Rob's Christmas CD: A Study Guide - 2000-2008

It's been 24 years since my Christmas music obsession began. Since beginning this blog nearly three years ago, I've alluded many times to my annual Christmas CDs that I create for family and friends. By now, many of my family and friends should have received their 2008 copy.

This entry is strictly here for reference and for the benefit of those who received the CDs. None of these comps will be posted here in their entirety or made available online or offline.

Here is an extensive look at my Christmas comps since the beginning of this decade:

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This was the first year I created my annual Christmas tapes on CD. The cover picture shows how I recorded the Christmas tapes then - two CD players / boom boxes connected to a Radio Shack mixer which fed into a cassette deck.

Each of these CDs were numbered; only 25 copies were burned (blank CDs were still $1.50 each) and sent to close family and friends. Most of the CD was transferred from cassette to digital - the sound was poor and the CDs were burned with the two second pause in place (technology wasn't my strong suit then - I'm still not sure now).

The others on my list that year received cassette copies which sounded better than the CD!

The 2000 playlist

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2001 was a watershed year. It was the year I began upgrading and organizing my collection thanks to the home computer. I purchased my first copy of Sound Forge and used that to mix and record 95% of the material I used on the comp. I was going completely digital and the era of using cassettes came to an abrupt end.

My PhotoShop skills were meager - I managed a cool CD label which had the Pan Am stewardess from "2001" going around on the disc. I asked my brother Rafael to help with the cover and he added many of the pop culture gorillas and monkeys you see. The monolith was supposed to be a cassette (how's that for symbolism?) but we ran out of time.

The 2001 playlist

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Throughout 2002, I was continuing to upgrade my collection to digital and was still not proficient in PhotoShop. So I returned to the picture on the front concept for the cover in 2002. Santa decorating a tree in a forest came from a Christmas card that was sent to me (thanks Jenn!).

This edition remains one of my personal favorites. I had used "Christmas Griping", a fan club only single from R.E.M. on the disc, which contains a segment in the song where Michael Stipe and company were chanting "Boom-shaka-laka-laka, ho, ho, ho!".

Later that year, I attended one of my wife's families Christmas parties. Many of the smaller kids in attendance thanked me for the CD as I entered the party and began chanting "Boom-shaka-laka-laka, ho, ho, ho!". It's a memory I'll always cherish.

The 2002 playlist

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By 2003, my collection was fully upgraded, catalogued, and organized. However, this was the year the Chicago Cubs were making a run at the World Series and I was easily distracted that fall. For the record, I don't blame Steve Bartman - no one remembers the dropped double play ball immediately after that... BUT I DO!

We were also preparing for the birth of our third child in 2003 (Josie) so I chose to go with the picture of our house at winter time. It also marked the first time my son Alex and my oldest daughter Maggie spoke on the CDs but more importantly, my wife Ann was pushed in front a microphone and prompted to talk!

The 2003 playlist

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This was the 20th edition of my Christmas tapes, now CDs. I wanted to do something very special to mark the occasion but was wary. Twice in the past, I created different versions (see the 1996 Toledo fire) that ended in disaster.

I asked my good friend Jeff Fox of Jeffco Productions to create some special artwork (thank you Jeff!), I compiled enough 1980s Christmas material for a four disc set (which became two), I created special bumpers in between songs and gave the playlist as I went, a MP3 version of this CD was issued as well (before the days of podcasts and iPods), and even purchased black CD-Rs to give it a "vinyl" feel.

The end result was possibly the best work I've ever done on any of my Christmas CDs. If XM / Sirius Satellite Radio contacted me tomorrow asking for a Christmas demo for one of their Christmas radio channels (wishful thinking), this is the version I would send.

The 2004 playlist

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In 2005, I was very confident with my PhotoShop skills and created my very first original cover from scratch. There's a lot going on in this one - if you look close, you'll see a flying Santa with reindeer that's very familiar here in Fort Wayne, a familiar Santa in a Norelco floating head, and pictures of my children and my wife & I as ornaments.

Those with a Christmas eye know that the "Living Stereo" banner was borrowed from The Three Suns' "A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas". Look closer - I even had fun with PhotoShop up there!

This was the first year I dipped deep into my archives of Christmas music from the mainstream to the undercurrent to mix things up. Mash-ups made their presence felt for the first time, radio promos, and production jingles all contributed to the fun.

There was an alternate version of this CD issued as well. Friends from the First Presbyterian Theater group received alternate tracks (see the playlist for the differences).

I also included on both versions a special track I had recorded the year before - my version of Nicole Blackman's "What I Want For Christmas". It was meant to be included on my 20th anniversary edition but was bumped at the last possible moment.

The 2005 playlist

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Back in 2006, I began this blog and was devoting much of my time to getting it off the ground. There was much more I wanted to do with this cover but it turned out alright. Due to miscalculations with cutting the cover, most covers were smaller than the CD jewel case - a dab of an Elmer's glue stick and presto!

There were no special versions for the first time in two years and this was the first comp to reach three different continents (Europe, Australia, North America).

The 2006 playlist

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In September of every year, I sit down to create my annual Christmas CD. However, my schedule was full of school and theater activities in 2007 and I kept putting it off. When I did sit down to arrange the playlist and listen to massive amounts of Christmas music, I wasn't feeling inspired.

September turned into October, October turned to November. I was seriously blocked - nothing was sounding remotely good. Did I finally have Christmas burnout? With my back against the wall, a burst of inspiration hit.

I wanted to fill the CD with as many songs as I possibly could - most of the songs averaged around 2:30 in length, leaving plenty of room for sound bytes. In a span of 36 hours in the second week of November, 2007 (the latest completion date ever), I completed the CD.

A copy of this CD found its way to Emma Downs at the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. As a result I got a Christmas Day write-up in the newspaper. The article can be read in its entirety here.

The 2007 playlist

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After spending a summer of tackling my out-of-control Christmas music collection, I was able to sit down and plan out my Christmas CD more efficiently and clearly than in years past. When the dust cleared, I had finished my Christmas CD in record time back in August, 2008 - the earliest completion date of any of my comps.

This left the cover artwork. I was lucky to find a free program called AndreaMosaic that enabled me to use 800 images (no repeats) from my recently reorganized Christmas collection to create the cover you see above. It was also used to created a custom CD label that came out surprisingly good.

I decided to forgo printing these amazing covers with my aging HP printer so I went to Office Depot (thanks to Mark Handy and everyone at the Fort Wayne/Northcrest store) to get custom color copies made on heavier, glossier cover stock. The end result is rather stunning.

The topper of it all is that my youngest daughter Josie, who had resisted the microphone for several years, finally made her debut on the Christmas CDs (along with Alex, Maggie, and a less terrified Ann).

The 2008 playlist

Next year, I'll be celebrating my 25th year in creating these annual Christmas CDs for family & friends. I've got some ideas in mind on what I want to hear and what I want it to look like. However, if there are any custom graphic designers out who can lend an ear or pass on some expertise, I would greatly appreciate it - please contact me at the P.O. Box.

To my family & friends all around the world over the years (see below) - thanks for accepting these labors of love into your homes and not sending them back in en masse. I appreciate all the comments over the years (good and bad) and hope you are enjoying the new 2008 version. Hope this study guide helps you understand what you have heard that did or didn't make sense.



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Rob