Christmas Albums You Should Have in Your Playlist this Season

Before I give you some of the must-listen Christmas albums this year, let me share a secret. Not so long ago, I discovered the gem that is NoiseTrade. Since then, I have been downloading FREE music from the artists themselves (with the option to leave some tip) through this awesome website! As a big (yet broke – yeah shameless here) music fan, discovering new artists and being able to download their songs for free is a HUGE thing for me.

So, I thank you, NoiseTrade and all the artists who support your movement. Dear readers, if I were you, I will definitely check out its site and look for other albums like the ones below.

Ladies and gentlemen, add these albums to your Christmas playlist now!

A Very Rosie Christmas by Rosie Thomas
With a contagiously cheery opening song "Why Can't It Be Christmas Time All Year", Rosie Thomas's A Very Rosie Christmas makes you really wish this season will never be over. Seriously, this song is so addictive it can be a refreshing replacement to all the other candy pop Christmas songs we always hear on the radio every single year. It's the new "All I Want for Christmas is You", IMHO, TBQH.




Silver & Gold by Sufjan Stevens
If you want to hear something eccentric this Christmas season, then better grab Sufjan Stevens's Silver & Gold album. I definitely like all the songs from this album that I can't choose a favorite. The songs are all fun and catchy and unexpected! I'm surely playing this album on Christmas Day while opening my gifts or something.



This album actually features 58 original and cover songs that you can check out here:


Songs for Christmas by Branches
If you're a big fan of folk/country music, Branches's Songs for Christmas album should be in your playlist this season. This group's version of "O Holy Night" made me teary-eyed, and its cover of "O Come All Ye Faithful", "O Come O Come Emmanuel", and "Silent Night" are equally impressive. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" is actually my favorite song from this album. It's dancey, fun, and festive, a kind of song that you want to play when with family, friends, and loved ones.




Over the Rhine by Snow Angels
Jazzy and soulful, Over the Rhine album by the Snow Angels adds some sultry drama to your Christmas eve. I particularly love "All I Ever Get for Christmas is Blue" and its bass parts. Actually, I love all the bass parts of the whole album. With this album glaring in your speakers, your Christmas will definitely not be blue.

Perk of Being a Not Very Pretty Woman

DISCLAIMER: I wrote this a few months ago, rationalizing why I'm still single since birth. It may sound so pathetic, but no no no, I'm not that desperate. It's just me being my weird self. :)

I think I'm ugly and nobody wants to love me. – 2NE1

Quoting the baddest Korean girl group ever, I really think I'm ugly and nobody wants to love me. 

Okay, I'm not really ugly. I think I'm fairly attractive! But, I think there are more attractive girls out there. It's the simple truth. I'm not really judging guys who like physically desirable girls since I do like guys who are physically attractive anyway. I mean, that's how relationship starts to begin with. A guy likes how a girl looks. A girl likes how a guy looks. Then, they hook up. It's all about attraction.

Given that, it makes me wonder, am I really that unattractive that no guy has ever thought of pursuing me? Geez, that sounds really pathetic! So, here's my justification why I'm still single at 22: It seems like I'm not really the type as of the moment. 

Not to mention, I'm surrounded with girls and women who are leagues prettier and hotter than me in terms of today's standards. When we all go out, I guess they just stand out and I become a wallflower. I'm pleasant to look at; but I'm no head turner. If I were a household item, I'm not really a statement piece. I think I'm some wallpaper, nice and pretty grandmas and mothers and aunties will love.

Okay. JSYK, I'm not fishing or having some insecure moment here. It's just how nature goes. Some people are taller, some shorter. I'm not really sad or anything. I really like the way I am.

A family friend once asked me if I ever wanted to marry a foreigner. I said I'm really open to the idea since it looks like most Filipino guys don't like me. They prefer their girls doll-like pretty with perfect brown wavy hair, paper white complexion, and a style copied straight from a magazine. And what she told me was thought-provoking. She told me that if ever a guy likes me even I'm not the most beautiful girl based on today's standards, then he truly likes me just the way I REALLY am.

And it made me think: maybe being "ugly" can help me or you or whoever find THE ONE who will truly love us because of US--which is so much better than being loved because I look like an ulzzang or something.  No idea how to end this weird and awkward entry so pretend that I just fade into nothing please. (Insert your chosen emoticon here.) 

P.S. This whole post is a hoax. I'm just looking for an excuse to write about 2NE1's song Ugly. HA. HA. HA.