Christmas Mix 2017

Christmas Mix
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Update Monday, December 18, 2017
Ok, last call on this blog, I've added a few more songs. Bill, you now have 46 songs and comedy bits for your office building party! The Hope and Music fund is now at $2,105 as of this morning!

Update Monday, December 11, 2017
I got busy over the weekend and upgraded the blog with a new and cleaner look! I also added some new songs and comedy bits to this post that I think you will enjoy. I will continue to add more videos up until Christmas so keep checking back to the playlist. Also, I included my Youtube Christmas mixes from years past to play at your office party or just around the house.

• Christmas Time Mix 2016
• Christmas Time Mix 2015

Note - Bob Caligiuri's Hope and Music fund is now at $1,755 as of this morning! Yippee, more music instruments for the children of Aquila, Mexico!
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I want to thank the people who read my Monday Monday Music blog this year as many of you continue to give me positive feedback to keep this little blog going (most) every Monday!

Before I get to my Christmas Mix playlist this year, I would like to revisit my blog from two weeks ago, Hope and Music for the Children of Aquila. As of this writing, it is my most successful blog to date with close to 200 hits. More importantly, I'm hoping in a very small way to help my friend Bob Caligiuri reach his goal of creating a youth center filled with musical instruments and music lessons for the children of Aquila, Mexico.

It is my Christmas wish that you visit his GoFundMe page @

Hope & Music for Children of Aquila and pledge a donation of $10 to help Bob get over the $1,000 mark of his goal for $18,600. Bob leaves for his third trip down to Aquila in mid-December through Christmas. Bob's a damn skinny Santa, but every bit will help as he goes down with his fat Santa bag of musical instruments!

Now on to this year's (and third annual) Christmas mix. My current favorite singer-songwriter is Texas born, Kacey Musgraves. I'll be writing a blog on her soon as I continue to discover her song catalogue on Amazon and videos on YouTube. I would love to see her live, so if you all hear anything on a Southern California stop on tour, let me know. Anyway, I somehow missed her Christmas album last year, A Very Kacey Christmas, but this year it's front and center on my 2017 Christmas mix.

I'm sure I'm repeating myself from year one or two about being so damned tired of hearing the same 1940's - 1960's traditional Christmas recordings.  Not that I'm above a new take on a traditional Christmas song (as there's several here) but please a little more variety. My local UPS clerk, Patrick was telling me how the traditional Christmas loop tape in his branch store was sheer torture. I think Bing's White Christmas was playing through the ceiling speakers during my package drop-off, but kind of like having to listen to Hotel California on classic radio, or even John and Yoko's Happy Xmas (War is Over) for the millionth time. (Too soon? and really, Yoko on the chorus, yes my friends and I still haven't gotten over it.)

So here's my latest mix, again heavy in the Americana genre, but that's how I holly jolly roll these days. I wish you all a Merry Merry Christmas (and no Donald, I'm not saying that because of you)!

Johnnyswim New Music Monday

In continuing my married musical couple's theme from last week's blog, Familial Brew with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, I just discovered a new band (to me) called Johnnyswim. I was watching a 2014 rerun of Daryl's House when Daryl Hall had Johnnyswim's Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez on Episode 65. I instantly liked Johnnyswim because Abner and Amanda are complementary singers who play off each other with a natural grace and respect. They also just look like a great couple having the time of their lives not to mention they just had a baby boy, Joaquin born in 2015.

As I was looking at their website and then YouTube Channel, I noticed they do a live video on Monday's called New Music Monday whenever they have a new song they just have written or just want share. Well, Johnnyswim, welcome to Monday Monday Music! So hey, I'm just a little copacetic with this duo as we got it going here on Monday morning.

So here is my Johnnyswim Youtube playlist as I love their positive energy together, not to mention they know how to kick off your Monday. Pre-order their new album, Georgica Pond.

Also, if you're wondering about their name, I think you'll enjoy this brief explanation from Abner that I got from the Johnnyswim Wikipedia page. Ramirez has joked that the name Johnnyswim comes from an anecdote about Sudano's childhood pet, a goldfish name Johnny. When the fish died, he floated to the top of his bowl and Sudano's mother tried to dispose of before Sudano found out. However, Sudano walked in and cried out,"No wait - he's alive! Johnny, swim!" From Wikipedia. Also interesting to note that Amanda Sudano's mom is the late Donna Summer.