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Hanukkah Holdout: Call me a sap, a sucker, a churlish critic with a sweet tooth for soft songs, but I love Christmas music. The best of this genre typically warms your cockles and puts a love in your heart for all mankind, to hell with commercialism and midnight madness "sales events."  In fact, this is the perfect year to buy nothing at all. Instead you can just download music or trade MP3 files with friends. That is the true spirit of Christmas, giving from what you have to those in need. And brother, everyone is in need of good music these days. More than ever. Same as it ever was. Down with Bah Humbug, up with people, and free music. Free Xmas music, that is.

Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah!: Let's kick off today's joyous freebie event with a couple tunes from folk master Woody Guthrie. Before Dylan was "Blowin' In The Wind," before the Byrds jingle/jangled their way to a million seller, old Woody was traveling the land, back when this land was a small world of village hamlets, mom and pop stores and cell phone free "shopping centers."

In 1942, living in Brooklyn NY, Guthrie became involved with Coney Island's Jewish community. He wrote songs about Hanukkah, Jewish history and spiritual life. After Woody's death in 1967, the songs sat in his archives until 1998. Guthrie's Hanukkah songs were eventually discovered by Woody's daughter, Nora Guthrie. She was so inspired by Woody's lost tunes, she asked the Klezmatics to write new music for the lyrics.

This glowing Klezmatic's collection includes "Hanuka's Flame," "Hanuka Gelt," "Spin Dreydl Spin," "(Do the) Latke Flip-Flip" and others.

"Hanukah Tree"

"Spin Dreydl Spin"

How Dan the Automator Stole Christmas: You didn't think we could simply leave Christmas in the past did ya? Those freaky buggers at Rock River Music are back in the remix saddle with Christmas Remixed--Holiday Classics Re-Grooved. For some this will signal a call to arms, the very idea of "Re-grooving" Christmas classics as heinous an idea as anything imaginable. Gatorade in your eggnog anyone? This tricked out, whored-up beat fest includes deranged treatments of Xmas classics from Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellingon, Charles Brown and Mel Torme. It's like someone spiked the Christmas punch, but you didn't realize until you hit the street, snowflakes clouding your vision, weak knees hitting the pavement. On the other hand, this is just the kick these old tunes needed. A digital dance boot up the rump of Bing Crosby? I'm there!

Dean Martin
"Jingle Bells (Dan The Automator Remix)" (mp3)
from "Christmas Remixed - Holiday Classics Re-Grooved"
(Rock River Music)

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