Twelve Songs of Christmas

Blind Boys of Alabama, Donna Summer, and Sia

We're officially in December, the Christmas season, and I have more interviews than I can get through in the weeks leading up to Christmas. From here on in, I'll run excerpts from the interviews I've done, and I'll run them in their entirety next season. 

This episode starts with some clean-up business after last week's conversation with Midge Ure on "Do They Know it's Christmas." I referenced Ed Sheeran's complaint that he would have preferred to be left off the 40th anniversary mega-mix, and the charges against the song by Fuse ODG. In the episode, I reference Bob Geldof responding to criticisms of the song. 

I also mentioned one of my favorite new releases of the season, Dadi Freyr's How Dadi Stole Christmas. 

This episode, I talk to Joey Williams, musical director for The Blind Boys of Alabama. In the episode, I mention that they surprised me with a new release, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" with Jay Buchanan. We talk about their album, Go Tell it on the Mountain, and when we revisit this conversation next season, we'll also talk about their collaboration with Taj Mahal, Talkin' Christmas. 

Another new track comes from Nick Bhalla, who recorded the album Saint Nick with his jazz piano trio. As this version of "Christmas Time is Here" shows, it borders on lo-fi in its emphasis on mood and melody. Hopefully I'll be able to get him for the show next season. 

I also interview Bruce Sudano, who has a new album, Talkin' Ugly Truth, Tellin' Pretty Lies. When I revisit this interview in its entirety next season, we'll get into that and his start with Alive and Kicking, the band that recorded the one-hit wonder "Tighter, Tighter" in 1970. 

We talk about his relationship with Donna Summer, who he wrote songs for, married, and managed. We start talking about Bad Girls, the first album he worked on, then move to Summer's 1994 Christmas album, The Christmas Spirit, which was reissued on vinyl this holiday season. 

After that, I talk to singer, songwriter, and friend of 12 Songs Alexandra Scott about Sia's Everyday is Christmas. It's a loose conversation as we work through some thoughts about a Christmas album we both really like, but with a few reservations.

Finally, on Black Friday I appeared on WBUR's "Here and Now" to talk about songs you might want to add to your holiday playlists. The segment is online now, and even if you've already heard it, you might want to visit the page since it has a playlist with some additional songs that I would have featured if we had another hour. 

Finally, DJ David Kunian invited me to join him on his radio show to spin and talk about Christmas music on WWOZ in New Orleans on Tuesday night. The show is online for the next two weeks if you'd like to check it out.

 

"Do They Know it's Christmas" at 40 with Midge Ure

Midge Ure from The Rich Kids, Ultravox and Visage co-wrote and produced "Do They Know it's Christmas" 40 years ago this week on November 25, 1984. He recently released a new live album, Live at the Royal Albert Hall 04.10.23, so we talked about that, touring, the Blitz club and his memories of the sessions for "Do They Know it's Christmas." 

In this episode, I talk a little more than usual to contextualize the song and the interview. We talk about the new 40th anniversary mega-mix, which is due out Friday but the video is already out. I'll talk more about it next week.

I also mention the documentary Band Aid the Song that Rocked the World, where Midge Ure tells the story of the song in 2004. 

I also found it interesting to think about this next to USA for Africa's "We Are the World." Band Aid led the way, and the American version feels very American because, as the Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop showed, it threw cool out the window and simply marshaled the biggest names in music that they could get, whereas Geldof and Ure bet on the cutting edge of British pop to not only raise money but make charitable donations cool. 

Next week I'll talk a little about the 40th anniversary mega-mix and some developments that have sprung up around it. 

In the episode, I mentioned this year's playlist. I envision it as an alternative to the all-Christmas radio stations and recommend you listen to it on shuffle so you don't know what's coming next. It will also grow as I hear more songs that I want to share or listen to and decide what's missing.

Once again, I'm also making a special, listeners-only downloadable Christmas mix. If you want one, email me at alex@myspiltmilk.com and I'll send it over. 

Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom

Husband and wife duo Dean & Britta have a sound that suits contemporary Christmas music beautifully. They've done a few movie soundtracks including 13 Most Beautiful, an album of songs commissioned by the Andy Warhol Museum to perform songs beneath Warhol's silent films shot between 1964 - 1966. 

Their sound is evocative but spare, with deeply reverbed guitars and melodic touches that bring '60s scenes to mind without being stuck there. On A Peace of Us, they and frequent collaborator Sonic Boom from Spaceman 3 work a similar magic. It's easy to envision it as part of the soundtrack to an evening during the Christmas season, entertaining enough to get your attention and hold it, but it doesn't demand your time and focus. 

As Britta Phillips and Sonic Boom - Pete Kember - explain, that's in part because the album is an expression of their relationship, and something they have been working on in bits and pieces since 2007 when Dean & Britta recorded a 45 with "Old Toy Trains" and "He's Coming Home." Kember talks about how he suggests covers, and how that too is part of their relationship.

In the episode, I reference my 12 Songs conversation with the Drive-By Truckers' Jay Gonzalez.

The episode also premieres a new Christmas song by the folk-rock band Dawes. I'm very entertained by the seasonal story-song "Christmas Tree in the Window," and you can stream it or download it at Dawes' Bandcamp page.

I'm also happy to feature a new song by Gina Birch, who you know from the British post-punk band The Raincoats or from her art career, if you know her at all. (I recognize those are very specific bona fides, but they're meaningful to me) This holiday season, Birch covered Yoko Ono's Christmas song, "Listen, the Snow is Falling," which appeared as the b-side of "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." You can download it at her Bandcamp page.

Finally, at the end of the episode I talk about the version of "Do You Know How Christmas Trees are Grown" by Jackie DeShannon. It's available in the main digital marketplaces, so you can check it out first and see if it's for you.   

Carpenters Legacy and Christmas Novelty Songs with April Brucker

Twelve Songs goes to Las Vegas this week, first to talk with Sally Olson and Ned Mills of the tribute act Carpenters Legacy about The Carpenters and their Christmas music. This year, they took their affection for both subjects to the natural conclusion and recorded "Christmas Time with You," a Christmas song made in the mold of the Carpenters. 

After that, I talk to comedian and ventriloquist April Brucker, who released a song sung by her and her puppet May Wilson, "Merry Christmas I'm So Glad I Didn't Marry You." We talk about ventriloquism, novelty songs, and the age-old tradition of using Christmas music to draw attention to your thing, whatever that thing is.

In the episode, I mentioned ChristmasUnderground.com and my interview with its creator, Jim Goodwin. I also talked about the Holly Jolly X'masu podcast focused on Japanese Christmas music, and mentioned my interview with its host, Scott Leopold. Also in the hype department, I talked about appearing on Gerry Davila's Totally Rad Christmas podcast to talk about "Do They Know it's Christmas " by Band Aid Mk I and Band Aid Mk II. 

The episode closes with a great version of "Christmas Time is Here" by Kelli Jones and Daniel Coolik from the EP A Very Melancholy Christmas. 

Jay Gonzalez and Christmas/Not Christmas Songs

Earlier this season, I interviewed The Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood about his ambivalent relationship with Christmas music. This week I talk to the Truckers' long-time guitarist Jay Gonzalez, who takes a different path to a similar place. We talk about his relationship to the band as a full-time member since 2008 who isn't Hood, Mike Cooley, or long-time drummer Brad Morgan, and his love of Christmas songs that might or might not be Christmas songs.

Along the way, I play music from his Roll Up a Song by Gonzalez Smith and Jay Gonzalez Inflatable Orchestra Vol. 1.  

Jim Brickman and Trans-Siberian Orchestra (an encore presentation)

I've been out of the country, so this week is an encore presentation with two very different artists--pop instrumental piano player Jim Brickman and Jeff Plate, the long-time drummer for the arena rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra. When I conducted these interviews in 2020, I was really interested in how COVID-19 would affect two acts that have made holiday season tours a meaningful part of their business. I could imagine Brickman's music translating to a live-streamed show, but TSO delivers sensory overload with four forms of fire (if I remember correctly) and a lighting rig that itself moved like a Transformer regardless of what the lights attached to it did.

I also interviewed long-time TSO musical director Al Pitrelli in 2018 during the first season of 12 Songs.  

The Christmas Blues with Jontavious Willis

This week I'm talking with blues artist Jontavious Willis, who recently released his album West Georgia Blues. 

I wanted to talk to Jontavious not because of his Christmas music--he doesn't have any yet--but because he's doing something that I've been trying to pay attention to as people make contemporary music in traditional forms. We go a little longer with Jontavious talking about the blues in general to help get at that thought a bit. 

But we also got to a number of his favorite blues Christmas songs, and I like that he's not doctrinaire in his choices, folding in Rev. J.M. Gates, The Emotions and James Brown among others. Early on he mentions Minnie Ripperton, and it takes a bit before I get to her, but I played "Christmas Love" by the Rotary Connection, which featured Minnie Ripperton on lead vocals.

In the episode, I also mentioned that I did a guest spot recently on the Totally Rad Christmas podcast, which focuses on Christmas in the '80s. We talked about "Do They Know it's Christmas" by Band Aid and Band Aid II from 1989 with a version of the song produced by the British pop hit making team of Stock Aiken Waterman. It's a fun conversation and worth the time. 

Finally, Jontavious mentioned Lowell Folsom's "Lonesome Christmas," then rolled on to other songs so I never got to include a song by him. If you haven't heard it, here it is.

A Cajun Christmas at the Holiday with Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys

This season has featured surf Christmas music, calypso Christmas music, Sicilian Christmas music and smooth jazz Christmas music, so it can't be too much of a surprise that we finally get to Cajun Christmas music. I think Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys are an important band as they picked up the work of maintaining endangered musical traditions that was started by a generation before him, and he influenced the generation that followed by finding contemporary ways to express those traditions.

In today's interview, we talk about Feufollet's Chris Stafford, who I wrote about shortly after he died at My Spilt Milk.

When I played "Silent Night" by Harry Fontenot, I didn't identify it. It's from the album Merry Cajun Christmas.

I also mentioned that you can find Riley's Party at the Holiday, All Night Long and other contemporary Cajun music at ValcourRecords.com.

If you're interested in taking Cajun accordion lessons from Steve, you can reach him through his Facebook page or the Contact info at MamouPlayboys.com.

 

Mindy Smith

Americana artist Mindy Smith has been referred to on 12 Songs before. At some point in the COVID years I talked about my love of "Santa Will Find You" from her 2007 album My Holiday, and last year when I talked to The Indigo Girls, we talked about the song "It Really Is (a Wonderful Life,)" which they recorded. It turns out it was written by Chely Wright, but the only version I knew was Smith's from My Holiday. 

For me, this was an interview I had long looked forward to, and it was made possible by the release of Quiet Town, her first album in 12 years. The album will be out tomorrow, though the song we play, "Something to Write in Stone," is out now along with two other songs. On October 4, it will all be for sale. 

In the episode, I mention the heartbreaking (to me) Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club on Bandcamp, which I just heard will have two new singles available this year. 

Mindy Smith will be on tour much of the rest of 2024, and you can find out where she'll be at MindySmithMusic.com.

Behind the Christmas Songs with Annie Zaleski

Music journalist Annie Zaleski returns to 12 Songs this week. She last appeared in 2022 to talk about Wham!'s "Last Christmas." In 2023, she wrote This is Christmas Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits, so she's back to talk about a few of the songs she wrote about.

In the episode, we talk about the Kate Bush Christmas special and the Kacey Musgraves Christmas special, both of which are awesome in their ways.