It's Christmas music time!

A couple of days ago I sort of went on a music downloading binge. I found that iTunes has the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. Sweet. I suppose part of it is nostalgia for the things of my childhood, but Guaraldi was a wonderful jazz pianist and composer and the songs evoke such a peaceful feeling — I couldn't resist. I got a few George Winston Christmas songs, too, from his December album, which go nicely with the Guaraldi.

Then I opened my new Macworld and found a coupon for 50 free downloads from eMusic.com. Well, I can hardly resist free stuff, so I surfed on over and took advantage of my free trial. And it really is a free trial -- there's nothing to stop you from getting your free songs and canceling your membership (well, nothing but a little begging and pleading). The offerings aren't as deep (unless you're really into indie music) as iTunes, but I did find 50 songs*. I got an album (Short Term Memories) by Chris Rice, who I've heard of but never listened to, and I like it a lot. I'll definitely have to add more of his music to my collection. And it includes a neat little Christmasy song called Welcome to my World.

So today I'm listening to Christmas music at work. It goes well with the snow on the ground outside.

* Just in case you're curious, and even if you're not, I also got Downpour, by Chronos; Parachute, by Guster; Rare Earth, by Rare Earth (duh!); and a live version of Lola by the Kinks. More proof of my strange taste in music, I suppose, but there you have it.