Looking Back at the First 100, Pt. 4

We're in the home stretch of the look back at highlights from the
first 100 episodes of Twelve Songs, with this episode
getting into interviews during the pandemic when COVID affected
everybody's plans. Guitarist and producer Chas Justus from
Lafayette, Louisiana talks about how COVID made his collection of
Cajun French versions of Chrlstmas classics--Joyeux Noel, Bon
Chrismeusse--possible.  


I really appreciated getting romantic pianist and composer Jim
Brickman on the show because someone who has 10 albums of
Christmas music has a more nuanced take on it than those who have
only dipped their toes in the water. We talked in 2020 about how
his Christmas music relates to the music he makes the rest of the
year. 


Many of my guests are indie musicians, in part because their
music frequently lines up best with my aesthetics and ethics, but
it's also important to me that we hear Christmas music as
something people make today in a variety of forms and not simply
nostalgia from our parents or grandparents' generations. Excerpts
of conversations with retro soul artist Kelly Finnigan (who made
the modern classic A Joyful Sound), Christian vocal group
leader Ernie Haase, Jamie Hilsden of the Christmas punk band The
Myrrhderers, and Amy Carlson of pop band Office Romance all come
from that place, though the conversations are very
different. 


I hope after hearing this show and the other retrospective shows
in this series, you'll want to subscribe to Twelve
Songs (if you haven't already), listen to back episodes, and
tell your friends. I hope these looks back make it clear that
conversations about Christmas music aren't necessarily about
Christmas or to be set aside until that time of year.