The 2025 Christmas Party

Season eight ends with what I hope will be a tradition–a Christmas party, with a few guests and a lot of music.

This week’s guests include comic artist Peter Bagge, singer Judy Whitmore, and indie rock artist Hibou.

Bagge is coming to New Orleans in January for the Fan Expo, and I have been a fan dating back to his NYC punk days. He’s best known for the comic Hate and the young-punks-in-love adventures of Buddy Bradley and his friends. Last year, he considered how they’d grow up in Hate Revisited.

While talking, we discussed his favorite Christmas music.

I also talked to vocalist Judy Whitmore, who has also been pilot Judy Whitmore, author Judy Whitmore, and … I’ll let her explain. Her album, Christmas, flies the flag for the classic aesthetics of Christmas music.

I also mention in the episode an article by April Clare Welsh at ChartMetric.com that quotes me in her piece on the way Christmas music is become sadder. Is that perhaps because the world is getting sadder?

I also featured new Christmas music from É Arenas, whose 2024 interview ran in full earlier this season. This year, he recorded a new song, “Go Santa Go,” and included it with all of his holiday music on the new vinyl album, Yo Soy Tu Santa.

Earlier this year, I interviewed the indie pop artist Hibou for my non-Christmas website, My Spilt Milk, but while I had him on the line, I had to ask him about Christmas music as well.

Finally, I mentioned this year’s Christmas Underground playlist and the streaming version of my own playlist.