Rant #2,224: Christmas Party

Today is September 24, so we are just about three months away from Christmas Eve.

It is hard to believe, but the holiday season is just around the corner, and at least for me, it kind of started late last week, when a major announcement was made by the rock act that simply won't die.

Rhino Records announced that the Monkees will be releasing their very first Christmas album, called "Christmas Party," on October 12, and actually, the announcement was made by Rolling Stone Magazine, which, for whatever reason, has been very warm to the band in recent years after decades of utter disdain toward this act.

The album will follow pretty much the same formula as the one used for 2016's "Good Times!" which was certainly the surprise album of that year, finding itself on many best-of lists for the year and being the act's highest charting LP in 50 years.

So with that in mind, Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork will be singing holiday themed songs written by the likes of Rivers Cuomo and Andy Partridge.

And yes, Davy Jones will appear posthumously once again, in redone tracks dating from the 1970s.

The one difference with this LP is that the threesome will also tackle some outside tunes. most notably "Jesus Christ," a song originally done more than 40 years ago by Big Star, and they will also do traditional Christmas tunes such as "Christmas Bells."

And what of the classic Christmas tunes the Monkees recorded decades ago, "Riu Chiu" and "Christmas is My Time of Year?"

Well, they will be included in an expanded edition only available from Target stores that will be released a few days after the regular release.

And for real completists, an actual vinyl LP version of the album is planned for release sometime in 2019.

Personally, I feel somewhat in the middle with Christmas releases.

I enjoy them in the moment, but once that moment is done, the album gets put away into my overall collection, and I might listen to the album--or single--once or twice and that is it.

And being Jewish, I am on the outside looking in on this whole thing, anyway, so Christmas recordings simply don't resonate with me.

I do have my favorites, though.

My favorite Christmas single is certainly "Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen, which also features an excellent B side, "It Kinda Looks Like Christmas." When I hear the A side, I know the holiday season is upon us.

My favorite Christmas LP is certainly Paul Revere and the Raiders' "A Christmas Present ... And Past," a somewhat controversial album where Paul Revere, Mark Lindsay and other bandmates take on the holiday with sort of a moving target of songs and silliness.

I am sure "Christmas Party" will have something of a fun element to it, and its music will certainly turn up on numerous Christmas music playlists, but personally, I will probably listen to it once or twice and again, it will be put away for posterity.

Maybe I will be totally surprised, and with the "Mike and Micky" show ready to pick up again in the spring, who knows, maybe this album will become the keeper that "Good Times!" became.

I am ready for anything, and I am ready for "Christmas Party."

Ho, ho, ho ... !