80s Christmas:Having experienced the 1980s firsthand, I have no nostalgia for that decade. Throw in a soaring orchestral version of “Gloria in D Major” and “Joy to the World,” alternating with gentle renditions of “The First Noel” and “O Holy Night,” and you get the idea.ħ. Some of what I heard was almost hilariously portentous: “O Come All Ye Faithful,” from the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, for instance. Nothing wrong with that, but if you take Christmas seriously, this is your jam. Christmas Choral Classics: A lot of holiday music is corny, silly, borderline novelty fare. The latter is a defanged version of the former, exemplified by Daryl Hall & John Oates performing “Jingle Bell Rock,” or the Brian Setzer Orchestra’s version of “Run Run Rudolph.” Still, Ray Charles singing “Winter Wonderland” is enjoyable even if it doesn’t remotely rock, and I don’t see how anybody could be against hearing the Ronettes perform “Sleigh Ride.” This mix does its job.Ħ. But I forgot that rocking is very different from rockin’. Rockin’ Holidays: I was looking forward to a holiday mix dominated by caterwauling guitars. Highlights: the She & Him version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s take on a Charlie Brown Christmas highlight “Christmastime Is Here.” I could have lived without Death Cab for Cutie’s overwrought “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” and I was not happy to encounter two songs from celebrated alterna-bore Sufjan Stevens, but, again, tastes differ.ĥ. But if you’re looking for an overtly contemporary mix, it isn’t bad. Hipster Holidays:Obviously this station has the most embarrassing name. I made several keeper discoveries: “Joy to the World” remixed by Mocean Worker, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo (Malibu Mix),” and a fantastic Q-Burns reworking of Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers performing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” It’s a fun, upbeat, surprising station.Ĥ. Electronic Holidays:While slightly riskier, this was my personal favorite: classic performances remixed by modern DJs. And, let’s face it, minimizing potential argument-starters is what the holidays are all about.Ģ.
It’s engaging but not overbearing, and I can’t imagine that any of your holiday guests will find it objectionable. I heard quality musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Stanley Clarke, and Jeanie Bryson offering familiar tunes (“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “O Tannenbaum,” and so on) interpreted in fresh ways. But pair the genre with holiday music, and you’ll encounter no ponderous solos or hard-bop challenges to the notion of melody. Jazz Holidays: Some people claim not to like - or just won’t admit that they’re slightly afraid of - jazz.
No need to send a thank-you card, just read on.ġ.
PANDORA RADIO CHRISTMAS MUSIC TRIAL
So to save you some trial and error, I have explored every single one of its options (listening to at least 10 songs on each station) and ranked them. We admire Pandora’s spirit of giving, but 28 choices may be a bit daunting. To wit: The popular music service Pandora offers a startling 28 genre-specific holiday-music stations. Trouble is, they seem to play the same handful of tunes over and over - even as the variety of genre-hopping offerings keeps growing.īut in the digital-listening era you don’t have to settle for radio-style programming as your holiday soundtrack: You can zero in on a specific style of seasonal tunes. Do you love holiday music? You must, because the radio business goes berserk with the genre this time every year, with hundreds of stations switching to all-holiday formats for the season.
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