KEXP's 2012 Winter Holiday Playlist 2012

It's that magical time of year again -- Sufjan Stevens has been releasing and presenting his usual barrage of bizarrely sweet Christmas cheer, and there have been plenty of other excellent holidays-themed releases and performances. For your holiday listening pleasure, we've compiled a list of the best that this season has offered, and though it's mostly Christmas-oriented -- which should be a indicator to all you artists out there that we need more Hanukkah, New Year's, Kwanzaa, and any other holiday-not-mentioned music -- you'll find plenty to enjoy, whether you consider yourself a holiday-happy elf or a mostly jaded Grinch. Gathered here are songs from the aforementioned Sufjan Stevens, who released his first Christmas-themed rap mixtape (Chopped and Scrooged) in addition to his second Christmas EP collection, Silver & Gold, and from holiday compilations like Hear Music's Holidays Rule and Paste Magazine's current comp. You'll also hear from Yo La Tengo, who host their annual Hanukkah residency in Hoboken, New Jersey, at Maxwell's, where they perform all kinds of holiday songs, and from Big Boi, who, not to be outdone by Cee-Lo Green's appearance on The Muppets, reads the Dr. Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We've also included last week's festive Song of the Day podcast features, which gathered some of the best holiday songs released this year, plus some very recently released Yuletide tunes by local artists like Deep Sea Diver, Damien Jurado, The Transmissionary Six, and former local brooder, Mark Lanegan (that's right, made a limited disc called Dark Mark Does Christmas), and a whole lot more. Enjoy this seasonal selection and have a happy holidays, everyone!