The holiday season at the NPR Music office brings with it two sounds: that of the delightfully offbeat seasonal anthem as well as the cheerful but persistent sound of Bob Boilen shaking his jingle bells. (In case this is your first time at the All Songs holiday party, that's not a euphemism.)
This week on All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen sits down with NPR's Jacob Ganz and Barrie Hardymon, trusty jingle bells and LED Christmas tree in tow, to play some holiday music you may not have heard before.
This year's selections include a 15th-century English carol, a 2010 club banger revamped with a Hanukkah theme, a truly bizarre Prince song that finds the Purple One toasting his dead lover with a banana daiquiri on Christmas Eve and a few original Christmas songs from indie favorites like The Walkmen and The Polyphonic Spree. Plus, a special holiday gift from an All Songs listener.
If this whets your appetite for more unconventional holiday music, make sure to check out NPR Music's Jingle Jams: A Holiday Mix For The Rest Of Us, where you can listen to dozens more songs by artists like Calexico, Etta James, Feist and Bob Dylan.
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