Holly Jolly X'masu

Welcome to episode 108 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, for my special Pro Wrestling Spectacular, I'm pitting the 1970s Christmas albums of pro wrestlers the Destroyer and Thunder Sugiyama against one another in order to determine which deserves the title of the Christmas World Heavyweight Champion. This was a fun episode for me. I hope you enjoyed both wrestlers' albums as much as I did. I...

Welcome to episode 107 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 2008 album, "Whistle Christmas," by Whistle Man. I hope you liked "Whistle Christmas!" as much as I do. Like I said in the episode, this is definitely better than my other April Fools offerings. I've mentioned before that I tend to listen to these albums at least a dozen times while researching and writing an episode....

Welcome to episode 106 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about Akiko's 2017 album, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." I hope you enjoyed this second episode about Akiko. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" has really grown on me since getting it, and while working on this episode. It's a fine album with some great performances, and one I'll be listening to more in the futu...

Welcome to episode 105 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about Akiko's 2007 album, "A White Album." I hope you enjoyed "A White Album." Japanese Jazz from the 1960s was one of the main reasons I started collecting, but a lot of fantastic Christmas Jazz albums have come out of Japan over the past twenty years as well. It's always fun discovering something new. Join me back here on the...

Welcome to episode 104 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, for Black History Month, I talk about the 1993 album, "Merry Christmas Wish," by the American R&B trio, A.S.A.P. I hope you enjoyed "Merry Christmas Wish." I was thrilled when I found it, mainly because of how few English versions there are of these songs I've been collecting over the past several years. This is a fun, solid album and...

Welcome to episode 103 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 2009 album, "Acoustic Xmas," by Coffee Haus. I hope you enjoyed "Acoustic Xmas" as much as I did. I really like this album and will still play it all the way through when I'm in the mood. I'm still working to get back on schedule so I haven't been very active on social media. I'm hoping things settle down in March. Jo...

Welcome to episode 102 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about Mari Yoshiko's 1962 album, "Singing Christmas Party." I hope you enjoyed "Singing Christmas Party." I'm playing catch-up after last month so I don't have much to add here. I did manage to get a record with her version of "Toy Cha Cha Cha," which I mentioned in the episode, but I haven't had the time to rip the vinyl so I...

Welcome to episode 101 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about a selection of Christmas singles from the 1990s. It's been a rough month, but I'm getting this one out just under the wire. After a ridiculously hectic and restless December, I needed a little time off, so this will be the only episode I get out in January, but I'll try to have my next episode out early next week. After t...

Welcome to episode 100 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the phenomenal 1971 album, "White Christmas," from the obscure Korean band, Last Chance. Happy New Year! It's hard to believe this is my 100 th episode. It's been a lot of work, but I've really enjoyed it. I want to thank you all for listening in, and I hope you've enjoyed it half as much as I have. I also hope Last Chanc...

Welcome to episode 99 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the mind-blowing 1971 album, "Rock-In X'mas," by Love, Live, Life + X. Merry Christmas! I hope this lived up to your expectations and helped liven up your day. Other than some really obscure cassettes and small or private label albums, there aren't too many Japanese Christmas albums that are harder to come by than this one...

Welcome to episode 98 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about Kayo Ishu's 1968 album, "Scat Christmas." I hope you loved "Scat Christmas" as much as I do. Kayo Ishu is great, and this is one of my favorite Japanese vocal albums. I have a few other albums done in a similar style, including a few with Singers Three, but this is the best of the bunch. As promised in the episode, here ar...

Welcome to episode 97 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 1968 album, "Christmas Song / New Year's Song." This was a much more enjoyable album than I thought it would be. I love it when a record exceeds my expectations, and this one really blew them away. This tends to be my busiest, most hectic time of the year, and my podcast is one of those things that I'm often tempted to...

Welcome to episode 96 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about Bach's "Christmas Oratorio," performed by the Meiji Gakuin University Glee Club at their 10 th anniversary Christmas concert. I really enjoyed working on this episode and getting this album. It's completely out of my comfort zone so it was something of a challenge for me. I'm happy with how it turned out, though, and I hop...

Welcome to episode 95 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about Shoji Suzuki's 1961 album, "Swingin' Christmas." I truly hope you enjoyed this episode. This is one of my favorite albums and played a huge part in my collecting journey. I'd love to say it's the best album in my collection, but I actually have several others that blow it away. I'll be covering one of those on Christmas Da...

Welcome to episode 94 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about Shoji Suzuki's 1963 album, "Merry Christmas." This is a great album and I can't tell you how excited I was when I first learned that Shoji Suzuki had made another Christmas album. Of the two, "Merry Christmas" seems to be the harder one to come by. I believe I've only seen two copies come up for auction. The first time I s...

Welcome to episode 93 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 1959 compilation, "X'mas All Star Jazz Parade." This is a great album and I hope you've enjoyed it. This really kicks off my Christmas season, and I have some phenomenal music headed your way. I'll be focusing on Shoji Suzuki the rest of this month. Although Akira Ishikawa sparked my interest in Japanese Christmas musi...

Welcome to episode 92 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this special Christmas Podcasters Day episode, I talk about "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol," from 1962. I can't tell you how much I love this special. It's one of those things from when I was kid that has really stood the test of time. Jule Styne and Bob Merrill's music is a big reason for that, as are the performances of Jim Backus, Jack Cassidy and...

Welcome to episode 91 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 2010 compilation, "Christmas Songs," from producer Goro Ito. I hope you enjoyed at least a few of the tracks on "Christmas Songs." A few of them are real stand-outs and make this album one that's worth tracking down. Be sure to join me back here on November 1 st for Christmas Podcast Day, which is the day a bunch of us...

Welcome to episode 90 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about Yuki Izumine's 2008 album, "Let It Snow!" I've mentioned before that part of why I started collecting Japanese albums was to find new Christmas Jazz albums. I've managed to add a ton of fantastic Jazz to my collection, and they're some of my favorite albums to share with you. My episodes between now and Christmas will feat...

Welcome to episode 89 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 1992 compilation, "Winter Tales 2," from the MIDI label. I hope you've enjoyed MIDI's wintry compilations over the last two episodes. Despite the repetitiveness, there are some real gems included on them. I'm looking forward to revisiting a few of the artists when I cover their other Christmas songs. I wasn't sure I'd...

Welcome to episode 88 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 1988 compilation, "Winter Tales," from the MIDI label. As I said in the episode, this is a really solid album. You'd be hard pressed to find a more varied group of artists, but the resulting product flows together well. There really isn't a bad track here. I hope you found at least a few you enjoyed. Be sure to join me...

Welcome to episode 87 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I talk about the 1983 movie, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," and its soundtrack. As I said in the episode, this one has been a long time coming. August was the first time since I started my podcast that I missed putting out an episode. I haven't even been able to stay active on social media due to a lack of time and an excess of pain....

Welcome to episode 86 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this special Christmas in July episode, I talk about a selection of summery Christmas songs from a variety of artists. As I said in the episode, I really enjoy putting these episodes together. It gives me a chance to share some songs that might not fit in another episode, and artists I wouldn't be able to cover otherwise. At this point, I think I've...

Welcome to episode 85 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I'll be talking about the Christmas music from the Spacemen. These really are three of my favorite records. They helped embody the excitement of collecting when I first got started. It felt like the more I searched for and researched them, the closer I'd get to finding a copy. I'd find listings at record shops where they'd gotten one i...

Welcome to episode 84 of Holly Jolly X'masu!  In this episode, I'll be talking about the 1964 compilation, "Golden Christmas Party." This is a great album and I was awfully glad to add it to my collection. The fact that Michishiro is on it yet the guys in Japan didn't know about it really surprised me. It gives me hope that I'll be able to uncover some more rarities. I've found a few things on 8-t...