Merry Christmas. Yep it’s the time of year where we embrace everything that the season brings, from the pangs of Black Friday to the “terrific” traffic (according to Karen Carpenter at least) and the always on Christmas Music, either by choice or not.

I have to say that I’m a fan of the tunes of the season. I admit that by habit, my radio shifts to our local radio station playing 24/7 sounds of the season and tends to stay there more often than not. Christmas music to me (and any form of holiday entertainment) is akin to the attitude I have for the Olympics. Everything “normal” gets put on hold until December 26h. Regular shows get DVR’d and are replaced with the holiday classics and not so classics (I’m looking at you Hallmark and ABC Family). I get a little lazier in my exercise because hey, here comes that New Years resolution in a few weeks.

Christmas music has always taken a front seat to anything I listen to for 4-5 weeks at the end of the year (with the exception of the Chronicles of Narnia radio drama from Focus on the Family. Seriously, if you haven’t experienced it yet, go HERE, swipe your credit card, and prepare to live)

This year has been a bit different. For some reason or another, I haven’t been as motivated to tickle my ears with Bing, Fred, Karen or any of the other standard voices that occupy my days. Even the more current artists that are out there aren’t really doing it for me. Instead, I’ve gravitated to some newer sounds of the season, the songs of Christmas that are less about the traditional (read safe/mainstream/commercial) ideologies and stories, and more about Jesus.

There’s been something refreshing about queuing up a song like Fleurie’s “Wake Up (O Night Divine)” driven by a cool wintry piano overlayed with a breathy falsetto voice driving the lyrics that is somehow, in its simplicity, incredibly satisfying.

Maybe its the kid in me giving way to the grown up. Maybe it’s the traditional, “it has to be this way” guy giving way to the new traditions that come out of a marriage and fatherhood. In any case, it’s refreshing. It lightens my heart and in a lot of ways it connects me with my savior, which is how it should be right?

That’s not to say I have abandoned the standards that drive the season. I put up Christmas lights this past weekend with Karen Carpenter, Dollie Parton and the Muppets as my soundtrack. But i’m enjoying these new voices and they stories they are telling me. I’ve listed some new ones that have caught my ear this week. Check em out if you haven’t yet and if you have any non-traditional favorites, sound off in the comments section. I’m looking to

Fleurie
Wake Up (O Night Divine)

Sidewalk Prophets
Hope is Born This Night
What a Glorious Night
Hey Moon

Hillsong
Our King Has Come
We Have A Savior
Unto Us
Born is the King