What's New In 2020? Hip Christmas Music (www.hipchristmas.com)

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So, how was your 2020? Mine, too. But, with the holidays are just around the corner, I'd better crawl out of my COVID-19 cave and compile my annual list of new Christmas music releases, including reissues, new albums, a handful of singles, and my own Top 10. Be aware, this is a curated list of the year's best and/or most notable Christmas music - which is to say, it's hardly exhaustive. Most especially, I no longer focus on new music except for "legacy artists" who've been making music for a while - this year, for example, the Goo Goo Dolls. So, be sure to visit my festive friends like Mistletunes, Christmas Underground, and Christmas A Go Go! to keep up with the youngsters.

What am I missing, fellow Christmas fanatics? Drop me a line... Of course, happy holidays, stay safe, and follow me over at the Facebook!

Randy Anthony

Hip Christmas Top 10 Albums

Here's my tentative Top 10 list - in alphabetical order by artist. Many more releases are left to come - particularly in the digital realm - so the list may evolve as the big day approaches.

Calexico / Seasonal Shift
It's been a slow year for holiday albums. Frankly, I can't say I'm surprised, given the raging pandemic. But, that's allowed a number of small, understated records to bubble up. Perhaps foremost among them is Calexico's Seasonal Shift, a mostly original album that benefits from the Arizona band's years of experience making such understated music - what some people call "desert noir." Calexico arose from the ashes of Giant Sand, with a detour through the Friends of Dean Martinez, and they did a Christmas song ("Gift X-change") many years ago, but "Seasonal Shift" is their first Christmas album. In their own words, it's "less of a Christmas album and more of a cross cultural seasonal celebration." In a similar vein, see albums by Andrew Bird, Hearts of Animals, Grant-Lee Phillips, and Karla Bonoff, well as Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn, who's compiled a batch of his folky annual holiday songs.

Dollyrots / A Very Dollyrots Christmas
As with a lot of younger artists, I first heard of Los Angeles pop punk band the Dollyrots when they recorded a Christmas song - in their case, a slam-bang reading of Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" for A Blackheart Christmas (2008). Over a decade later, the band's almost-annual holiday singles have finally added up to enough for a full-on album. Enter A Very Dollyrots Christmas, which collects 12 tracks spanning 2010 to the present. These are mostly loud-and-fast covers, but it also includes the originals "Messed Up Xmas," "Because I'm Santa," and "I Saw Mommy Biting Santa Claus," their 2013 zombie opus. To top it off, there's an exclusive new version of "Santa Baby." To quote singer Kelly Ogden, "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"

Kelly Finnigan / A Joyful Sound
This soulful album is my discovery for the year, because I had never heard of Kelly Finnign (or his band the Monophonics) till he released A Joyful Sound. And it's quite a discovery. Finnigan is a white guy from the West Coast, but his music will make you think, first, that he's not altogether white and, second, that it's 1973 all over again. He works a sweet soul vibe, and he brings along members of the Dap Kings, the Harlem Gospel Travelers, as well as the Monophonics. The album is all original, I think, and it includes his 2019 single, "Heartbreak For Christmas." For another solid effort in a very similar vein, check out It's a Soulful Christmas by Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions.

Goo Goo Dolls / It's Christmas All Over
There was a time, early on, when I though the Replacements-influenced Goo Goo Dolls were the saviors of rock 'n' roll. Then their massive hit ballad "Iris" happened, and things changed. But, I was still pretty excited to hear their first-ever Christmas songs on their first-ever Christmas album, It's Christmas All Over. I'd give a solid B-minus, though, with three original songs forming it's core. "This Is Christmas" is the mandatory "Iris"-style ballad, and it's okay, but I prefer the prickly "You Ain't Getting Nothin'." The third, "Better Days," is, unfortunately, sung by piano player's kid. The rest are covers both predictable (Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again") and surprising (Louis Prima's "Shake Hands with Santa Claus"), and a handful of traditional songs.

Mark Lanegan / Dark Mark Does Christmas
So, as I write this, I haven't even heard the album, but it's due for release on December 11. Dark Mark Does Christmas is an update of an EP that glowering genius and former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan released in 2012, but sold only at concerts. Last time I looked, the CD had sold out, but vinyl was available - and, of course, check your local record store. At present, no digital release has been announced. Lanegan has added four songs to the original six tracks, including a cover of the Everly Brothers' disturbing "Christmas Eve Can Kill You" and an original, "A Christmas Song." As his label, Rough Trade puts it, 2020 is going be a dark Christmas. Um, yeah.

Peggy Lee / Ultimate Christmas
In her long career, Miss Peggy Lee only released one full-length, all-new holiday album, but she recorded more than a dozen other Christmas tracks. The expanded CD reissue of that album - Christmas Carousel - is arguably the best single presentation of her holiday music, but so is Ultimate Christmas. At 22 tracks, it almost lives up to its billing. It's not quite complete, but it's the beefiest such collection ever, and it's probably the best we'll ever get. Lee didn't exactly bring her "Fever" game to this music, but it's fun to listen to and, of course, impeccably sung.

Buck Owens & The Buckaroos / A Merry "Hee Haw" Christmas
This Omnivore reissue of Buck Owens' 1970 compilation A Merry Hee Haw Christmas is just about perfect. The original 2-LP set - released to capitalize of Owens' popular-but-cornpone TV show, Hee Haw"- had nearly all the songs from Owens' two wonderful holiday albums, Christmas With Buck Owens & The Buckaroos (1965) and Christmas Shopping 1968. Omnivore's CD version adds the rest of those songs plus two "Toys for Tots" bonus tracks. Or, as Buck's little boy told Santa, "One of everything you got"...

Dolly Parton / A Holly Dolly Christmas
These days, I'm a bigger fan of Dolly Parton, the person, than Dolly Parton, the musician. She's a beautiful soul, and she puts her money where her mouth is, feeding the hungry and (almost) curing COVID-19. But, Dolly's work in the 60's and early 70's is foundational country music, and A Holly Dolly Christmas is certainly one of the season's highest profile albums. It's also Dolly's first all-new holiday album in 30 years, so that's a reason to celebrate all by itself. For all those reasons, and not necessarily the music itself, Dolly gets in my Top 10. And if you don't like that, well, bless your heart.

Slowey & The Boats / Merry Christmas From Slowey & The Boats Volumes 1 & 2
This band that plays Hawaiian-styled instrumental exotica hails from the unlikely hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You wouldn't know it from listening to Merry Christmas From Slowey & The Boats, though. It sounds like the real deal, like Arthur Lyman himself came down from heaven to cut some new wax. The band released an EP in 2017, and this release takes that and adds a second batch of songs to create a full-length album. It's worth noting that the label, New Jersey-based Hi-Tide Recordings, has a bunch more holiday music this year including a great EP, Christmas Wassailing, by surf band the Volcanics.

various artists / Christmas On The Range: 26 Festive And Swingin' Country Tunes
German label Bear Family began releasing Christmas albums a few years ago, and it was a godsend. Over time, they've started dipping into the public domain as well as their storied catalog, but they still do a great job. This year, they've bestowed two Christmas compilations on us, Christmas On The Range and Headin' For The Christmas Ball: 31 Swing And R&B Christmas Crooners. I'm more excited about the former, full of rare bits from Bob Wills, Red Foley, and many others. Oddly, though, it contains nothing by Jimmie Wakely, even though the cover art is based on his 1949 album of the same name, and that album has never been reissued in the digital age.

Hip Christmas Top 20 Singles

If it's been a slow year for albums because of a certain virus, I think it's caused an uptick in singles. I guess they're easier to produce in your bedroom or basement or attic. There's a lot to choose from, but here are my favorites, in alphabetical order by artist.

Top 10 Singles

Ten Best Songs About the Pandemic

Five Best Reissued Singles

Album Reissues

New Albums

Singles & Tracks

Previous Years. We've been compiling this "what's new?" list for a while, going back to 2003 (Gary Hoey, Jackson 5), 2004 (Chris Isaak, Dwight Twilley), 2005 (Diana Krall, Brian Setzer), 2006 (Aimee Mann, Bootsy Collins), 2007 (Smithereens, Darlene Love), 2008 (Weezer, Pretenders), 2009 (Bob Dylan, Los Straitjackets), 2010 (James Brown, Shelby Lynne), 2011 (Killers, Carole King), 2012 (Rod Stewart, Polyphonic Spree), 2013 (Salsoul Orchestra, Nick Lowe), 2014 (Blue Rodeo, Earth Wind & Fire), 2015 (Sharon Jones, Brian Setzer), 2016 (Loretta Lynn, Frankie Valli), 2017 (Gwen Stefani, Beatles), 2018 (Eric Clapton, Old 97's), and 2019 (Los Lobos, Ramsey Lewis).

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