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Merry Mixmas 2011 — my annual playlist of holiday tunes — is finally finished and ready for download.
I know, I’m slower than Christmas. I had a hard time settling on a theme this time. For a while, I was convinced it was going to be called “Hard Candy Christmas,” but damn if that doesn’t sound depressing. (If you listen to the words of the Dolly track, you’ll notice it actually contains an uplifting message, despite the title. But anyway.)

I decided on a New Year theme, inspired not only by Abba (and one of those songs that I’ve been meaning to include on a Mixmas playlist for ages) but also by Regina Spektor’s effervescent “My Dear Acquaintance,” which really moved me. I’m also in love with “Merry Christmas from the Family”; it makes me laugh out loud every time I listen.

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and all that good stuff. Enjoy!

Download: Merry Mixmas 2011: Happy New Year!

1. Holly Herald — Jethro Tull

2. Hard Candy Christmas — Dolly Parton

3. Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas? — The Staple Singers

4. (It Must Have Been Ol’) Santa Claus — Harry Connick, Jr.

5. I Believe In Father Christmas — Sarah Brightman

6. Happy Birthday Guadalupe! — The Killers

7. Christmas Is Near — Ralph Stanley

8. White Christmas — Michael Buble and Shania Twain

9. Angels From The Realms of Glory — Annie Lennox

10. More Than I Wished For — Schuyler Fisk

11. Our World (from “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas”) — My Morning Jacket

12. Jingle Bells (Robbie Hardkiss Remix) — Duke Ellington

13. In The Morning — Jack Johnson

14. Mistletoe — Justin Bieber

15. All That I Want — Vanessa Peters

16. Sleigh Ride — She & Him

17. Merry Christmas from the Family — Lindley Ruth and Her Tipsy String Band

18. My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year) — Regina Spektor

19. Auld Lang Syne — Pink Martini

20. Happy New Year — ABBA

New(ish) art. 

I haven’t been very good about updating lately, but here are a few recent crime report illustrations that came out not hideous.

The first item: On day four of the Snowpocalypse, a man said he woke up to use the bathroom at around 4 a.m. and noticed that his back door was wide open, a back window was smashed out and his 32-inch plasma TV was missing — oh, and, so was the toilet paper from his bathroom.

He called police and an officer checked out the Delowe Drive apartment. The officer noted, “When looking out the back area of the apartment, there were footprints leading out of the house, but they lead to over a 100 more footprints going in every direction in the snow.”

Dancing on my own:

The crime report item:
A 35-year-old man got a boot to the patoot on a recent Friday night for violating an Oakview Road lounge’s strict no-dancing-alone policy (joke, people). According to the police report, “[The man] stated he would dance by himself for a few minutes, go back and talk to his friends, then go back and dance by himself again.” He also told the cops he learned how to dance by practicing in front of a mirror at home. That night, he was working on his moves by dancing alone in front of a mirror at the bar.

Not a fan, apparently, of lonely dancer’s solo stylings, a bar co-owner named “Frankie,” walked up, grabbed him by the collar and tossed him out.

Get offa my grass!

The item:
A man was in his garage when he discovered that there was a stranger lying on the grass in his front yard. Perhaps dissatisfied with the accommodations outdoors, the strange man allegedly tried to open the back door of the house — to no avail — and then helped himself to some water (from where, the report doesn’t say). In a bizarre finale, the stranger apparently proceeded to spray down the homeowner’s bushes with some bug spray he found. Beyond pest control, the guy might’ve had more nefarious intentions — when police showed up and searched him, he had a yellow screwdriver in his pocket. They arrested him for attempted burglary and having tools to commit a crime.

Another new illustration for Creative Loafing’s crime report. The item:

 A South Carolina woman said she married an Atlanta man three months ago, left her stuff in his apartment on Peachtree Road, and went back home to get the rest of her belongings. When she returned — yep, three months later — she discovered that 150 pairs of her shoes were missing (or so she told police). The Southern-fried Imelda Marcos also claimed that 10 handbags were missing, “half real, half fake.” Her now-ex-husband said there was never that many shoes in his apartment and that she’d moved her stuff out before they divorced.

Happy X-mess!

Here’s my latest illustration for Creative Loafing’s crime report. The item:

A 61-year-old woman walked into a Midtown police precinct to report her prepaid debit card and her ATM card missing from her Myrtle Drive apartment. She said in a written statement, “With all the excitement and rushing to get the Christmas decorations for our church, I honestly don’t know when or where or how my ATM card came up missing, lost or stolen. More than once I had opened or removed an item from my purse at home and at a couple of stores. My house was a mess with suitcases and Xmas wreaths and other décor to be prepared for my church, but I was pressed for time with the stress of trying to ‘beat the clock’ so I don’t know who to blame or suspect. I’m on a fixed income with a heart condition and other health concerns. This situation has caused me great stress, hurt and anger. My bills are due and everyone is not understanding or patient. I’m willing to take a lie detector test and willing to cooperate in any way because I need my only source of income.” A police report was filed.

I was feeling awful about not sending out my annual holiday playlist earlier this year, and then I recalled the words a wise man once shared. He said, “You’re always right on time with the Universe.”

So yes, Merry Mixmas 2010 is coming in for a landing on the late side, but better now than never. 

The theme this time around is “warmth,” inspired partly by the pre-Christmas trip Brian and I did this time last year—to Iceland. It was loads of (frozen) fun, but I swore we would never intentionally travel to a cold-weather destination again. 

The first track, “Mele Kalikimaka,” has been a favorite of mine since forever, and I love the kitschy grandeur of Bette’s version. I can’t believe that Ella’s “Christmas Island” has never shown up on a previous Mixmas playlist. (If it has and I missed it, then please just let me be happy with my senility.) “That Spirit of Christmas” is taken, of course, from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”—Brian’s favorite holiday film—and it shows up during a scene that always melts my heart.

So, without further delay, here’s the music.
Download Mixmas 2010 here. 

Happy Ho-Ho-Ho!

Merry Mixmas 2010: Warm This Winter

1. “Mele Kalikimaka” — Bette Midler

2. “Warm This Winter” — Gabriella Cilmi

3. “Lullay Lullay (Coventry Carol)” — Annie Lennox

4. “Holiday For Strings” — Hal Mooney And His Orchestra

5. “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” — Straight No Chaser

6. “Donde Esta Santa Claus?” — Guster

7. “Tijuana Christmas” — The Tijuana Border Brass

8. “Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus” — George Jones & Tammy Wynette

9. “All I Want For Christmas Is You (Extra Festive Mix)” — Mariah Carey

10. “Born In Bethlehem” — The Staple Singers

11. “Deck The Rooftop” — Glee

12. “California Christmas” — Sleepy Rebels

13. “Good Time Christmas” — Lou Rawls

14. “Christmas Island” — Ella Fitzgerald

15. “Melt The Snow” — Shayne Ward

16. “That Spirit of Christmas” — Ray Charles

17. “We Wish You the Merriest” — Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby

18. “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix)” — Kay Starr

Illustration for Creative Loafing’s weekly crime report. I’m not sure why the guy ended up looking like Ted Turner. These things just happen.

Hot dog! I’ve abandoned Blogger in lieu of something meatier.