any opportunity to complain about the dismal state of radio. The moral to this story is that there are tons of great Christmas songs out there that, just like in every other season, aren’t getting any airplay. Here are a few of my favorite Christmas gems you won’t hear on the Christmas classics station. Some are indie rock and others are pop acts famous enough you may wonder why their holiday songs haven’t made their way into the mainstream. There are a few classics on this list, but they are performed by up-and-coming artists in new arrangements. This is a very chilled out playlist, perfect for your next holiday party, whether in person or online. Hence it avoids songs that are rambunctious enough that they won’t work as background music. If you want to explore those options, there are additional Christmas gems to be found in punk rock, soul music, golden oldies, and jazz. Also remember
that the big names in Jingle Bell jingles like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Brenda Lee who all released so much holiday material that they have original, lesser-known songs buried in their catalogs. But for this list, we’re sticking with contemporary artists who perfectly straddle the zone between winter chill and hipster cool. Highlights from the Rare Christmas Gems Playlist I’ve been hooked on crooner Molly Burch ’s “To the Boys,” so I was excited to discover her Christmas album. We open with her “What do the Lonely Do at Christmas.” Her Christmas album has twelve tracks and fewer than half are covers. For years Sia was known as an Aussie indie-pop singer, or perhaps that singer from Zero 7. But since her huge hit “Chandelier,” she’s close to being a household name. Her Everyday is Christmas album is the best pop
Holiday Gems Playlist BY KARMA BENNETT FOR ROOTS SOUL SPIRIT ISSUE
I used to think I hated Christmas songs. I dreaded the moment when the manufactured atmosphere coming off the Wal-bucks speakers would all be playing songs from the same playlist of all that is snowy and ribbon-wrapped. But in my first December as an obsessed radio- streamer, I discovered many delightful Christmas songs I’d never heard before. Now that ’tis the season once again I’m looking forward to it. I’ve come to realize that what I hated about Christmas music was the same thing I’ve come to hate about commercial radio—it’s all so overplayed. Based on the narrow selection of songs you hear every holiday, you’d think that a
new Christmas song only comes along every other decade. This is ridiculous, of course. There are thousands of bands making music every year, and even if many don’t have the holiday spirit, still many others must be tempted to hop on the cash cow of Christmas shopping. The oft-praised Sufjan Stevens has released his third Christmas album, for Santa’s sake! And you don’t hear a single one of those on the radio. Even Cardiff’s hippest hipsters Los Campesinos! are getting in on the action with their Christmas album, A Los Campesinos! Christmas . But just as Weird ole’ uncle Al likes to harp on about walking to school buck naked in forty miles of snow, I’ll take
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