A Christmas Yuleblog

Last week, I reviewed a Christmas comp that was the last present I received last December. This CD was the very first present I received. Back in November, my good friend Martin Johns sent me his annual Christmas comps (which I'll be reviewing some time down the road). Inside the box was a wrapped Christmas package that read "DO NOT OPEN 'TIL DEC. 25". I dutifully tucked it under the tree and there it remained until Christmas morning. What went through my mind on Christmas morning as my kids tore through their gifts with this CD staring at me in the face? I remembered reviewing Martin's 2005 comp " No Rain, No Rainbow: A Contemporary Hawaiian Christmas " and mentioning this very CD when reviewing a version of "Jingle Bells" in Hawaiian: WOW! "Jingle Bells" in Hawaiian! Featured on the 2001 comp "Old Hawaiian Christmas" which is OOP? I'm about to cry here... I also remembered that a year earlier, I sampled a ...

With eight days left before Christmas, I wanted to spend today looking at several new Christmas albums on the shelves this season - perhaps a last minute gift guide for those who love Christmas music. This is the second review today and it's from the good people at Double Crown Records . From the end of my " Seasonal Favorites V2 " review last month: "Double Crown doesn't have a "Seasonal Favorites V3" for this Christmas (think 2009). However, a band on their label named King of Hawaii released a Christmas EP just in time for 2008. At $6, this might be the bargain of the season." Recorded at the House of Rock in October, 2006, this EP has five tracks which allows me to do... TRACK REVIEWS: 1.) Greensleeves Hawaiian surf flavored version of this traditional Christmas carol. Where's my sunblock? 2.) Feliz Navidad Surf guitarish with Latin flavor throughout... not bad from a group called "King of Hawaii"! 3.) Dance ...

As far as I can remember, I've always had an affinity for Hawaiian music. Somewhere among my archives is a picture of me in a fourth grade school play where I play an obnoxious tourist flying to Hawaii. If that ever surfaces (think Jimmy Hoffa), I'll be sure to post it... Some time in high school, I began actively searching out Christmas music. I cannot recall what was the very first Hawaiian Christmas music album in my collection but I was hooked, lined, and sinkered onto that genre. I tried to find as much Hawaiian holiday hulas as I could find. When the smoke cleared, it emerged as the largest sub-genre of my collection (until Christmas organ overtook it last year). These sat on my upgrade list for quite awhile until two wonderful people named PDMan (from the FaLaLaLaLa community) and Ernie (of Ernie (Not Bert) ) came through in a big way last year. The first album (pictured above) by the Paradise Islanders was offered by PDMan at FLLLL.com back last December...