The Beatles' Christmas Recordings with Jonathan and Julia Pretus of "Ranking the Beatles"

The first crossover episode for "12 Songs"! 

Sooner or later, it happens to every podcast. In this case, I'm talking to husband and wife team Jonathan and Julia Pretus, who host the "Ranking the Beatles" podcast, which ranks Beatles songs, working from the bottom up. Jonathan appeared on "12 Songs" last year to defend Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime," and this week he and Julia help break down The Beatles' annual fan club-only Christmas messages, which range from the relatively straightforward to borderline musique concrète. 

These tracks are not easily purchased, but they can be found on YouTube and mp3 blogs online. One song, "Christmas Time (is Here Again)," was released in 1995 as the B-side of "Free as a Bird." You can, however, find Ringo Starr's faithful version from his 1999 album, I Want to Be Santa Claus.

In this week's episode, I also review Dolly Parton's third Christmas album, A Holly Dolly Christmas. 

Our theme music comes from AF the Naysayer, who now has the vinyl seven-inch version of his new single, "Adelheid." You can hear it and get it at his Bandcamp page.