Say It Ain't So

My friends, as I survey my collection of unused holiday tunes, I'm very quickly coming to the realization that there may not be a Very Marty Christmas 2008. I spent some time this past weekend re-listening to last year's mix and congratulating myself once again on what a great, fun compilation it was. (Really. At various times, I found myself saying out loud, to no one but myself, how great an album it was.) Heck, I even made two CDs — the second being my best-of collection. So how could I possibly top those this year?

Before anyone blames this on the economy or laziness or anything else, know this much: I'm trying. But of all the new holiday music I'm listening to — Sheryl Crow, Kristin Chenoweth, the Brushfire collection, Brian McKnight, Ledisi, and even Neil Sedaka — very little of it is any good. Of course, I love the new Harry Connick Jr. holiday album, but I can't really make a CD of only Harry Connick tunes. That wouldn't be very cool — or legal. And I really don't want to make a subpar CD of leftovers that didn't make it onto previous year's mixes (like Dido's "Christmas Day," a perennial also-ran, or Darlene Love's now-three-year-old "Christmastime for the Jews").

Really, I'm just not as excited about making a mix this year like I was last year. So maybe the best thing for me to do is go out on top and leave folks wanting more. After all, last year's mix was really good. Like, instant-classic good. Maybe by next year I'll have enough material to compile a really good and worthy ninth (!!) Very Marty Christmas CD. And, maybe I'll rally and find enough for a good CD this year. You never know what can happen around holiday time. Stay tuned.