"Sleigh Bells and Mistletoe" Podcast Pays Tribute to Fabled Collector Mitchell Kezin

I've written several times before about "Jingle Bell Rocks," the wonderful documentary by the late Mitchell Kezin about some of the various collectors of oddball holiday music who serve as my role models in this seasonal obsession of mine. Chief among these spirited folk is Mitchell himself, who, until his untimely death this past January, was one of the world's most dedicated and knowledgeable non-traditional holiday music enthusiasts. Mitchell's the guy on the left in the picture above. He's standing next to the late Bob Dorough, who's perhaps best known for his work on ABC's Schoolhouse Rock but was also a successful jazz musician, producer and arranger. Bob was responsible for the piano and vocals on the Miles Davis classic "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)." Bob's one of the many fascinating musicians and creators featured in "Jingle Bell Rocks," along with Run DMC, John Waters, El Vez, The Flaming Lips and more. But the real focus is on collectors like Mitchell, whose passion for tracking down unusual holiday tunes lights up this special holiday film 

I was pleased to learn recently that the terrific "Sleigh Bells and Mistletoe" podcast did an affectionate profile of Mitchell and his work this past August, and it's well worth checking out. 

I enjoy listening to "Sleigh Bells and Mistletoe." Hosts Rikki Meece and Mary Richards (no, not the one who works with Ted Baxter at WJM-TV in Minneapolis) promote their own brand of holiday spirit throughout the year in what's been described as the original  "all-things Christmas" podcast. The  August 26 episode opens, as most of their shows do, with a summary of "Xmas News," followed by the feature on Kezin. It includes Rikki's interview with Hugh McNally, another fan of offbeat Christmas tunes who's been making his own holiday mixes under the "Bootleg Xmas" brand for the past 25 years. (I've never been on Facebook so unfortunately I can't give you a link to Hugh's work, which seems to be exclusively promoted there.) You can hear Hugh and lots more in this excellent interview via the link below:

"Jingle Bell Rocks" helped me to learn that there's a whole community of other offbeat holiday music collectors like me out there. But you don't have to share this crazy interest to enjoy the movie. It's currently available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime. You can even watch it for nothing by signing up for a free 7-day trial subscription on Fandor. 

Here's a small taste of what you're in for:

There's no better way to kick-off your holiday season than listening to the "Sleigh Bells and Mistletoe" feature on Mitchell Kezin and following it up with the classic film "Jingle Bell Rocks." After that, you can listen to my latest mix. Hugh McNally's been at it with "Bootleg Xmas" for five years longer than I have, but 20 years is nothing to sneeze at!