Don't Miss Andy Cirzan's Annual Visit to Sound Opinions Next Weekend

Andy's Holiday Mix for 2012

The alternative holiday music community has been rapidly gaining strength over the past five or ten years, and so long as corporate radio and the mass market media titans continue to force feed us the same dozen or so holiday chestnuts each year, you can bet that increasing numbers of listeners will take off on their own to see what the wide open skies of the internet have to offer. Like any pioneer movement, this community has its trailblazers and inspirational figures, several of whom have been collecting offbeat holiday records for years. One of the true pioneers of this genre is Andy Cirzan.  An executive for one of the country's leading concert promoters, Andy’s been sending his annual holiday mix to friends and business associates for more than 20 years, and his product rarely disappoints.  Happily for us, Andy is the featured guest around this time each year for a special holiday edition of Sound Opinions, the Chicago Public Radio rock music talk show hosted each weekend by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot. Andy serves as Sound Opinions’ very own Kris Kringle, playing selections from his latest holiday CD, and discussing his collection and holiday music in general. This is one show I look forward to all year, which is why I wanted to mention it here.  The Sound Opinions Holiday Spectacular airs next Saturday, December 15 on stations across the country and is also available via podcast. Check the Sound Opinions website for details.