Welcome to episode 30 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this special Ko-fi patron-sponsored episode, I talk about the 1965 album, “Christmas Young Party,” by Columbia All Stars.

As I state in the episode, this is an album I searched for for quite a long time. It definitely didn’t disappoint. I’ve actually had it for several months, and I even shared the cover on Instagram back in April. I was going to feature a children’s album I actually received in my latest shipment, but I decided to go with Columbia All Stars instead. It’s a much better album, and it better reflects how much I appreciate the support. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate any feedback I receive.

As promised, here’s the video for Karou Chiga’s “Midnight Guitar.”

Also, don’t forget to check out Christmas on Vinyl, both on Instagram and Mixcloud.

Thanks for listening, and I hope “Christmas Young Party” brought you a little yuletide cheer. In my neck of the woods, it looks like it will finally start feeling like fall later this week. That always gets me in the mood for more Christmas music. I’ll be working on my next episode throughout the week, and picking up Norah Jones’s “I Dream of Christmas” this Friday. Between that and the albums I didn’t get to listen to enough last year, I should have plenty of Christmas music to listen to when I’m not listening to Christmas music for the podcast. Speaking of which, be sure to tune back in on the 25th when I discuss Ohashi Trio’s 2013 album, “Magic.” It’s one of the best and most original Christmas albums from the 2010’s, so you don’t want to miss it.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Any proceeds or donations received will be put towards purchasing new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!

Welcome to episode 29 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I discuss Koga Records’ 2020 compilation, “Happy Christmas from Shimokita.” This is a great collection of songs produced during the height of the pandemic last year. It’s a mostly upbeat, optimistic compilation, which makes it stand out from most of the similarly-themed Christmas music I heard last year.

I started collecting Japanese Christmas music close to two years ago now and I’ve managed to get a pretty wide variety of albums. I haven’t covered a lot of contemporary music as of yet, so I was looking forward to this episode. While most of the bands here lean toward Rock or Punk, it’s still a fairly eclectic collection with a diverse blend of styles and sounds.

As I mention in the episode, a couple of the songs have music videos. I really enjoy the video for Moshimo’s “Holy Night.” It conveys a lot of what’s in the lyrics and gives an idea of their energetic performances that have added to their popularity.

Moshimo “Holy Night”

Rocket K “Can’t I Kiss Dear Mr. Santa”

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed “Happy Christmas from Shimokita.” You can find most of the bands on YouTube and social media, so if you like what you heard, be sure to look them up. I’ll be back on the 25th with Ohashi Trio’s 2015 album, “Magic.” Prior to that, though, I’ll be releasing a special patron-sponsored episode thanks to the Ko-fi donations I received last month. Both albums are great, so be sure to check them out.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Any proceeds or donations received will be put towards purchasing new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!