Welcome to episode 25 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I talk about Yen Records’ 1983 compilation, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

This was the first Japanese Christmas compilation I heard, a full year or so before I started buying records. I was able to listen to it online and I was taken by how strange and non-Christmassy most of the songs sounded. I read a couple reviews that characterized it as both the epitome of 1980’s Japanese Christmas, and typical of the era. This album is anything but typical. As much as I enjoy it, I was both gladdened and relieved when I started listening to more music from the 80’s.

While “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” satisfies my occasional desire for experimental New Wave and Technopop Christmas music, I’m generally more drawn to City Pop, and more mainstream New Wave and Rock. I’ve managed to track down a wealth of songs and albums from a variety of genres, including some deep cuts, forgotten singles and B-sides. One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about all this is finding those songs that haven’t seen a release since they first appeared on vinyl. I’ll eventually be covering them here.

Thanks for listening, and I hope “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” helped to satisfy your 80’s cravings. I fell a little behind, but I should be back on track by the end of the month. Be sure to tune in toward the end of this month for some more 80’s goodness as I discuss Masamichi Sugi’s 1987 compilation, “Summer Lounge.” It’s not a Christmas album, but it is a follow-up to “Winter Lounge,” and I thought it would be a fun way to round out the summer.

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. Any 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!