From the Salmon

So part of me wants to keep working on a few posts about separation of powers or Christian views regarding torture. Nice, light, cheery pieces, all of them. The other part of me wishes that it was about 25 degrees colder here so that I could go outside and play in the snow instead of all this rain.

This post comes from that second part.

This is maybe a little too late, since many of you are probably oversaturated by now with Christmas music on the radio and in the stores. (If so, it’s yet another indication that us liberals are just no good at war. We can’t even get our purported War on Christmas[©FOXnews] right.)

I put together two iMixes at the iTunes Music Store a few weeks ago for the folks over at Bad Christian. I’ve updated them with a few new tracks, and I’m pointing to them here in case you need a last-minute boost to your Christmas music collection.

The first mix starts all traditional-like and the second branches into non-traditional Christmas songs that I still really like. It’s a decent mix of sacred, not-so-sacred, and downright silly. Enjoy.

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For Lo! The Days Are Hastening On

1. Wynton Marsalis - “Hark! The Herald Angel Sing”
2. Jars of Clay - “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”
3. Vince Guaraldi Trio - “Christmas Time Is Here (Instr.)”
4. Martin Sexton - “Do You Hear What I Hear?”
5. The Blind Boys of Alabama - “Last Month of the Year”
6. Bill Evans - “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
7. Low - “Silent Night”
8. Tracy Chapman - “O Holy Night”
9. Nickel Creek - “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
10. Vince Guaraldi Trio - “O Tannenbaum”
11. Aimee Mann - “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
12. Joshua Redman & Brad Mehldau -
    “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
13. Guster - “Carol of the Meows”
14. Newgrange - “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
15. Buddy & Julie Miller - “Away in a Manger”
16. Jars of Clay - “Little Drummer Boy”
17. Bruce Cockburn - “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”
18. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - “We Three Kings”
19. The Blind Boys of Alabama (Feat. Mavis Staples) -
    “Born in Bethlehem”

Go to the iMix at iTunes.

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There’s a Future Shining in a Baby’s Eye

1. Danny Elfman - “Making Christmas”
2. Dar Williams - “The Christians and the Pagans”
3. Blues Traveler - “Christmas”
4. The Kinks - “Father Christmas”
5. Iron & Wine - “Freedom Hangs Like Heaven”
6. Keb’ Mo’ - “Jingle Bell Jamboree”
7. Pierce Pettis - “Miriam”
8. Emmylou Harris - “Light of the Stable”
9. Vigilantes of Love - “On to Bethlehem”
10. Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - “Christmas Song”
11. Low - “Long Way Around the Sea”
12. Marc Cohn - “Baby King”
13. Bruce Cockburn - “Cry of a Tiny Babe”
14. Joni Mitchell - “River”
15. John McCutcheon - “Christmas in the Trenches”

Go to the iMix at iTunes

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In case that’s not enough goodness, here are a few additional treasures worth downloading:

• Three Christmas EPs by Sufjan Stevens!
• Feist - “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” (from Dreams of Horses)
• Peter Mulvey - “River” (from Paste)
• Claire Holley - “Mary Visits Elizabeth” (from Paste)
• Outputmessage - “Carol of the Bells” (h/t Opus)