no yuletide mix here.

image stolen from kevgrey.blogspot.com


Well, I guess we're here again. Another Holiday Season where people flock to buy warm-hearted thoughtful, yet probably unnecessary presents. No really, I don't need a wall calendar, Mean Girls DVD, or tickets to Disneyland. All the things I want, I likely have (the world's most beautiful and bestest friends, Obama as President Elect, Wubbe, etc) and the three things I want are too expensive to get (Blackberry Bold, Christian Louboutin) or too tacky to give (click here).

Obviously, I'm not one for the Holidays. Doesn't mean that I am unhappy or that I don't enjoy the act of giving. I just don't think you need to take it so literally. The incessant caroling and holiday music, good cheer and ringing bells, that fill commercials and shops mostly serve as a painful reminder that I have dearly-beloveds that are far away and all over the world and how physically impossible it is to see every single person, and a painful reminder that I have dearly-departeds that I won't be spending the Holidays with.

Go ahead and call me totally Grinchy. The words "Bah" and "Humbug" resonate far clearer to me than the words "Merry" and "Christmas." (I enjoy the "Happy" "New" and "Year" because it means that all the yuletide b.s. is over and done with.) I usually try to avoid adverts on the television thanks to my DVR, and I find that this is most important this time of year. The Xmas songs they use for ads make me want to gouge away. Fast-forwarding is mandatory.

Listen family, I know you want to celebrate the birth of your God's only son or whatever. That's fine. I only wish that the giving and kind sentiments that carry on through the month of December were dispersed throughout the year. (Little bits you might experience me practicing vs preaching in little packages in the mail and countless postcards to let you know that I'm thinking of you.)

I'm not going to change this tradition of excessive spending any time soon. I realize that for the most part we are a consumer-driven society. So I'm going to try to start small. Here's a mix of mp3s in a zip file for you to enjoy so that you can cleanse those holiday songs off your palate. But don't look at this as a holiday mix - I would do this for you in the middle of April because I heart you as much now as I do then.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MIX

DECEMBER 2008
It Could Be Sweet • Portishead (4:20)
Sealed Human • The Faint (3:07)
Birds & Girls • Hanner (2:35)
Don't Save Us From the Flames • M83 (4:16)
Call Yourself A Man • Count Indigo (3:13)
Human Nature • Madonna (4:54)
Dissolved Girl • Massive Attack (6:07)
Jeff Koons • Momus (3:40)
We Share Our Mother's Health • The Knife (4:11)
Move (Cut Copy Remix) • CSS (6:31)
Lullaby • The Cure (4:11)
Venus As A Boy (Edited LP Version) • Björk (4:04)
Shake A Fist • Hot Chip (5:11)
Confusion • Electric Light Orchestra (3:42)
Cold-Hearted Snake • Paula Abdul (3:38)
This Town • The Go-Go's (3:20)
The Cutter • Echo & The Bunnymen (3:54)
Dont Lose My Number • Phil Collins (4:49)