Jingle Bell Rock

While indie rock Christmas songs have been infiltrating the season over the past couple of years(via the blogsophere, "The O.C.", etc...) I think it's reaching its saturation point. And like conventional Christmas tunage, we all get sick of it eventually with too much overplaying. Still, I'd rather hear Mark Kozelek sing "White Christmas"(included in part two of the infinite Pet's Christmas mix below) than Bing Crosby any day. The problem with some of these indie-rock Christmas mixes is that they sometimes include songs that don't sound Christmas-y at all(people please stop including Big Star's "Jesus Christ", however good a song it might be). I don't necessarily equate Christmas music with only traditional songs, however. More modern tunes like Paul McCartney's "A Wonderful Christmas Time", Wham's "Last Christmas"(actually I prefer Jimmy Eat World's version), or The Walkmen's "Christmas Party"[mp3], are more than Christmas-y to me. I've linked to a couple of more Christmas indie music links below; yes they include many versions of songs that I've been hearing alot over the last couple of Christmas' which I'm already starting to grow weary of. Still with only two more weeks till Christmas, I might as well drown myself in the Christmas tunes now. It'd be silly listening to "Jingle Bell Rock" in January.

the infinite PET posted a two part indie Christmas mix. Download parts one and two.

There's a fantastic Christmas indie mix you can download over at Stille Post.

Proving that there's a tonne of music that I haven't heard this year, check out Torr's list of The 25 best singles you didn't buy this year. I didn't buy any releases from the artists, and I've only heard 3 of the artists mentioned(Hard-Fi, Mew, Richard Hawley).

Absolutely Kosher will be releasing The Hidden Cameras - 'The Arms of his "ill"' as a CD EP on February 21, 2006. The 8-song 4-track demo companion piece to the second Hidden Cameras LP, "Mississauga Goddam" was originally only available on 10" vinyl.

CKLN's 'Wired For Sound' will be broadcasting part 2 of a live Yo La Tengo set recorded in Toronto(?). Don't know the details of the recording but the last time YLT swung through Toronto was in 2003 when they played Ryerson Theatre(I was at that show.), so maybe this'll be it. You can listen online this evening at midnight EST.