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-Silent Night- From the Michael Sweet Christmas Special on TBN Aired 12-18-2006

Smitty reflects on 2008, The coming year, AND his Christmas wish for everyone!

Have you ever met anyone who can honestly say that they hate music? From heavy metal through classical to laidback easy listening jazz, everyone has their favourite types of music, bands and artists so why can it be such a challenge to find musically themed Christmas Gifts?

Discounting the cheap teddy (oh-so-readily available) that blares out Jingle Bells when you squeeze its paw, and for some reason you can never find the replacement batteries for, when it’s worn out by the second of December, and rejecting the ‘Christmas Hits’ album, usually free with your Sunday newspaper (and to be honest that would be a present worthy of Scrooge anyway!), what sort of Christmas Gifts can you bestow upon the music fanatic, young or old?

Of course, there’s always the option of the traditional CD, where the good, the bad and the ugly (Bob the Builder anyone?) are whisked off the supermarket shelf in the inevitable scramble for Gifts and presented to wary recipients. But let’s face it, unless the CD is a perfect choice, it could end up in the jumble sale box of unwanted Christmas Gifts by New Year’s Day.

So what are the alternatives? Tired of traipsing round old record shops looking for musical Gifts amidst crowds of angry shoppers, and ready to give the next person who elbows you in the back a red nose to rival Rudolph’s, then it is possible to opt for more original Christmas Gifts. The humble mix tape, often forgotten and overlooked in today’s digital era, has been revived in the novel form of a USB stick hidden in a cassette shape (a USB Mix Tape); same old personal and sentimental value but modern and innovative. For the party animal who loves their music loud, maybe some ice cubes shaped like electric guitars and music notes, and some ear plugs for the neighbours!?

The teenager that may scorn CDs as out-dated technology could appreciate the more fashionable Gifts such as the extensive range of iPod and mp3 player accessories that are now available.

Then there’s the option of Christmas Gifts that inspire musical creativity for the owner. An electric guitar, a keyboard, or a set of drums could be a dream (and rather expensive) present, but you can expect to kiss goodbye to your ‘Silent Nights’ and wake up with a headache resembling a killer hangover after the office party if the Christmas Gifts are well used. Perhaps the aspiring rock star may instead be grateful to receive a personalised music legend calendar where they can finally see their name in lights. For the chance to become a true star and top the charts, you could give someone a voucher for a session in a professional recording studio. Everyone’s got to start somewhere!

For those who already have a record collection to rival a large music store, maybe consider practical Christmas Gifts such as A-Z CD dividers, to organise their music and to enable them to find that dusty, forgotten album easily and quickly.

For Gifts that are thoughtful and personal, perhaps consider a shared experience, for example tickets to a gig or a concert. Following the recent TV trend of shows such as ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and ‘Any Dream Will Do’ a dancing lesson or theatre break would make excellent and unforgettable Christmas Gifts. Alternatively, it is now possible to select any number one record and to set it in a personalised plaque that can be hung up on the wall as a unique and individual present.

However, it’s important to remember not to get too stressed by the frantic rush of buying last minute Gifts and to enjoy yourself and relax over the festive season. Maybe take some ‘me-time’ and treat yourself to a calming, chill-out CD and a glass of mulled wine as you put your feet up (or even as you wrap the Christmas Gifts). The perfect musical indulgence!

Music is such an essential part of Christmas; children chanting ‘Away in a Manger’ in the annual Nativity tableau, carol singers in the street and ‘Fairytale of New York’ on repeat in every shop in town. Musical Gifts make brilliant presents and with such an array of musical books, posters, CDs, DVDs, t-shirts, sheet music, gig tickets, theatre tickets, concert tickets and even musically themed cufflinks on the internet and on the High Street there are bound to be some Christmas Gifts to suit even the fussiest musical enthusiast this festive season.

-O Holy Night- From the Michael Sweet Christmas Special on TBN Aired 12-18-2006

As festive days are nearing you have got all the reasons to indulge in shopping. Like many others, chances are high that your things-to-buy list is quite big and fat. You would definitely want to decorate your home and, at the same time, you would be buying gifts for near and dear ones.

But how can you celebrate Christmas without aguinaldos, carols and popular Christmas songs? Music is the perfect ingredient to get into holiday mood. Just look around – shopping malls, hotels, clubs, community stores, television channels, radio stations and even your neighbors have started playing Christmas songs.

Without music your holidays remain incomplete – something like foods without salt! Lyrics, tune and rhythm create the right ambience for celebration. A lot of music albums and music videos have released and some are going to hit the stores soon. The whole wide world is going musical to catch the holiday spirit!

Go musical – Go with the rhythm

You have two options: you may choose to be traditional and buy popular music albums of 70’s, 80’s or any other period that evokes your emotions. Or, you may try the latest releases of your favorite music artists.

There is a third option too: take both traditional and trendy numbers and build up a great collection of music albums this winter. Some of the music albums are for your own; you would play them to fill your home with music before during and after Christmas. And some of the albums could be presented to others. You were to buy Christmas gifts for near and dear ones – why don’t you present them with hot music albums of the time?

If you are not sure which are the hit numbers of the day, just go online and look for music charts. These charts would help you find top 10 or top 20 music albums, artists and songs of present time. Then you can easily decide which one is suitable for yourself and which albums could be taken for your friends, family members, relatives or someone special!

Music magazines and music news websites also publish music charts and update the lists regularly. On music magazine websites, you can read reviews, watch trailers of music videos, listen to demo tracks and finally decide whether you would like to buy the album for yourself or someone else.

Christmas music albums have started to populate music stores. Hence, this is the right time to start watching the music charts so that you can grab latest albums soon after the release. Subscribe to music magazines to stay updated all the time.

Starbucks and holiday commercial jingles aside, the holiday season is continually marked with joyful holiday albums and Christmas songs sung by classic belters like Bing Crosby or Josh Groban. This year’s record sales and album releases, however, may prove this old tradition to be one of the past. The rise in indie music and its infiltration into American society has been swaying teenage populations for the last several years, and this holiday season marks one of the very first where “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” may not be heard in the traditional manor. Aimee Mann, an indie rocker whose solo talents have taken her eons away from her ’80s new wave pop group ‘Til Tuesday, has been basking in this success of the indie Christmas phenomenon, and many other underground rock groups are right on her heels.

Proving that indie lovers don’t have to fall into the ordinary mold to get into the holiday spirit, acts such as Sufjan Stevens, Rosie Thomas, the Raveonettes, Merge and more are knocking down the doors of the recording industry with great avail in recording and producing some of this season’s best-selling holiday albums. Aimee Mann’s One More Drifter in the Snow, a 2006 holiday compilation, has sold more than 39,000 copies since its release, while Sufjan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas, another eclectic spin on holiday tunes, has sold 81,000 copies since its release in ‘06. Mixing the traditional with the inventive, Mann has arrived at a clever middle ground in between traditional Christmas and modern indie music, using her ’40s/’50s appeal to chirp songs like “Whatever Happened to Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “White Christmas,” all included on One More Drifter in the Snow.

Before she was known for her holiday music and ’40s charm, Aimee Mann was seen clawing at the charts with her post-new wave pop band ‘Til Tuesday, a clever effort broken up after three albums were released in the 1980s. Continuing to forge the music industry as a solo act, Mann breezed into the ’90s with her first solo release Whatever, an album that gained her much popularity in the pop underground. Earning the respect of musicians like Elvis Costello, Difford & Tilbrook and Andy Partridge, Aimee Mann went on to release a smash single entitled “That’s Just What You Are” in 1995. The song was included on the soundtrack to the television show Melrose Place, but before Mann could become the star she was waiting to be, her record label Imago filed for bankruptcy, leaving the vocalist out in the cold.

After enormous efforts in the late ’90s to reroute her track, Aimee Mann made a strong comeback in the early 2000s, starting with the soundtrack to the film Magnolia in 2000. Albums Bachelor No. 2 (2000) and Lost in Space (2002) illuminated her star, and Mann’s 2005 release The Forgotten Arm even earned a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. Mann successfully tried her hand at a holiday album in 2006’s One More Drifter in the Snow, and her most recent album @#%&*! Smilers is currently blowing up the charts. Mann’s incredible holiday release sparked an annual Christmastime tour, and you can find Aimee Mann tickets for the show at http://www.stubhub.com/aimee-mann-tickets.