Filmmaker Mitchell Kezin and ”Jingle Bell Rocks!”

Documentary filmmaker Mitchell Kezin released the
movie Jingle Bell Rocks! in 2013. In it, he focused on
the human side of Christmas music, whether with the musicians who
make the music--much the same way we do on 12 Songs--or by
talking to collectors about the music they're passionate about.
Last year, I talked to Kezin about the movie and his Christmas
music collection, and ran part of the conversation during the
holiday season. 


This week, I'm running a longer, more complete version of that
conversation, where we talk about collecting, the song that got
him started on Christmas music, and the lengths he went to get
one of the interviews for Jingle Bell Rocks. 


Right now, Kezin is at work on his 2023 "Merry Mix," the name he
gave to his series of Christmas music compilations. You can get a
hold of Kezin and see the songs he has used on previous
compilations dating back to 1998. It's a dizzying compendium of
songs you don't know by artists you haven't heard of, but they're
consistently entertaining.