Kringle's Folly

Just a couple of weeks until Halloween means the offfical start of the Christmas season is just around the corner.I've been doing sporadic work on the "Mix" and I'm a little but disappointed at how predicable the the final selection is turning out to be. Lots of the usual yuletide suspects. I had hoped to offer a revised version of the traditional holiday canon but the best are still the best. So there won't be any real revaltions but i'll still be posting the various compilations I've been, umm, compiling,  as well as asking all of you for your favorite collections of Christmas songs - store bought or home made.

More after All Hallows...

Yules of the Game - Repeats

Sorry to have been quiet recently - other stuff kept me from the computer these last few days. I'll have the next Perfect candidates post up as soon as I can manage. Until then here's a couple of fairly obvious but still important Yules of the Game...

No repeats rule (Songs)- No song should appear on a single disc more than once. This rule is both easy and hard to follow. Easy because there are so darn many great Christmas songs out there that filling 80 minutes without repeat should be a breeze - hard because there are so darn many great performances out there of the most classic Christmas songs that choosing only one version will take a bit of soul searching in some cases.

No Repeats Rule (Performers) - In theory I like this rule but in practice keeping the likes of Bing, Perry, Andy, Nat, Frank and quite a few others down to a single track per disc will be tough. However I'll try to stick to the letter of the law as long as I can.

I'll be back tonight (or maybe tomorrow) with another list of candidates plus I'll knock a few earlier candidates off the master list.

Christmas in January?

If you thought Christmas in July was extreme get ready for Christmas in January... and February and March and so on and so on...

I've been putting together holiday mixes since I was a kid holding a tape recorder up to a radio speaker and editing with the pause button. I've done mix tapes, mix CD's, Mix DVD's, podcasts, online compilations and a Christmas station on Live 365 but I've never put together my Ultimate Christmas Mix. Until now.

Over the next 12 months I'll be reviewing every album, tape, CD, DVD and download in my crimbo collection and picking out the very best songs and performances. By December I hope to have my perfect Christmas mix ready to go. Between now and then I'll be sharing the process through this blog. I'll let you know what I've listened to and what tracks have made the grade and moved on to the list of nominees from which I'll choose the eventual 80 or so minutes of music that will be my perfect mix-CD. Along the way I'll be asking for your help and input as well - there will be polls where you can vote when I'm undecided on what songs are worthy and I'll beg for your recommendations and personal lists of favorite Christmas tunes.

Though the blog is called The Perfect Christmas Mix it's really just My Perfect Christmas Mix. Over the next 12 months we'll see if it comes close to being Your Perfect Mix as well.