RIVER

Joni Mitchell was one of the recipients of this year's Kennedy Center Honors, a well-deserved award that celebrates a lifetime of achievement in the performing arts. And with Christmas here, Mitchell's classic 1971 song, "River" is often played although it's wistful sentiment doesn't fit easily into a typical holiday standard. Set during Christmas, the song explores the recent end of a relationship, focusing on the mixed emotions of pain, regret and loneliness that is felt at this time. "River" has been covered by many artists over the years and now a beautiful new animated music video for Mitchell's version has just been released. This clip perfectly captures the mood and poignancy of this song with expressive, watercolor-like imagery.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

The musical sounds of FKA Twigs have always been ethereal and progressive, merging smooth r&b with hard-edged electronic beats. The British artist, born Tahliah Barnett, has been working on a follow-up to her critically acclaimed second studio album, "Magdalene" from 2019 but the pandemic and some acting (she appeared in "Honey Boy", the drama written by actor, Shia LaBeouf that was based on his life as a child actor) created some delay. But now FKA Twigs has released two new songs; "Tears in the Club", a sensuous alt-soul track that features The Weeknd and "Measure of a Man" for the soundtrack of the upcoming film, "The King’s Man" which includes a rap interlude by Central Cee. "Tears" is the first track from her upcoming EP, "Capri Sun" due out early next year. The music video for the song features surreal imagery and slick choreography by Sean Bankhead. And "Measure of a Man" moves in a different direction, delivering the dramatic flair of a James Bond theme song.

For her eighth studio album, Alicia Keys has created a concept album called "Keys". This two-disc collection features on one side, "Originals" which Keys says features her "classic side" while the other, "Unlocked" has another "sonic experience" with some of the same songs. Keys co-wrote and produced the ten originals songs, then enlisted some top writers/producers like Mike Will Made It, Sia, Raphael Saadiq and husband, Swizz Beatz along with appearances by a few musical collaborators, Khalid, Lil Wayne, Pusha T, Swae Lee and Brandi Carlile to work on the other side. There are also six additional songs found on both sides. This an ambitious and exciting work by a incredibly gifted performer. Here is a short clip that visually highlights songs from the album and the "original" single, "Best of Me" which contains a sample of "Cherish The Day" by Sade.





Words can not properly express how much I miss Whitney Houston who I think remains one of the greatest vocalists ever in pop music. With the Christmas holiday approaching, here is a rare, live rendition of Houston's version of "Do You Hear What I Here" to help put you in the proper spirit. She originally recorded this song in 1987 for the first "A Very Special Christmas", a compilation album by the hottest pop stars of the day with the proceeds to benefit the Special Olympics. Houston made an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1990 and performed this song.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM . . .

NORAH JONES

For her very first holiday album, "I Dream of Christmas", Norah Jones brings her smooth and smoky vocals to a collection that offers half of the record with original songs she wrote or co-wrote with producer, Leon Michels and the rest features her versions of some familiar Christmas classics. The forty-two year old jazz-pop vocalist has delivered the perfect record to play in the background during a festive holiday party or while snuggling up to a loved one on a cold winter evening. Have a listen to one of the new songs, "Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones)":



KELLY CLARKSON

It's only been about eight years since Kelly Clarkson released her first Christmas album, "Wrapped in Red" but since the singer has expressed how much she loves this holiday, why not record another one?  "When Christmas Comes Around. . . "  has several new songs she co-wrote including the first single, "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)" (which seems might be directed at her former husband), "Glow", a duet with Chris Stapleton and "Santa, Can't You Hear Me" that features Ariana Grande. And there are covers of some holiday favorites, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", Wham!'s "Last Christmas", "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Santa Baby" first made famous by Eartha Kitt. Clarkson, the unexpected host of a popular daytime talk show, had a holiday special of the same title out on December 1st on NBC to promote the album and the program is now available to stream on Peacock. Enjoy a couple of tracks from Clarkson's latest Christmas album:

DARREN CRISS

Darren Criss is best known as an actor, first gaining fame on the musical-comedy series, "Glee" before making a big impression playing serial killer Andrew Cunanan in Ryan Murphy's anthology series, "American Crime Story" which would win him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Music has always been very important to Criss, having appeared on stage in several Broadway musicals, recording a few EPs and a featured vocalist on "Glee: The Music" soundtrack albums. And for his first studio album is a Christmas record, "A Very Darren Crissmas". But Criss had no interest in making a straight-forward holiday album. This collection features reimagined holiday classics and rarely covered Christmas tunes with country artist, Lainey Wilson and fellow actor, Evan Rachel Wood making appearances. Criss will be performing many songs off of the album during a concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on December 20th. This performance will also be available to livestream. In the meantime, here's a bit of some Christmas jazz-pop with Criss teaming up with Adam Lambert on the song, "(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag":

REMEMBER HER NAME

Mickey Guyton is finally having her moment after years of trying to get her foot into country music. It has long been notoriously difficult of late to break into the male dominated genre and with Guyton being an African-American female made the challenge especially fraught. Despite moving to Nashville in 2011, getting signed to the Capitol Records Nashville label and putting the hard work in, Guyton struggled to find a place in country and her music was largely ignored, leading to strain in her romantic relationship and some substance abuse issues.

But the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements helped pry open the long-held closed door policy of the gate-keepers of country radio who had made it clear that they had no real interest in anyone who was not a white male. Guyton finally saw some opportunities come her way; a performance on the Grammys of her nominated single, "Black Like Me" and co-hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards. But also let's understand that this recent attention to Guyton is definitely based on her musical talent and not on her race and gender.

And now years after she began her journey into country music, Guyton has released her first full-length studio album, "Remember Her Name" last September. Guyton co-wrote all of the songs (with the exception of a cover of Beyoncé"s "If I Were a Boy") and they come largely from her experiences as an African-American woman trying to find her place not only in country music but the world at large. There is "Rosé", a song about an enjoyable alternative to beer; "Words" deals with the racist opinions she had read regarding herself; "Love My Hair" explores the complicated issues with society involving natural Black hair; "All American" drives home the point that the term should be inclusive and the title track pays tribute to Breonna Taylor. The album has received critical praise, charting on the Billboard Top Country Albums (peaking at number forty-seven) and recently receiving three Grammy Award nominations including Best Country Album.