The Christmas Post-Mortem

Check out this article on the music of Christmas and what's available on Itunes. A sample:

However, nothing has made a difference in my ability to collect and organize huge collections of Christmas music like the glorious iPod and its companion iTunes. I own nearly 12 gigabytes of Christmas music with no duplicates. Oh sure, there are a zillion versions of each song, but by different artists and with varied styles. My Christmas collection includes some rather strange bedfellows: Medieval, Victorian, a cappella, Appalachian, country, bluegrass, big band, brass, choir, inspirational, organ, New Age, classical, gospel, traditional, and even some doo-wop and rock. After all, who could do without Phil Spector's Christmas album or the Drifters?

Apple's iTunes works on a simple market concept: you want it, you purchase it. I go out and sift through thousands of Christmas songs and select those that add a bit of idiosyncrasy to my collection. Mostly, I like to search on song titles. I look up my favorite classics--Noel Nouvelet, Masters in This Hall, Coventry Carol, or Still, Still, Still--and come across newer, undiscovered artists who perform breathtaking versions of these classics in traditional form. It was here that I discovered stellar performers such as the Dickens Carollers, John St. John, and Acoustic Eidolon.

More here.