “There are Much Worse Things to Believe In” – Steven Colbert and Elvis Costello. This is my second favorite track from the Colbert Christmas special. It’s a nice little song with a good melody and some great lyrics. I laugh every time I hear Costello singing about the “beastman giving toys for good behavior.” If this television gig doesn’t pan out for Colbert, he might have a future in music.

18. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” – Chris Martin (of Coldplay). This is a very nice and simple arrangement, nothing fancy going on here, just a man sitting down at a piano. I decided to close the mix with this peaceful number, hoping to leave everyone with these seasons greetings and my own hope that everyone will have a merry Christmas wherever they may be.

Enjoy the mix for the next week or so. Groundhog Day is coming.