In The Christmas Groove

I am Strut Records' little bitch. They're one of those labels, like DFA or Ze, that I trust 100%. That doesn't mean I love everything they do, but I'll always take a chance. Plus, Strut issued the faboo Horse Meat Disco mix this summer, and one of the best nights I had dancing in 2009 was at the HMD party in Portland. Even if I did almost lose my glasses.

Strut has dug up a dozen super-rare soul cuts from the '60s and '70s and compiled them on In The Christmas Groove. My personal favorites are "Angel's Christmas" by Wild Honey and "Black Christmas" by the Harlem Children's Chorus, and I'm thrilled to see Seattle represented by The Black On White Affair, but it's all damn funky stuff. Check out the opening cut and decide for yourself.

J.D. McDonald "Boogaloo Santa Claus"

Strangely enough, between the time I got the first press release about this compilation, and when the promo copy arrived, three cuts were excised from the track listing: Isaac Clarke's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (produced by Eddie Bo!), Soul Saints Orchestra's "Santa's Got A Bag of Soul," and AKIM & The Teddy Vann Production Company's classic "Santa Claus Is A Black Man." That last one isn't hard to find*, but here's a re-post of its lesser-known b-side, "A Natural Santa."

AKIM & The Teddy Vann Production Company "A Natural Santa"

* However, if anyone has those other two deleted tunes to share, I'd love to hear 'em.

Window shopping

I saw this vintage Tom & Jerry set in the window of a shop in Glitter Gulch (formerly known as the Pine/Pike corridor) this afternoon. Can't decide if it is brilliant, terrifying, or both. Regardless, it merited documentation.

New Christmas music and news from Julian Koster, Coati Mundi, and SpongeBob Squarepants, plus a very odd version of "We Three Kings," coming up shortly. I'm having some post-Thanksgiving malaise, but I'll get my holiday mojo back ASAP, I promise.

Camera Obscura Christmas

I could've sworn Camera Obscura had already cut at least one Christmas tune, but a quick review of the track list to A Cool Cool Christmas reveals I'm mistaken. Regardless, the lovely lads and lasses who already gave us one of the year's finest albums, My Maudlin Career, are back with some holiday... um, well, "cheer" isn't exactly the right word. Nevertheless, "The Blizzard"—which you can listen to below—is a seasonal selection, originally recorded by Jim Reeves, apparently in the wake of the tremendous success of his 1963 album Twelve Songs of Christmas.

Blue Daxmas

When the Danielle Dax MySpace page was updated recently, and friends were asked to suggest songs to post in the player, the one restriction was they had to be Dax originals. So no "Tomorrow Never Knows" or "Blue Christmas." Since the latter is one of my all-time fave holiday cuts, I thought I'd throw it up here quickly as a warm up to properly relaunching "Festive!" for 2009.

Danielle Dax - "Blue Christmas"

In the next few days I'll dust off a few of the expired links from last year. I've also got new records to blab about, particularly Strut's excellent In The Christmas Groove and a few LPs of seasonal library music I found earlier this year. Stay tuned!