On Friday Random Ten

Okay, so Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. I do my Christmas shopping online, then I go to the mall to absorb the Christmassy atmosphere while sipping Starbucks's newest holiday-themed coffee drink and thanking God I don't have to do any actual shopping. I break out the mulled-cider-scented candles in November. I don't, however, allow myself to start decorating for Christmas or listening to Christmas music before December 1, but thanks to TBogg, I'm going to be loading this one onto my iPod in preparation for cold weather and the deep-south distinct lack of snow:


Now, I think that her pose on the cover there perfectly expresses my feelings about the holiday season, but judging from her reviews on Amazon, some of her fans don't agree. My favorite?

Come on, Diana: It's a CHRISTMAS album! What's with the legs spread, high heels, head thrown back? Hey, if this album was called, "Love After Midnight" or "Exotic Standards" or "I Just Did Four Guys and I'm Exhausted," believe me, I'd be all over it. But it's a CHRISTMAS album.

I hope that commenter doesn't mind, but I have to steal that title for my own debut jazz album. Keep an eye out for it, I Just Did Four Guys and I'm Exhausted, online and in music stores near you in the fall of 2006.

Some of the highlights:

1. Diana Krall, "The Look of Love"
2. Hank Jones and Abbey Lincoln, "First Came Woman"
3. Kent, "747"
4. WorldScapes, "Paris Canaille"
5. Semisonic, "FNT"
6. Lenny Kravitz, "If I Could Fall In Love"
7. Jet, "Look What You've Done"
8. The Chemical Brothers, "Block Rockin' Beats"
9. Ella Fitzgerald, "Slap That Bass"
10. Guster, "Love For Me"