There’s a ton of Christmas music out there, but since it’s the classics from the 1950s and ’60s that seem to get the most attention, it can be hard to know where to start if you want something more modern. If your tastes are more indie-leaning, Talking Heads’ David Byrne has you covered, as he just put together a Christmas playlist for NPR’s Fresh Air.
It’s not just indie here, as Byrne’s 19-song mix has some variety, featuring everything from 100 Gecs’ “Sympathy 4 The Grinch” to Prince’s “Another Lonely Christmas” to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Santa Doesn’t Know You Like I Do.” Other artists making the cut include Phoebe Bridgers, LCD Soundsystem, The Pogues, James Brown, Paul Simon, and Tierra Whack.
Byrne broke down some of his picks for NPR, including his own “Fat Man’s Comin’,” saying:
“I sometimes have a tendency to take things a little bit literally. So I looked at the whole Santa phenomena and said, ‘Well, what if I just described this exactly as what’s happening?’ Here’s a stranger who’s sneaking, breaking into your house, basically, leaving packages — and dressed in a rather strange outfit. I thought, ‘What if I just write that?’ The arrangement is by a guy named Jherek Bischoff that I’d worked with before, and his arrangement is pretty incredible, really kind of catches the flavor of what I’m getting [at], this sort of slightly ominous description of what Santa is up to.”
Stream it via Spotify below or listen on Apple Music here.
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