Thank God It's Christmas

I'm not sure when it started, but as far as I can remember, I've always loved holiday music. In 2000, with the help of Napster, I compiled a 2-disc mix of my favorite holiday songs. That year, one of my coworkers suggested to me that a mix of holiday tunes would make for a fun "Christmas card." So I cut my mix down to one disc, made about six copies, and got an enthusiastic response. And thus, A Very Marty Xmas was born.

Little did I know that five years later, I'd still be compiling these CDs. In fact, the albums have developed quite a following over the years; in addition to giving them out to friends and coworkers, I've been asked to make copies for friends of friends, their siblings, some coworkers' children, and even some parents of friends and coworkers. Every year I hear stories of people who played the CDs while trimming the tree or during a holiday party. There's always someone who is stunned or amused to learn that I'm Jewish because the mix is so good. And two days ago I actually received a tin of homemade cookies and a card from the grateful family of one coworker. The fact that people seem to genuinely, really like the CDs makes me really happy, and encourages me to continue year after year.

In fact, it is a constant source of pleasure that there is so much good holiday music out there and that I'm always finding more to share. Six discs later, I even have enough material for next year's CD. But maybe that's jumping the gun.

As I have mentioned, this week I sent out A Very Marty Xmas 2005. Since I've written about the CD a couple of times on this site, I thought I'd post the song listing here. As always, the CD is peppered with quick clips from A Charlie Brown Christmas, Scrooged, and other fun holiday movies and specials, and where those appear is a surprise, so they're not listed on the cover. Some of the clips this year came from The Daily WAV, so I thank the guy who runs that site.

Alright, without further ado, here is the song listing:

Slade — "Merry Christmas, Everybody"
Eels — "Christmas Is Going to the Dogs"
Gavin DeGraw — "Silver Bells"
Ray Charles — "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
Queen — "Thank God It's Christmas"
Rufus Wainwright — "Spotlight on Christmas" (live acoustic)
Bleu — "Snow Day"
Diana Krall — "Jingle Bells"
Harry Connick, Jr. — "I'm Gonna Be the First One"
Jason Mraz — "Winter Wonderland"
Barenaked Ladies — "Sleigh Ride"
Jack Johnson — "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
Andy Williams — "Christmas Holiday"
Rockapella — "Carol of the Bells"
Death Cab for Cutie — "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
Brian Wilson — "The Man with All the Toys"
Leon Redbone — "Christmas Island"
Jimmy Buffett — "Ho Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum"
Melissa Etheridge — "Christmas in America"
The LeeVees — "Latke Clan"
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy — "Mr. Heat Miser"
Elvis Presley — "Santa Claus Is Back in Town"
Stevie Wonder — "One Little Christmas Tree"
Michael Bublé — "Grown-up Christmas List"
Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole — "The Christmas Song"

If you ask me, it's a perfect blend of jolly tunes, some pop, some rock and roll, a classic or two, some unexpected artists, and some fun. After some shuffling, I found an almost ideal order so the whole thing flows from start to finish. Including the covers, which I designed myself but had the kind folks at FedEx Kinkos print for me so they'd look the way I wanted them to, I think this may be my best mix ever. Suffice it to say, I'm really proud of it.

And considering each year I try to raise the game a little bit, I can't wait to compile — and hear — next year's mix. (Somewhere, my sister is already dreading it.)