Welcome Yule!

Well, I've officially broken the seal. I started my Christmas shopping.

This year, I started off with getting gifts for 4 teenagers from the Salvation Army's Angel Tree. I'm not much of a Christmas shopper as I have mentioned before. However, I can say that I haven't had so much fun spending $100 like I did for these 4 kids who otherwise would have gone with nothing. What made it even more special was the young woman at Old Navy and her testimonial to me about how cool it is to give to others.

Hell, I'm fortunate to have a job that everyday I am thankful for having. I have no children. To me, the thought of making a kid's Christmas special really inspires me.

But enough. The next installment of Music 101, you will notice I have included some of my favorite arrangements of Christmas Carols. And, yet again, you probably won't have heard of ANY of them. But, over the last couple of years, I have been really trying to be inspired by "different" carols, since let's face it, how much more of "Oh Holy Night" sung by Florence Henderson can we really stand?

Yes, this collection of 10 carols is pretty eclectic- much like me. Some of them are pretty easy to listen to, such as the Coventry Carol (and who doesn't like the sound of Elizabethan harmony?), Past 3 O'Clock, or really ANYTHING from Handel's Messiah.

Well, let's get past that. I challenge all you readers out there to look at 3 lesser known carols, the Fayrfax, Wexford, and Chester Carols. The latter two are pretty tonal, but certainly from their sounds, they're either modal or based off plain-chant. The Fayrfax Carol, on the other hand, is a world of its own. It's haunting. It's dissonant. It's somewhat raw to listen to. But, after you get done listening to it, for whatever reason, it sticks with you. Check it out. It's kind of cool.

I have to admit that XMRadio is doing a great job of bringing in some audible holiday cheer. And I certainly am not minding the music either.

Happy Listening!