I think making a Xmas playlist is the biggest musical challenge of any year. Rock and pop has been churning out Xmas-themed records for decades, some of it sublime, and quite a bit that hasn’t aged as well as artists and record companies might have hoped.
And all of them have been getting flogged on radio and in the shopping centres for nearly two months now, so your audience might be getting tired of Frosty the Snowman well before Xmas day rolls around.
I’ve been making Xmas playlists for 20 years now, and the most popular one by far was the 2021 edition. I went for a blend of the familiar and the less well-known, with a couple of surprises along the way.
I hope you enjoy this festive assortment, including the great band leader,.Louis Prima, a grumpy offering from the Pet Shop Boys, Beck’s bent Little Drum Machine Boy, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, and a gem from Minnesota Indie band, Low.
