Brant's Christmas 2014 Playlist

I like the holidays!  I really do!!!  But I insist on taking them in order.  Christmas will not be acknowledged until the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers has been eaten.  As I see Facebook friends putting up Christmas trees immediately after Halloween and have even heard Christmas music in October, I suspect I may be in the minority regarding this.  But whatevs.  Here's December's Holiday/Christmas playlist - right on schedule.  To listen on Spotify click HERE.

1.  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Ella Fitzgerald) - If one could wear out a CD, I would have worn out "Ella Wishes You a Swingin' Christmas".  One of my personal faves.  I was shocked it hasn't shown up on previous playlists.

2.  Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season (Manhattan Transfer) - Jazzy vocal quartet tackles the Andy Williams classic with their usual expertise.

3.  All My Bells Are Ringing (Lenka) - Speaking of previous playlists, this was on my 2010 holiday playlist, but I never get tired of it.  A playful, innocent holiday love song.

4.  Sleet and Snow (My First Tooth) - Charming winter folk-pop.

5.  The Christmas Waltz (She & Him) - I love how this duo can strip a song down to its basics and let it shine.  Sometimes all you need is a great voice and a great song.

6.  I Don't Wanna Spend One More Christmas Without You (N-Sync) - And sometimes all you need is five great voices in a boy band!

7.  The Christmas Song (Whitney Houston) - The holidays are always about reconnecting with old friends.  Hearing Whitney's crystal-clear voice again feels like a reunion.  Gone but not forgotten.

8.  Christmas in L.A.  (the Killers with Dawes) - Every year the Killers serve up a holiday tune for charity.  This is last year's offering - a wistful rock song with West Coast band Dawes.

9.  Rocking Around the Christmas Tree (Brenda Lee) - A classic holiday song that needs no introduction!

10.  The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot (Jimmy Ray) - This is the Debbie Downer of the playlist!  I had the Vera Lynn version on my 2011 holiday playlist, but here we get a male vocal telling the hilariously pitiful tale.

11.  Only You Can Bring Me Cheer (Alison Krauss) - Bluegrass queen serves up a surprisingly groovy holiday ditty!

12.  Please Come Home for Christmas (Anita Cochran) - Countrified version of the Charles Brown/Eagles' song.

13.  That Special Time of Year (Gladys Knight & the Pips) - I always wondered why there were no disco Christmas songs!  Should have known Gladys had it covered.

14.  I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day (Leona Lewis) - The British Mariah Carey singing Wizzard's glam-rock extravaganza.

15.  Christmas/Baby Please Come Home (Slow Club) - Faithful alt-rock cover of the Darlene Love anthem.

16.  OMG It's Christmas (Family of the Year) - Feel-good folk rock that feels very true to this band's existing catalog of music.

17.  Let It Snow (Glee Cast) - Okay, I haven't watched "Glee" in years, but where else are we going to find two guys (Kurt and Blaine!) singing this as a duet???

18.  I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Billie Holiday) - Another single that has been in heavy rotation on my iPod, but never made it onto a playlist.

19.  Silent Night (Pentatonix) - These folks are amazeballs with their vocals and acapella performances!!!

20.  What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (Ledisi) - Closing out 2014 with one of my favorite songs, performed by one of my favorite R&B divas.

So that's December's playlist.  Hope everyone has a great holiday season!  Take lots of pics, eat lots of yummy food, and I will see you in 2015!

Brant's November 2014 Playlist

Late. Again.  Oh well, such is life.  Halloween deserves my undivided attention.  But better late than never, and I do have some new tunes to share.  So let's put Halloween away and turn our attention to the new month!  Apologies in advance - Spotify didn't have a few of these, but to listen to what they DO have, click HERE.

1.  Fade Out Lines (the Avener) - Okay, why doesn't Spotify have this?  Anyway, it's a super cool vocal over mid-tempo funk.  Stylistically this kind of reminds me of Cock Robin's "When Your Heart Is Weak" or Everything But the Girl's "Missing".  To hear it on YouTube click HERE.

2.  Out on the Street (Spanish Gold) - When I first heard this I thought it was the Black Keys - but it's a side project of My Morning Jacket's drummer Patrick Hallahan!

3.  Reflections (MisterWives) - Lead singer Mandy Lee cites the Spice Girls and Gwen Stefani as influences, but when I listen to it all I can hear is "Best of My Love" by the Emotions.  And I'm more than good with that!

4.  All This Way for Love (Syleena Johnson) - Grammy nominated R&B singer is back and sounding as good as ever.

5.  You Belong to Me (Annie Lennox) - We had "I Put A Spell on You" last month, but Annie's new CD is too good to just list one tune.  This is what I was hoping Aretha's new CD would be, but sadly it didn't pan out that way.  I give Annie Lennox credit for selecting material that suits her voice and her maturity.  Maybe we should pair Aretha up with Annie's producer (or even better - with Jack White!  I'd love to see JW do for Aretha what he did for Loretta Lynn!).

6.  Coulda Been My Love (Foxygen) - I love these guys!!!  A lot of their stuff is psychedelic rock, but this sounds like a lost Todd Rundgren track.

7.  Love's On Fire (Nikki Lane) - Retro-country sounds with the Black Key's Dan Auerbach.

8.  Archie, Marry Me (Alvvays) - Canadian Indie band treats us to some peppy garage rock!

9.  Never Been In Love (Cobra Starship with Icona Pop) - Dance pop band teams with Swedish duo for this exuberant single.

10.  Number 1 (Mystery Skulls featuring Nile Rodgers and Brandy) - Okay, with a line up like this you know it's going to be awesome.  Thanks, Gary, for calling this to my attention!

11.  Miss Downtown Sugar Girl (Chris Standring) - This was just randomly playing one day when I was surfing the radio.  It's from 2003 but its jazzy guitar and disco beat are timeless, IMHO.  Clearly Spotify does not agree, since this tune is missing from their inventory.  To hear it on YouTube, click HERE.  The video is a hoot!

12.  Still Waiting (Rainy Davis) - Found this on the Isle of Deserted Pop Stars blog.  I thought I had heard every Prince cover out there, but somehow missed this one.  Spotify doesn't have this either, so I just subbed Prince's version in the meantime.  Again, I refer you to YouTube.  Grrrrrrr

13.  Afraid of Ghosts (Butch Walker) - Jill sent me "Chrissy Hynde", one of the other singles from Butch's new CD.  I wasn't sure if she was going to put it on her November playlist, so I went for this other tune.  Love its mellow, Jackson Browne vibe.

14.  End of the Line (Boy and Bear) - Australian folk rock as comforting as a vegemite sandwich (or whatever Australian's eat for comfort!).

15.  Left Hand Free (Alt-J) - The latest single from British band's sophomore album.  It sounds like one of those early-70s classic rock bands that I can never remember (but always liked)!

16.  Say My Name (Odesza featuring Zyra) - Trippy but appealing electronica with a World Music vibe, from group named after a sunken ship (thanks, Wikipedia!).

17.  Green Poison (the Ting Tings) - The Ting Tings are baaaaaaack!!!  From the sounds of this track, I'd say they've been listening to a lot of George Clinton and Parliament in their down time.

So that's November!  Hope everyone has a great month.  Don't overeat on Thanksgiving, but also don't undereat.  It IS the holidays, for pete's sake!  See you next month!