Happy Christmas!

When Amanda was in college, some of her friends gave her a Christmas CD. Or, in fact, a copy of a Christmas CD. Those were the days before "file sharing" was ruled to be illegal, so I'm sure some sort of grandfather clause exists that would make it tough for the RIAA to prosecute.

The name of the CD is Happy Christmas, and it features artists like The O.C. Supertones, Switchfoot, and Five Iron Frenzy. Many of the songs have a kind of ska or punk sound to them, which makes them interesting.

A fledgling tradition in our household is to throw in the "ska Christmas" CD and jam out as we trim the tree. In my opinion, there isn't a version of Joy to the World out there that beats The Supertone's effort on this disc. This year, in the midst of moving and getting settled into our new house, this tradition was neglected. In a decision I already regret, I stayed out in the garage finishing up a wiring project while Amanda and the kids put the tree up without me. It was one of those "It'll only take another 10 minutes and then I'll be in" kind of projects that ends up lasting two hours more, and when all was said and done there were only two or three ornaments left to put on the tree when I joined in. Like I said, not one of my best ideas ever.

I'll go out on a limb one more time and offer this album for your Christmas season listening pleasure. You can stream the entire album using the player below. No, you can't download the files, and shame on you for even considering it. If you want it for your very own, go buy it.

My personal favorites are tracks 1, 5, 7, and 9. Give it a listen and see what you think.