Holly Jolly X'masu

Welcome to episode 58 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be talking about the 1988 compilation, "The Night Before Christmas." My lack of free time really hit a critical point this month, which is why this episode is a few days late. I've been looking forward to covering this album because it's really one of the best 80s compilations. It's also the only place you can find most of the song...

Welcome to episode 57 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing Ken-Ichi Sonoda's 1981 album, "White Christmas – Happy Christmas Party." As much as I like this album, I was really hoping to find more background on Ken-Ichi Sonoda. Between the sparse amount I could find online, and a complete lack of free time, this episode is a little light on content. I'm hoping this turns out to...

Welcome to episode 56 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this special Christmas In July episode, I'll be discussing a variety of summery Christmas songs from a diverse group of artists. This year's episodes was fun to put together, although I ran into a lot of speed bumps along the way. The order containing several of the songs was delayed by more than a week, then work and family life pushed me back even...

Welcome to episode 55 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be Yumi Matsutoya's Christmas songs. When it comes to Japanese Christmas music, there are a handful of really key artists. Over the past forty years, one of the most influential is Yumi Matsutoya. She's certainly not the most prolific when it comes to Christmas music, but she helped to revive public interest, and she furthered the...

Welcome to episode 54 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing Yumi Matsutoya's classic 1980 album, "Surf & Snow – Volume One." For as big as Yuming is, and considering how easy it is to find reviews, critiques and opinions about her online, I was surprised by the sparse amount of biographical information about her. The highlights are covered, but not nearly to the granular degre...

Welcome to episode 53 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing Naomi Sagara's 1975 album, "White Christmas." I've mentioned before how collecting Japanese Christmas albums can sometimes be a real crap shoot. So many of them, especially older ones, have no presence online, so I often have no idea how they'll sound once I finally get them. This was another of those cases where I pl...

Welcome to episode 52 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing Naozumi Yamamoto's 1973 album, "Xmas Home Party." Over the past two years, I've bought a few albums that didn't live up to my expectations. Most of them were still thoroughly enjoyable albums. In each case, though, an overzealous, ill-informed, or even dishonest review or blog post led to me expecting something other...

Welcome to episode 51 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing Goro "Smiley" Asahina's 1967 album, "Dancing Through Blue Christmas." Just speaking as a collector, this is the sort of album I live for. Not only is it virtually unknown, both here and in Japan, but it contains an original song that can only be found here. Finding songs and albums like this are a huge thrill. As a re...

Welcome to episode 50 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing the 1977 compilation, "Merry Christmas (Bouquet of Hearts Present Series)," from King Records. When I started buying records a couple years ago, I had one very short-term goal: To buy the half dozen albums I'd heard about while trying to find Akira Ishikawa's "Drum Christmas Drum." Off the top of my head, those were "...

Welcome to episode 49 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be wrapping up my discussion about Eiji Kitamura and his Christmas music, with his fantastic 2001 album, "Santa Clarinet." While Akira Ishikawa's "Drum Christmas Drum" kicked off my interest in Japanese Christmas music, the Jazz, Group Sounds and Mood Kayo albums of the 1960s really cemented my obsession, while the City Pop Christm...

Welcome to episode 48 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this first of two episodes about legendary clarinetist Eiji Kitamura, I'll be discussing his 1965 EP, "Dancing Christmas," and his 1988 album, "Golden Christmas Songs." As I mentioned in this episode, Eiji Kitamura's music is some of the earliest Japanese Christmas music I came across. While my attempts to get all three of his albums were frustrating...

Welcome to episode 47 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing the 1992 album "Non-Stop Silent Night," by Pochettes & Reindeers. Seldom does one ever come across an album of this caliber, capable of eliciting a truly visceral reaction from audiences, even upon repeated listening. The quality and craftmanship are unparalleled. It truly stands out from the other albums in my collec...

Welcome to episode 46 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, in honor of Women's History Month, I'll continue my coverage of Iruka's music by discussing her 1990 album "Noel – Fantastic Winter Story." As much as I liked Iruka's albums when I first got them, I've grown to appreciate them even more as I've researched her life and listened to them repeatedly over the last few weeks. I think both alb...

Welcome to episode 45 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, in honor of Women's History Month, I'll be discussing Iruka's 1977 album "From the Bohemian Forest." As you've likely noticed, I'm still way behind schedule. I was hoping to have this episode out on the 18th. I'm doing my best to get caught up and will hopefully be back on track next month. Over the course of my collecting, I've found t...

Welcome to episode 44 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, in honor of Black History Month, I'll be discussing Chris Hart's 2015 album "Christmas Hearts – Winter Gift." As I mentioned in the episode, Chris Hart's journey from his early life in California to his success in Japan is a wonderful and inspiring story. I really enjoyed learning more about him, and I hope you found him as interesting...

Welcome to episode 43 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I'll be discussing the 2016 album, "Christmas Songs" by the R&B Pop artist, May J. When I first started collecting Japanese Christmas music, I didn't buy much contemporary music. My main focus was the 1960s through 1980s. As I got more, though, and started doing my podcast, I started checking out more recent music. I've found some great...

Welcome to episode 42 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about Chewing Gum's wonderful 1974 album, "Christmas Best Hits." I've been lucky enough to get some fantastic records over the past two years, and this really is one of the best. There's not a song on the album I don't enjoy. I also listened to their greatest hits CD while preparing this episode and was impressed by everything I...

Welcome to episode 41 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode I'll be talking about Christmas songs by Japanese Folk singers. I've pulled these songs from half a dozen different records from the late 60s and early 70s. Some are familiar standards, but the real standouts here are the original songs. I've been wanting to do this episode for quite a while now. When I initially started collecting these...

Welcome to episode 40 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about the Shadracks' 1970 album, "Merry X'mas With The Shadracks." It's a fun album full of Christmas standards by the Japanese Folk band. I'm sometimes surprised by the records I come across while searching for Japanese Christmas albums. One unexpected gem was an EP I stumbled across about a year ago called "Christmas on Campus....

Welcome to episode 39 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this year-end bonus episode, I talk about Singaporean Christmas music. One of the things I've really enjoyed over the years is finding just how much "undiscovered" Christmas music is really out there. Forgotten old nuggets from the US are becoming increasingly rare due to how many people have been searching them out and sharing them over the past few...

Welcome to episode 38 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about the 1978 album, "Snow Flakes," by the Paradise Garage. It's a groovy collection of Yuletide Disco! One of the best parts of this hobby is that feeling I get when I finally get an album I've spent months trying to acquire. The excitement I felt over "Snow Flakes" wasn't quite on the same level as Jun Fukamachi's "Now Sound C...

Welcome to episode 37 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about the 1982 album, "Non Stop! Christmas," by Pochettes. As I mentioned in the episode, I didn't know what to expect when I got this. Having worked with an airbrush for several years in high school and college, I liked the cover. I was hoping for a bit more Disco, but I wasn't entirely displeased overall. I'm sure not everythin...

Welcome to episode 36 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about Koichi Oki's 1975 album, "The Man from YUKIGUNI." This album was something of a gateway drug for me. It not only solidified my interest in Japanese Christmas music overall, but it led me to discovering the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's music, and it introduced me to the Electone. Electone and other electronic organ albums...

Welcome to the remastered edition of Episode 4 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I discuss the granddaddy of all Japanese Christmas compilation albums: King Records' "Merry, Merry X'mas," from 1963. This revered classic really established the gold standard for Christmas compilations in Japan. I considered redoing the whole episode, but due to time constraints, that wasn't plausible. Instead,...

Welcome to episode 35 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I discuss Satoru Oda and his 1964 album, "Tenor in X'mas." It's a wonderful mood album by the acclaimed tenor saxophonist. For the longest time, this was one of my favorite Japanese Christmas albums. To be honest, though, for the longest time it was one of the few Japanese Christmas albums of which I'd found a decent download. Most of t...