The Joys of the Season

Today at CNN.com, there's an article about the proliferation of radio stations who switch to a 24-hour Christmas music format when the holidays roll around. The very thought makes my blood run cold. It's not that I dislike Christmas music - heck, I even surprised the girlfriend this weekend by not only have Xmas music in the car, but fairly "normal" stuff, to boot! It's just that most of the Xmas music you hear is just reworkings of the same 2-dozen carols or so. How can you possibly make a full day of that? All in moderation, that's my motto.

As a musical selection, I recommend Stan Kenton's A Merry Christmas from 1961. Kenton is a favorite of my Dad's and has roughly the same relationship to the traditional big bands as Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson do to tradition rock bands. No wonder I like it. :)