The British Cherryade Records has been indie in concept and practice for more than 15 years. For much of that time, it has released a yearly Christmas compilation, A Very Cherry Christmas, which is only released in limited quantities and predominantly as physical objects. Cherryade's Bandcamp page features links to their Christmas comps dating back to 2005, but the CDs have long since sold out and only a few tracks from each one are available to stream or download.
In 2020, Cherryade released an EP, not a full album, because they weren't sure they could get the CDs made, much less that artists could record songs during the pandemic. It is available for download in its entirety with proceeds going to The Music Venue Trust, a non-profit helping indie music venues survive the shutdown that accompanied the pandemic.
Christmas music collector and DJ Gareth Jones talks today about the story behind the 2020 EP, the series, and the way indie rock does (or doesn't) sound like Christmas. Jones also posted a three-hour mix of indie rock Christmas music on Mixcloud.
This week, we also highlight one of our favorite Christmas albums, Christmas Cookin' by organ player Jimmy Smith.
If you like what you hear or are curious, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts—Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Pandora, or Spotify. If you want to get the music from the show, buy it through the links on this page and you help to support 12 Songs.
"Joyeux Noël, Bon Chrismeusse" from Lafayette with Chas Justus
Peggy Lee with Holly Foster-Wells
Amy Grant's "A Christmas Album" and Patrick Droney
"Do They Know It's Christmas" with Michaelangelo Matos and Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd
George Winston, The Bird and The Bee, The Myrrhderers, and Mento Buru
Calexico, Grant-Lee Phillips, and Peggy Lee
Big Freedia and Kelly Finnigan
Judith Owen and Harry Shearer, and Office Romance
Jim Brickman and the Return of Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips
"Just Like Christmas" with Low
The Goo Goo Dolls and Tori Kelly
"Mele Kalikimaka" with Ana Cristina Cash
Janie Fricke
The Beatles' Christmas Recordings with Jonathan and Julia Pretus of "Ranking the Beatles"
Rhonda Vincent, and Carrie Underwood's "The Gift"
Mega Ran
Christmas Music on the Billboard Charts with Chris Molanphy
"A Jazzy Little Christmas" with Ernie Haase and Signature Sound
"Hard Candy Christmas," with Alexandra Scott
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