Christmas Miracle Redux
Not all of you were here for some of the past Christmas mixes cooked up for us by fellow Miraclers, and there were some gems there. So by popular demand, we're bringing them back for December. All 4 are loaded up on the site now, and I'll highlight each one on a different Sunday this month.
First up: Season 4's Closer, who made us this mix in Dec. '08, garnerer of, "Holy crap! This is the ultimate, final word in Christmas albums. And thanks for NOT including the Bing-Bowie version of 'Little Drummer Boy.' A doff of my stocking cap to you," "What a great Cold War-era Xmas mix! And the 'bustin' out freestyle' portion of Mitch Miller's 'Must Be Santa' suggests he deserves the title of Original Rapper even more than does Lou Reed! And excellent French-themd segue from Longet to Goulet. Thanks!", "Twill fit right in with my Firestone Christmas Albums®," "HiFi Christmas has arrived in stereophonic sound!", "Why wouldn't every song have a wish for Judy Garland to sing the chorus with me?," "I've burned and donated a copy to my fave cafe and they have been playing the hell out of it," and this one, written 12 months later: "Still enjoying. Was I supposed to stop playing this in January? Oops."
Date
December 4, 2011
Miracler
Jeanne-Marie Greiner
Location
Chicago
About this week's Mix
When Jeanne-Marie Greiner wrote to ask if she could switch her mix date to early December, my curiosity was piqued. Today it is sated. For today, we are treated to one of the more collectible Christmas-themed mixes of, okay, all time. I mean, we’ve got the The Christmas Song, sung by the WRITER of the Christmas Song (the identity may surprise you), backed up by frickin’ Judy Garland! Also in the big sack: Dinah Shore, Rosemary Clooney, Mitch Miller (natch), Thurl Ravenscroft (duh) and, what’s this? Claudine Longet back to back with Robert Goulet? This is definitely not your Pottery Barn Christmas Classics® holiday mix. Enjoy, luckies.
About this week’s Miracler
Talk about street cred: Jeanne-Marie personally gifted me with the Andy Williams Christmas Special video long before Stephen Colbert spoofed it. And this girl didn’t just type “Christmas” into iTunes to bring us these tracks: listen closely for the needle pop on each song—it’s the real stuff. And it’s not just cuz she’s got two adorable boys who were born already knowing the lyrics. I saw their mom bopping around to this song back in the fifth grade. It’s real, folks.
When Jeanne-Marie Greiner wrote to ask if she could switch her mix date to early December, my curiosity was piqued. Today it is sated. For today, we are treated to one of the more collectible Christmas-themed mixes of, okay, all time. I mean, we’ve got the The Christmas Song, sung by the WRITER of the Christmas Song (the identity may surprise you), backed up by frickin’ Judy Garland! Also in the big sack: Dinah Shore, Rosemary Clooney, Mitch Miller (natch), Thurl Ravenscroft (duh) and, what’s this? Claudine Longet back to back with Robert Goulet? This is definitely not your Pottery Barn Christmas Classics® holiday mix. Enjoy, luckies.
About this week’s Miracler
Talk about street cred: Jeanne-Marie personally gifted me with the Andy Williams Christmas Special video long before Stephen Colbert spoofed it. And this girl didn’t just type “Christmas” into iTunes to bring us these tracks: listen closely for the needle pop on each song—it’s the real stuff. And it’s not just cuz she’s got two adorable boys who were born already knowing the lyrics. I saw their mom bopping around to this song back in the fifth grade. It’s real, folks.
some comments commented here.
See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page. Until next Sunday's Holiday Flashback spotlight,
XOK
14 comments:
Hey! I recognize two of them thar mixes. I made these the past couple of years (and I'll probably do another this year) from all my old Christmas records.
As many of you know, I’m an obsessive thrifter and vintage lover….and as a result I have amassed a big collection of cheesy-but-delightful holiday records. Over the past years I have tried to digitize my vinyl as a way to preserve it—and so I could share it with my pals. I’ve transformed a fair amount of my holiday albums to MP3 , and that's what's on these mixes (o you'll still hear that awesome crackle).
ALIX'S Retro Holiday Mix vol 1
Full of goofy "cocktails-by-the-fire" kinda music.
01 Too Fat For The Chimney -Gisele MacKenzie
02 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Loretta Lynn
03 Winter Wonderland - Louis Armstrong
04 Jingle Bells - Ella Fitzgerald
05 Here Comes Santa Claus - Doris Day
06 A Christmas Song - Shawn Philips
07 Christmas Island - The Lennon Sisters
08 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Partridge Family
09 Frosty The Snowman - Gene Autry
10 That Old Christmas Moon - Leon Redbone
11 Santa Claus Is Back In Town _ Elvis Presley
12 Christmas In Killarney - Bing Crosby
13 Buon Natale - Sergio Franchi
14 Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano
15 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
16 I Want A Hippopotomous For Christmas - Captain Kangaroo
17 Wagon On Christmas - Slim Boyd & The Rangehands
18 O Holy Night - Johnny Mathis
19 The Christmas Waltz - Sinatra Family
20 We Need A Little Christmas - Angela Lansbury
Second list to come!
OK friends, here is the track last for Mix number two.
Here's the track list for the second mix! Again, it's all pulled from vinyl, with the exception of the Heat Miser/Snow Miser and Esquivel tracks. Happy Holidays Miraclers!
Alixmas Vol 2 (2010)
This year’s mix is a tad more lively and chock full o’ retro fabulousness that I hope you’ll love as much as I do (The Border Brass is a particular fave...)
01 Silver Bells - Dean Martin
02 We Wish You A Merry Christmas -The Border Brass
03 Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer - Burle Ives
04 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
05 Christmas Time All Over The World - Sammy Davis Jr.
06 Hey! Santa Claus - The Moonglows
08 Up On The House Top - Jackson 5
09 Frosty the Snowman - Esquivel
10 Jolly Old St Nicholas - The Border Brass
11 I'm Too Much - Heat Meiser/ Snow Meiser
12 I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus - Brenda Lee
13 Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) - Elvis Presley
14 The Man In The Red Suit- The Peppermint Kandy Kids
15 A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burle Ives
16 Christmas Alphabet - The McGuire Sisters
17 Santa Claus Is Watching You - Ray Stevens
18 Go Where I Send You - Nina Simone
19 Suzy Snowflake - Rosemary Clooney
Jeanne-Marie and Alex and Laura -- Ho-Ho-Hum and Santa Blahs get gone! (Everyone's off to Christmas Island.) Thanks for the holiday cheer infusion. /// Dang nice to hear Mr. Green Jeans introducing the Hippopotomous song -- a real trigger for the nostalgia reflexes. I dug that dude when I was a little squirt. The Captain was definitely a good guy... but that bowl-cut hairdo was scare-some. /// "Christmas Card From a Hooker" is a great pick. Thanks for it. /// Touch hands with Mike Douglas? I'm always down for the kitsch and that's got two or three hundred heaping helpings' worth. /// Can't ever get enough of Vince Guaraldi. Tony Bennett, too. /// "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Dinah Shore is a hoot -- she was so great. But the rendition feels rushed. I always Ray Charles and Betty Carter's version. The tempo and the desire feel so real. /// Robert Goulet: rock on with your bad self.
"Snow" is some freaky stuff. Is it a disrespectful to wonder if Rosemary Clooney was, perhaps, partaking of the snow when she sang that one? /// The Velvet Frog [sic] and Judy Garland -- YEAH!
Partaking in snow!
Alix - That Angela Lansbury was my favorite on your mix!!! Fantastic!!!!!!
Jeanne-Marie- Thank you for this tasteful holiday mix. I'll be playing this one for years to come. And Vince Guaraldi...ahhh, a bitter-sweet exhale to Christmas.
I thought it last year, and I'll say it this year:
MIKE DOUGLAS?
Thanks for the memories, Jeanne-Marie.
Now go watch "Holiday Inn." (SOOO much better than "White Christmas," even though it has that bizarre blackface number.)
And don't get me started on "It's a Wonderful Life." Maudlin hogwash, even though I cry every time I see it. George Bailey SHOULD have seen the world instead of marrying his high school sweetheart, even if she was Donna Reed.
But Doug, you know how that would have turned out for ole Donna--she would be locking up the library in her spectacles and mustache RIGHT NOW!
I'm off to Buffalo for Xmas, so I daresay it will be white. This shit is top-notch flashback material.
Thanks Jeanne-Marie for the Grinch song especially and also the Vince Guaraldi.
Have yourselves a spooky little Xmas!
First time member and first time commentator here. Looks like I got invited at the right time because I'm a huge sap for Xmas music. Most of my other music lays dormant this month.
Loving the Retro mix by Alix. Every great mix must start off with a show-stopper and Too Fat for the Chimney certainly qualifies. The Sinatra Christmas Waltz is a different version from the Sinatra LP one I have. Great to add that to my collection. And I never thought I'd hear Captain Kangaroo again in my life time. Thanks for a slice of my youth!
What?! It's Christmastime?! Nicely curated stuff all around. This will get me through the next two weeks.
Hey all,
So glad you're enjoying JMHG's mix. FYI, there are actually THREE MORE HOLIDAY MIXES up on the site right now!
I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to promote em more, but they're there now for your holiday enjoyment.
Go git em!
XOK
Dang, I'm listening to "The Christmas Song" more closely and is Judy HIGH. "And every mother's child is gonna spy to see if rainbows really know how to fly"? Even Mel is making fun of her botched lyrics.
A few years ago I started supplying my brother with a CD of Christmas music. Thanks for doing it for me this year! Great mix.
Post a Comment