Last year it was a surf classic that I'd never owned (or heard!) before. That made surf the reigning genre for two years straight as I'd picked Los Straight Jackets the year before.

This year I go back to Sinatra, Martin and Davis, who seemed to always being playing on the house stereo when I was a kid. They were also on the tube a fair amount, though it's a safe bet that I had no idea why they seemed so funny. And speaking of TV, check out the closing "Auld Lang Syne", taken from The Dean Martin Show. There's some off-key, late and slurry stuff going on there...which makes me think that they'd been living up to their reputation and tipping a few back.

Though this compilation contains material found on other records, there are a few gems not found anywhere else: Sammy Davis' "Jingle Bells", Dean Martin's "Peace On Earth/Silent Night". There are also a couple of other Sammy Davis rarities: "Christmas All Over The World" and "The Christmas Song", the latter taken from Sammy's tribute album to Nat King Cole.

It has been one crazy year. What I need now is some downtime with the family, some original lounge music, and maybe just a little of the 'ole egg nog (which may or may not have a little somethin' in it).

(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)