Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

I hate Christmas music. I mean I HATE it. I have a fairly straightforward LP (like, on a record) of John Fahey performing some traditional Christmas songs on guitar; Phil Spector’s Christmas album (a real killer, heh heh); and Christmas CDs by Fats Domino (which I play year round) and Dwight Yoakam. That’s it. Now I have another, titled HOLIDAY REMIXED, and it’s the most unlikely one in the bunch.

Holiday Remixed is a compilation of Christmas songs, mostly traditional, a couple new, remixed in the dance/electronica genre and all of its sub-permutations. There are a bunch of different djs on here - Hot Toddy, Nutcracker Sweet, Electric Brother, and Mudfish, among others --- doing standards such as Li’l’ Drummer Boy, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and Home For The Holidays ( and yes, the irony of the song titles and djs mentioned was deliberate, in case you’re wondering) and new tunes like Los Peces en el Rio and Ask Yourself. It’s just unusual enough to shoulder its way to the forefront of your attention, and just familiar enough to keep it there. The term --- and I hate to use it --- “peppy” comes to mind, but no other one will do on, say, Los Peces en el Rio by Mudfish and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Bryan Ogden (even as parts of it sound uncomfortably like Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood), but for the most part this collection is reflective rather than obtrusive, relaxing rather than stirring.

Holiday Remixed is about as close to a mainstream electronica CD as you’re going to find. And if you’re looking to break some potentially unwelcome orientation news to the folks over that fourth cup of egg nog after the holiday dinner this December, Holiday Remixed might be just the background music for it. Recommended for year ‘round listening.