The 2009 playlist:
1.) 2009 Intro
I took clips from Christmas tapes past to form a special anniversary introduction (with a little help from Barney Rubble on the piano and a trio of singing cops).
2.) Mr. Fab - Little Saint Nick (intro) / DJ BC - You Shook Me All Noel
Splicing two different mash-ups into one, it leads off this year's CD with a 1-2 punch.
3.) No Lights On The Xmas Tree Mother / Mojochronic - Whoville (Won't Get Yuled Again)
Two clips compose "No Lights": the first is from the movie "The Girl Can't Help It" and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (who used the clip as inspiration for their song).
4.) MARS Production Library - H-906 - Special announcement
From a set of five Christmas production albums I purchased on eBay several years ago.
5.) Substance W - Good King Wenceslas
Starts off techno... then goes baroque... slides into country banjo... repeat and mix up those styles until the end. I'm getting a contact high just listening to what they were smoking!
6.) Billy Rancher & The Unreal Gods - Happy Santa Claus
Portland band that was on the cusp of going big until lead singer Rancher loses a longtime battle with lymphoma. My favorite 1980s Christmas song of all time. This was last heard on the 2004 Christmas CD.
7.) MJ & BJ Morning Show - Holiday Copyright Warning
A quick funny track that I found floating around cyberspace from a one-time duo of morning DJs.
8.) Anonymous - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Sent to me at my P.O. Box earlier this year. Click on the link to read the whole story and to download this track as well as another by the same mystery "singer".
9.) P.S. Tail, Esq. - Jingle Rock Bell
One man's attempt to sing "Jingle Bell Rock" - a funny, FUNNY version of this song. Click on the link to download the track!
10.) Stephen Fry & Jo Brand - Excerpt from "QI"
While surfing the YouTube waves one day, I came across hundreds of clips from the BBC comedy quiz show called "QI". It's an extremely witty and intelligent show - which is why it's not on American television. Click on the link to find some clips of your own!
11.) The Singing Saw - Frosty The Snowman
From the great album of Christmas favorites played by the Singing Saw and his friends with Julian Koster supervising.
12.) The Continentals - The Inexcelsis Polka
Probably the best track from this compilation, this melds "Angels We Have Heard On High" into a swinging polka! And uh-one, and uh-two... Last heard on the 2002 Christmas CD.
13.) The Three Stooges - Excerpt from "Blunder Boys"
From the last original short Moe & Larry did with Shemp - a clever spoof of Jack Webb's "Dragnet". One quick edit and presto!
14.) Tommy Edwards - It's Christmas Once Again
A wonderful smooth song from 1953 - I wanted to use this song in the Christmas Revue but couldn't find the sheet music in time.
15.) Jo Stafford - Christmas Is The Season
This song got bumped from the 2006 Christmas CD. I rediscovered it this year - it's a fantastic song! Click here to read my review of this album!
16.) Lorne Greene - Christmas Mail Early PSA
From a 1969 album of PSAs sent to radio stations courtesy of the United States Postal Service.
17.) Son of Svengoolie - Return To Santa
To those unfamiliar with Chicago TV, Svengoolie has been hosting horror movies off and on for the better part of 30 years. I grew up watching this guy - which explains a lot. Click on the link to see some of his handiwork. BERWYN???
18.) Steve Ivings - The Twelve Days Of Christmas
First heard in 1981 on the Dr. Demento Show, I was thrilled to find a MP3! Even wondered what this song would have sounded if Foster Brooks, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Walter Cronkite, Richard Burton, Liberace, Brando as Vito Corleone, Peter Falk as Lt. Columbo, Horshack from "Welcome Back, Kotter", James Cagney, Alfred Hitchcock, and Paul Lynde recorded it? Now you know!
19.) The Beatles - Christmas Fan Club Message Montage (Mixed by Rob Martinez)
From 1994 to 2003, I had featured the seven Beatles Fan Club Christmas messages on my tapes. For this version originally created for the 2003 Christmas CD, I decided to edit each message down to around one minute in length and string them all together in one montage.
20.) The Fab Four - Jingle Bells
A cut-above-the-rest tribute band performs "Jingle Bells" in the style of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows".
21.) Sammy Davis Jr. & Jerry Lewis - Christmas song intro???
From a 1988 HBO special, Sammy & Jerry try to get a song off the ground...
22.) Steve Taylor - Winter Wonderland
Taylor fuses "Winter Wonderland" and mariachi music to dynamic results! Believe or not, it was recorded for a Christian Christmas comp! My second all time favorite version of this song!
23.) Raul Malo - Silver Bells
A tango tempo to start (TANGO?) and alternate some swingin' Louis Prima breaks in the middle, and you get one incredible Christmas song from the mind of Malo.
24.) Bob Hope & John Wayne - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas / "Mr. Sun Time" radio jingle
The duet between the Duke and Ol' Ski Nose was from a 1970s Christmas special - one of thousands. The radio jingle was a tack on.
25.) The Three Suns - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
The Suns' rip it up in their own inimitable style. Chosen from their 1959 Christmas album - still one of the five best Christmas albums of all time.
26.) Los Straitjackets - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Surf guitar instrumental from these guys who originally formed in Nashville, TN and wear Mexican wrestling gear at their live shows. Yep! Roc!
27.) Mel Blanc - 1972 Christmas Seals PSA
A selection from a 1972 Christmas Seals album that I acquired earlier this year, bringing my total to eleven Christmas Seals albums in my collection.
28.) Seymour Swine - Blue Christmas
This Porky Pig soundalike (voiced by Denny Brownlee on the John Boy & Billy radio show in 1980) remains one of the funniest Christmas novelty tunes ever. My daughters heard this on the radio last year and died laughing - why it's here.
29.) Substance W - A Visit From St. Nicholas
A retelling of "The Night Before Christmas" with great background music and Hanna-Barbera sound FX. My son just rolls on the ground with laughter with this one - why it's here!
30.) Generic 1956 Merry Christmas Theater Spot (featuring Thurl Ravenscroft)
From a collection of intermission spots and trailers from the good folks at Something Weird Video.
31.) Ambrose Haley & His Ozark Ramblers - Old Timey Christmas
This is a great old-school Christmas country song whose melody will get trapped in your skull after hearing it. Given to me by my best friend Joel - what a find! Available on the 2008 Christmas Yuleblog Sampler (click link).
32.) Wilf Carter - Christmas Time In Canada
I've tried three times in the last seven years to find a spot on my annual CD for this little ditty. And after my Canadian friend Jeff Fox created this year's artwork, there was no question that this would make the cut. Hope you liked it Jeff!
33.) Christmas messages from Mayor Tommy Shanks and Frank Sinatra
Solemnity in its purest forms... The Sinatra intro came from a 1976 U.S. Army Reserve album.
34.) DJ Schmolli - Back Door Santa Getting It On
One of the first Christmas mash-ups I ever heard. Take "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" by T Rex, "Back Door Santa" by Clarence Carter, and "KLF" snatches of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston and mix vigorously!
35.) Voicedude - It's The Little Things
The only recorded output by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra that I can tolerate is their rework of Pachabel - "Christmas Canon". Voicedude takes the vocal from Blink 182's "All The Small Things", adds it to the mix, and it works brilliantly.
36.) Cary can paint, Deborah can walk, and Rob can talk...
While the final music from the final scene of "An Affair To Remember" plays, I say a few words to end and commemorate my 25th annual Christmas CD.
37.) Excerpts from "Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam"
In the second act of the Christmas revue I compiled, we chose four Christmas letters home written by soldiers from the Civil War, WW I, WWII, and Vietnam to be read by actors. This is the source of the Vietnam letter we used.
38.) Outro - short version
I edited down the long version of the outro (see 2000-2002) to 47 seconds.
Please leave your comments at the study guide page - please remember, none of these comps will be posted here in their entirety or made available online or off.
