Sufjan Stevens

Songs For Christmas

Image of Sufjan Stevens - Songs For Christmas
Record Label
Asthmatic Kitty

About this item

As some of you may or may not know, for the past few years, as a holiday tradition, Sufjan has embarked on an extraordinary experiment to record an annual Christmas EP. It started in 2001, the year of Epiphanies, and continued onward (skipping only 2004), culminating into an odd and idiosyncratic catalog of music that has only existed in the Asthmatic Kitty archives (and on a number of file sharing sites). The recording process took place every December, for one week, usually at home, provoking collaborations with friends, roommates, and musical peers. Armed with a Reader's Digest Christmas Songbook (and a mug of hot cider) Sufjan & friends concocted a musical fruit cake year after year, implementing every musical instrument they could find lying around the house: banjo, oboe, Casiotone, wood flute, a buzzy guitar, hand claps, sleigh bells, Hammond organ, and some tree tinsel. Did we mention sleigh bells? It doesn't take much to capture that Creepy Christmas Feeling, does it? Recorded, mixed and mastered at home, the EPs themselves were often assembled in the kitchen, stapled together, and sent out with stickers and stamps to loved ones across the globe, year after year. Recording traditional favourites alongside unique originals, Sufjan has, over the course of five years, constructed an odd, impressive, and compelling collection of Christmas hits (and some misses) that will either warm your heart or make you throw up eggnog all over the bath mat (depending on your constitution). Asthmatic Kitty now releases ALL of the material (newly mixed and mastered) in one generous box set.

TRACK LISTING

Silent Night
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
We’re Goin’ To The Country
Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming
It’s Christmas! Let’s Be Glad!
Holy, Holy, Holy
Amazing Grace
Angels We Have Heard
Put The Lights On The Tree
Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
I Saw Three Ships
Only At Christmas Time
Once In Royal David’s City
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!
What Child Is This Anyway?
Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Come On! Let’s Boogey To The Elf Dance!
We Three Kings
O Holy Night
That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!
Ding! Dong!
All The King’s Horns
The Friendly Beasts
The Little Drummer Boy
Away In A Manger
Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time!
The First Noel
Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!)
The Incarnation
Joy To The World
Once In Royal David’s City
Get Behind Me, Santa!
Jingle Bells
Christmas In July
Lo! How A Rose E’er Blooming
Jupiter Winter
Sister Winter
O Come O Come Emmanuel
Star Of Wonder
Holy, Holy, Holy
The Winter Solstice

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