Twelve Songs of Christmas

"Hard Candy Christmas," with Alexandra Scott

When I first conceived of “The 12 Songs of Christmas,” I imagined singer Alexandra Scott as my co-host. That didn’t happen because she wanted to be a singer more than a co-host, and it wouldn’t have worked because she moved from New Orleans to Virginia, but the first episode of Season Three is a glimpse of what might have been. This week, Alexandra joins me as a guest to talk about one of our favorite semi-modern Christmas songs: “Hard Candy Christmas.”

We trace the history of the song from the Broadway soundtrack album for the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas until we reach the much-loved Dolly Parton version, discussing what’s gained and lost in each version, and what Dolly brings to the song. En route to Dolly’s version, we play the version from the film adaptation with audio grabbed from this video since there is no album that includes it.

 

We then move on to two more stellar takes of “Hard Candy Christmas” by British singer Tracey Thorn and the combination of RuPaul, Barbara Mitchell and Michelle Visage. Both are exceptional for very different reasons.

Along the way, we talk about nostalgia, musical theater, stardom, and whether or not the song is a Christmas song at all.

For more on Alexandra Scott, you hear and buy her music at her Bandcamp page.

Letters to Cleo

Boston-based alt-rock band Letters to Cleo made its name in the 1990s and had its biggest hit in 1994 with "Here & Now." It split in 2000, reunited briefly in 2007, and it now exists-ish, coming together each November to play a series of shows. It doesn't occupy the same space in the band members' careers that it once did, but they found reasons to continue to play together. 

This week, Alex Rawls talks to guitarist Michael Eisenstein about the state of the band, its plans, and how they led to this year's EP, OK Christmas. He discusses why it happened now and not sooner, and how the gigs they've done since made it possible now. 

After that, Alex reviews new Christmas releases from the Peter Holsapple Combo, I Don't Know How but They Found Me, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, and Rebecca Angel. For full-length videos from these songs and more reviews, visit a recent reviews column at MySpiltMilk.com.

This is the last episode of season two of 12 Songs. It will return for season three on the first Wednesday after Labor Day. If you haven't done so yet, please subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. That will help others find out about the pod and make sure that you don't miss an episode when 12 Songs returns. 

Kishi Bashi and The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling"

In 2012, Kishi Bashi recorded “It’s Christmas, But It’s Not White Here in Our Town.” The song was a Kickstarter premium he offered when trying to raise money for his debut album, 151a, and once it was finished, his label Joyful Noise proposed releasing it as a limited edition Flexi-disc. Recently, I talked with Kishi Bashi about the song and how he built it—like his other songs—through a series of overdubs and looped parts that he played on his violin. We also talked about his upbringing as the son of parents who came from Japan to America, and how their experiences helped shape his Christmases.

When we spoke, he was on tour in support of his most recent album, Omoiyari. Kishi Bashi is a multi-instrumentalist whose primary instrument is the violin, and he generally performs and records as a one-man act, looping parts to create a full band experience even though he’s the only one playing. His songs have often had a psychedelic pop beauty to them, but on Omoiyari, his songs have higher stakes as he addresses the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. He uses his songs to try to better understand and connect with not just the situation but the people involved, and he does so without sacrificing the beauty that is present in his compositions.

During our conversation, I referred to an archive titled Attention Kmart Shoppers, where someone digitized the vinyl records and cassette tapes that stores were provided to play as background music. I played part of one of the Christmas albums, which you can hear in its entirety and download from the site.

I also talked to New Orleans’ Boyfriend about The Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas Darling.” Boyfriend also has new Christmas music that we didn’t mention since it wasn’t out when we recorded this conversation. She collaborated with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a version of “You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch” from How The Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s an exclusive to Spotify, and you can hear it there or at MySpiltMilk.com, where I wrote a round-up of New Orleans-based Christmas songs that include all four of the Preservation Hall tracks that showed up as Spotify singles this Christmas season, and two new takes on classics by Kristin Diable.

Debbie Davis

New Orleans singer Debbie Davis started recording Christmas music with her husband Matt Perrine when that was the Christmas gift that they could afford. In 2014, they released their Christmas music CD, Oh Crap! It's Christmas, and I got the story behind the album then at MySpiltMilk.com. 

The album led to a yearly holiday show, and the upcoming show--December 15 at Cafe Istanbul in New Orleans at the time of this recording--was the occasion for our conversation. For that reason, we focused more on performing Christmas music.

During our conversation, we talked at one point about John Legend's rewrite of "Baby It's Cold Outside." Here it is, if you haven't heard it yet. We also talked about Lowland Hum's version of "Christmastime is Here;" here that is. I interviewed Lowland Hum last season, and you can find that really interesting interview here. 

Recently, I posted a 12 Songs Christmas music playlist on Spotify. If you want a soundtrack for the season that’s fresh—or fresh to you—I think you’ll enjoy it.

If you haven't subscribed to 12 Songs yet, this is a good time to do so because the season ends strong. Go to Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify and subscribe. 

Josh Rouse

This year, singer/songwriter Josh Rouse released The Holiday Sounds of Josh Rouse. As he explains in our conversation, it’s the culmination of years of songwriting during the holiday season, and the songs are both true to his art and the season. The craft they display is impeccable, and they fill a void in the Christmas music market because they’re aimed first at adults, whereas the hundreds of Santa, Frosty and Rudolph songs speak first and most compellingly to children.

Rouse wrote most of the songs on the album while living in Spain, where he has lived off and on since 2004. He talks about how Spanish audiences he encountered responded to American Christmas music, and about how Nick Lowe’s Quality Street affected his own thinking about Christmas music.

Rouse has a few Christmas shows left this week in the Northeast. If you want to see one, check JoshRouse.com for details and tickets.

Recently, I posted a 12 Songs Christmas music playlist on Spotify. If you want a soundtrack for the season that’s fresh—or fresh to you—I think you’ll enjoy it.

If you haven't yet subscribed to 12 Songs, this is a good time to do so because the season ends strong. Go to Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify and subscribe. 

An Encore Presentation of The Minus 5

In this encore presentation of an episode from last spring, Alex Rawls talks to Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5 about the band’s Dear December and the unusual circumstances surrounding its release. McCaughey finished the album, then shortly before its release in the fall of 2017, he suffered a stroke. That ended any promotion for the album as well as any performing for McCaughey, who started in Seattle’s Young Fresh Fellows, and also played in R.E.M.’s touring band and The Baseball Project with Peter Buck and Steve Wynn.

In our conversation, he talks about the road the recovery and how not being able to play those songs for a while affected his relationship to the album. He also talks about how the song choices for the album and its release were affected by The Monkees’ Christmas Party album, which includes some of his songs.

After that, Alex reviews new Christmas releases from Rob Halford, Ne-Yo, Keb’ Mo’, John Legend, and Diana Ross.

If you haven't yet subscribed to 12 Songs, this is a good time to do so because the season ends strong. Go to Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify and subscribe. 

 

Isaac Hanson of Hanson

I hadn't planned on this season circling in on two or three common features, but this season has included a number of Nashville acts, a number of discussions of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and two acts that made their marks on MTV in the 1990s. Two weeks ago, 12 Songs featured Matthew Nelson of Nelson, and this week I talk to Isaac Hanson of Hanson--three brothers who were introduced to the world as teenagers in 1997 with the release of "MMMBop" and the four-times platinum album it came from, Middle of Nowhere. 

Isaac has done enough interviews since then to know how to hit his marks, but he's also pretty candid about Hanson's place in the world in the late 1990s, and although releasing the Christmas album Snowed In as the follow-up to Middle of Nowhere was not the most intuitive choice, it helped the band do a few things that they thought were valuable. 

We talk about that and the challenge of interpreting Christmas songs on Snowed In and 2017's Finally It's Christmas, an album that also makes clear how hard-wired their pop sensibilities are. We also talk about rewriting Paul McCartney, which they did for their cover of "Wonderful Christmastime"--another song that got a lot of talk this season--and the thought processes behind it. 

Hanson recently started their first holiday music tour, which will continue until December 21 when they play The Paramount in Huntington, NY. If you're like me and in New Orleans, they'll play The Fillmore on December 10. Go to Hanson.net for tour dates and tickets.

In other 12 Songs news, I recently said that I would post a Christmas playlist of my own. Here it is, 2 1/2 hours that I hope will find as much fun as I do. 

On December 10 at 10 p.m. Central, I will appear on WWOZ with my host and friend David Kunian to play and talk about Christmas music. If you're in New Orleans, you can check the show out that night; if you're out of town, it will be streaming live on WWOZ.org.

And finally, for the rest of the Christmas season, we'll go to two shows a week, with the last one coming on Christmas Eve. If you haven't yet subscribed to 12 Songs, this is a good time to do so because the season ends strong. Go to Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify and subscribe. 

Christmas Compilations with Joe Adragna of The Junior League

Salvation Army used record bins are crowded with Christmas albums presented in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ’80s by companies such as Firestone, True Value, and businesses that have since shut down. They often feature cover art that resembles a Christmas present or invokes nostalgic holidays from the past. On this episode of “12 Songs,” host Alex Rawls talks with New Orleans’ Joe Adragna about those albums and particularly one that was important to his family’s Christmases, A Very Merry Christmas Vol. 5, sold by Grant’s department store in Long Island.

They talk about how these albums not only reflect but shape Christmas practices, and what the song and artist choices say the conception of Christmas put forward by these companies.

Adragna is a pop classicist who records under the name The Junior League, and earlier this year he released a new album, Adventureland.

After that conversation, host Alex Rawls talks about The Molly Burch Christmas Album by indie singer/songwriter Molly Burch (really this time!). The new album is Burch’s third, and Rawls reviews it, talking about how it fits into her body of work and some of the smart musical choices she makes on the album. We also hear her unusual take on “Last Christmas” by Wham!

The 12 Songs of Christmas with Nelson

For many, Nelson is the answer to a trivia question: What twin blonde guitar-playing brothers had a hit in 1990 with “Love and Affection”? Matthew Nelson acknowledges that his profile isn’t what it once was this week on “The 12 Songs of Christmas,” where he talks about This Christmas and This Christmas Too, companion albums that were released in 2015 and 2016. Each features the songs with a mix of vocal and instrumental tracks; songs that feature vocals on one album are instrumentals on the other, and vice versa.

Matthew Nelson and his brother Gunnar are third generation in their family in the public limelight after their father, singer Ricky Nelson, and their grandparents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, who had their own sitcom Ozzie and Harriet from 1952 to 1966. Matthew remembers Christmases with his family and talks about how he and Gunnar came to make not one but two Christmas albums, and why he considers “Blue Christmas” the hardest Christmas song to cover.

The albums became part of a plan to do Christmas shows each year, and this year their Christmas tour starts on November 23 and runs through December 21. Go to their website for tour dates and tickets.

After that conversation, host Alex Rawls talks about The Molly Burch Christmas Album by indie singer/songwriter Molly Burch. The new album is Burch’s third, and Rawls reviews it, talking about how it fits into her body of work and some of the smart musical choices she makes on the album. We also hear her unusual take on “Last Christmas” by Wham!

If you’re listening to this episode here, please subscribe to 12 Songs through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. That way, you don’t miss an episode and I have numbers to help convince artists and their managers that appearing on the podcast is a good idea. Those numbers also help advertisers see “12 Songs” as a way to reach their markets. It’s a win/win!

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" with The Ornaments and Joel Dinerstein

A Charlie Brown Christmas has a special place in the hearts of many. The cartoon from 1965 introduced generations of children to “ennui” before they had a name for it, and the soundtrack by The Vince Guaraldi Trio added some emotional gravity to effervescence that characterizes much of the Christmas canon. The album’s centerpiece, “Christmas Time is Here,” became a Christmas standard in the 1990s, when it was covered by Mel Tormé, Chicago, Shawn Colvin and guitarist Steve Vai, and last year Houston’s global indie/psychedelic rock band Khruangbin released a great version of the song.

During the 12 Songs conversation with Chuck Mead that started this season, Mead talked about his inability to play Christmas concerts because his drummer, Martin Lynds, was busy in December with another band, The Ornaments, who perform the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack from beginning to end in a series of show through the month of December in Nashville. The Ornaments have been doing playing these gigs for 14 years now, and recently, host Alex Rawls talked to Lynds and pianist Jen Gunderman about The Ornaments, Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and what’s wrong with Santa in the animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

After that, this episode returns to a guest from earlier this season, Joel Dinerstein. Dinerstein is a professor at Tulane University who has written extensively about notions of cool in America, and he recently appeared on 12 Songs to talk about cool and uncool Christmas songs. During that conversation, Dinerstein talked about A Charlie Brown Christmas, but since the episode was lengthy with a lot to think about before it got to that section, Rawls decided to hold that section until now. The second section of today’s show is that exchange.

Recently, listener Raymond Martin shared a massive Christmas playlist that he posted on Google Play. You can hear it here, and if you have a Christmas playlist you want to share, you can reach Alex through Facebook or by emailing alex@myspiltmilk.com. If you think you've got good taste in Christmas music and/or some cool obscurities, show us what you've got. 'tis the season! 

Finally, if you’re listening to this episode here, please subscribe to 12 Songs through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. That way, you don’t miss an episode and I have numbers to help convince artists and their managers that appearing on the podcast is a good idea. Those numbers also help advertisers see “12 Songs” as a way to reach their markets. It’s a win/win!