Something Like Sound

I once worked retail. Anyone who has done likewise (or who has simply spent a lot of time in shopping malls any time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s) knows the terror that is overplayed Christmas music. Fear not! There are alternatives for people who want some holiday cheer without consuming the thick-sugary-syrup that seeps out of shopping-mall stereos.

Sufjan Stevens: Songs For Christmas (Volumes I-V): For several years Stevens has been quietly recording and releasing Christmas EPs full of traditional and original songs. His recordings of songs such as “Lo How A Rose e’re Blooming” and “O Holy Night” remind the listener about the classic hymns that have all but gone by the wayside. However, Stevens’s original works are the real highlights of this box set (which comes with stickers and goodies). “Sister Winter” and “That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!” hearken back to the soft sounds of his Michigan record, while “Get Behind Me, Santa!” and “Christmas in July” are slightly more joyful.

While this box-set came out a couple years back, Stevens hasn’t quit making these holiday records. Last year Songs For Christmas Volume VIII: Astral Inter Planet Space Captain Christmas Infinity Voyage leaked. While this EP has more experimental sounds (in the vein of Enjoy Your Rabbit), it also contains what may be my favorite Christmas song of all time, “Christmas In The Room.”

MxPx: Punk Rawk Christmas: The “Left-Coast Punks” of MxPx have been releasing a new Christmas track every year for about the last decade. This year they finally decided to put them all together into a full-length record. This may be one of the few places you get a holiday song about zombies (as heard on “Christmas Night of the Living Dead”).

Julian Koster: The Singing Saw At Christmastime: Julian Koster may be one of the few musicians capable of cutting down a Christmas tree with his instrument. The former Neutral Milk Hotel singing saw player released his take on the standards last year. This may be one of the oddest records (Christmas or not) out there, but it certainly has a unique charm.