The Sounds of Christmas
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USA Today Rounds Up Their Picks For The Best Christmas Releases of 2011

11/27/2011

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_The annual sleigh-load of new holiday music ensures enough variety of seasonal strains to satisfy every branch of the family tree. But wading through that yule tide can be tough sledding. USA TODAY music critics Elysa Gardner, Edna Gundersen, Steve Jones, Brian Mansfield and JerryShriver offer sound advice on selecting sonic stocking stuffers.


FOR YOUR CROON-CRAVING MOM

Michael Bublé, Christmas

When the weather outside is frightful, Bublé's creamy bari-tenor can smooth away all the rough edges. The Canadian adult-contemporary favorite approaches a range of golden oldies with his usual mix of playfulness and reverence, putting a jazzy New Orleans spin on Blue Christmas and turning Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You into a power ballad. He's joined by a children's choir on Silent Night and by Mexican siren Thalia on a flamenco-flecked Feliz Navidad. Other guests: fellow traditionalists the Puppini Sisters (Jingle Bells) and a slinky Shania Twain (White Christmas). There's also a Bublé original, the earnestly romantic Cold December Night (co-written with Alan Chang and Bob Rock). — Gardner

Also consider:

•Paul Anka, Songs of December

•Tony Bennett, The Classic Christmas Album

•Dean Martin, My Kind of Christmas

FOR YOUR TWEEN NIECE

Justin Bieber, Under the Mistletoe

Dismiss Bieber if you want, but kids have made many of Christmas' most enduring records, from Brenda Lee to the Jackson 5. And Mistletoe, which sold more than 200,000 copies in its first week alone, is a solid addition to the canon of youthful, R&B-oriented holiday albums. The choice of material often plays to Bieber's burgeoning skills as a romantic balladeer, and he brings in guests with cross-generational appeal, including Boyz II Men (a cappella Fa La La), Mariah Carey (All I Want for Christmas Is You) and Usher (The Christmas Song). Only the silly couplets in a rap version of Drummer Boy— "Playing for the king, playing for the title/I'm surprised you didn't hear this in the Bible" — seem like an obvious misstep. Maybe Mistletoe won't have the timeless appeal of Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, but they probably said that about the J5's Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, too. — Mansfield

Also consider:

•Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2

•Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring David Archuleta, Glad Christmas Tidings

•The Sing-Off: Songs of the Season

FOR YOUR HIPSTER SISTER

Scott Weiland, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The Stone Temple Pilots rocker takes an unexpected hiatus, shelving his flamboyant wail to reveal a silky baritone on lush arrangements of holiday classics. The spark for the collection was a performance two years ago on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, inspired by Frank Sinatra's 1957 recording. Weiland's sentimental set covers standards popularized by Bing Crosby (White Christmas), Perry Como (Winter Wonderland) and Nat King Cole (The Christmas Song). But it's not all croon tunes. He enlists steel drums on a reggae rendition of O Holy Night, jazzes up What Child Is This?, adds a bossa nova beat to Silent Night and submits his original Happy Christmas and Many More. — Gundersen

Also consider:

•She & Him, A Very She & Him Christmas

•Jack Johnson and various artists, This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday, Volume 2

•Shonen Knife, Sweet Christmas

Read the complete original article on USA Today's site right here


_

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Rating Songs

11/13/2011

3 Comments

 
I've gotten lots of questions about our top ten and how songs are rated, so I thought I'd jot down a couple notes about it.Live 365 rates songs in a couple ways.  The first is negative.  When you turn the station off, whatever song is playing gets a strike against it.  I don't know exactly how the math works on that, I just know that it counts against a song when you turn off the station.  So, the bottom line for this is - don't turn the station off on a song you like (if you can help it).  The best thing is to turn it off during one of the station I.D.'s or greetings.

To positively vote for a song, you need to listen through Live 365.  The player on their site has a couple small cartoon hands in the upper left corner - one giving a thumbs up and one giving a thumbs down.  Clicking on the thumbs up counts as a vote for that particular song.  I haven't experimented with it enough to know if clicking it lots of times means lots of votes, or if it's just one vote per person per song.

Since we have such an extensive on-air library, the top ten list changes almost every day during November, as all the music gets added.  By December, the library is pretty much set, though there's still a lot of fluctuation from one week to the next.  I'll do my best to post new lists on Friday's, so make sure you check back!

And if you want your voice to be heard, just listen to the Sounds of Christmas through Live 365, which you can do right here:  http://www.live365.com/stations/soundsofchristmas

Thanks so much for listening!  And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

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We're On Our Way

11/9/2011

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So it's been a week already!

We're still loading lots of new music and putting together new episodes of Meet the Artist, but I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for stopping by and listening.

I know it's early for some.  I mean, we just got rid of our Halloween pumpkins. 

Nevertheless, the Sounds of Christmas is on, and for anyone who's ready for Christmas music, we're ready for you!

It looks like we're starting out with another record-breaking season.  One week into November (okay, 9 days) and we already have listeners in 45 states, Washington DC and 35 other countries!

Don't forget to click on the bottom of our home page to send us your requests!  And if you want to be a part of this year's fifth year anniversary, click on BE A PART OF THE SHOW to see how you can...well...be a part of the show!

Thanks again!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

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We're back!

11/1/2011

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We officially started the Christmas tunes last night at midnight, as October gave way to November.  And I'm blown away by the reception!

As I type this, we've been back on for about 16 hours.  And we already have listeners in 33 states and 13 other countries!

Thanks so much to everyone that has already tuned in!   And for those who aren't quite ready for Christmas music, yet, we'll be hear, ready for you, when you are!

And may you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken
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