Terry Green Blogs About KUSP

I am, it’s fair to say, sometimes overwhelmed by the deluge of Christmas music in stores and other commercial locations. I’m still not sure what to think about hearing Bob Dylan’s Christmas album (the whole thing, on repeat) at a local sandwich shop last week.

But sometimes it’s nice to have a few “seasonal favorites,” as we call them at KUSP, at your beck and call. For the second year in a row NPR Music comes through with “Jingle Jams,” an on-line loop of holiday tunes picked by ten of America’s top public radio stations with musical formats.

“Eclectic” is an apt word for a winter wonderland that includes Louis Armstrong, the London Philharmonic and John Aldiss Choir, the Ramones, Robert Earl Keen, Run D.M.C. and the Waitresses. Best of all (from my perspective), a track from the supremely talented Woody Phillips makes the playlist this year, as it did in 2008. Find Maestro Woody’s full repertoire of workshop masterpieces on Gourd Records here.

NPR’s Jingle Jams plays on a loop so you’ll pick up the playlist at some random point if you launch the stream on your computer. If you’re in the mood, go find it…

On Sunday morning, December 13, KUSP will broadcast a special 3-hour program looking back at the most interesting moments on public radio in 2009. The show starts at 9:00 AM, right after Weekend Edition Sunday.

Robert Siegel and Ari Shapiro of NPR News are hosting; the supporting cast includes most of public radio’s luminaries, including all the hosts of the programs that usually occupy that time period: Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk, Peter Sagal of Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and Ira Glass of This American Life.

The Best of Public Radio is also a fund-raising program, tied in to our overall end-of-the-year campaign. During the show you’ll be able to call a toll-free pledge number or make a gift on-line. Nothing fancy — we’re trusting that you’ll take this opportunity to make a gift to KUSP (if you haven’t contributed recently) and ensure that the best of public radio in 2010 will be coming your way in the months to come!