Erran Baron Cohen
"Songs in the Key of Hanukkah"
(New Line Records)

Erran Baron Cohen, the brother of "Borat" comic Sacha Baron Cohen, calls "Songs in the Key of Hanukkah" one of the more humorous yet scary projects in which he's been involved.

"Up to now, I remember, as a kid, hearing Hanukkah songs at home--which were kids singing really badly and certainly very bad piano playing," Erran Baron Cohen said via telephone from his England home. "They were singing these nursery-rhyme Hanukkah songs. I don't remember enjoying listening to it even as a kid. But certainly, as an adult, it would have been awful to hear that.

"The idea was to take the Hanukkah repertory and take things like 'Dreidel'--one of the worst tunes ever--and turn it into something interesting and worthwhile, musically. I was frightened when I started this project, but it seemed to work out--I hope."

Recorded in London, Berlin and Tel Aviv, the 10-song CD combines klezmer, reggae, electronic, hip-hop, tango, pop and other genres, all woven into tracks like the aforementioned "Dreidel" and "Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah." The album contains five reinterpretations of classic tunes as well as five original tracks, sung by Jewish singers in English, Hebrew or Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish).

"The idea is to have an album that adults can enjoy, and the kids would also recognize the tunes, 'Ma'oz Tzur' and 'Dreidel' and love it. That's certainly been the case with my kids."

Anuna
"Christmas Memories"
(Elevation)

Being in the United States during two Christmases, Anuna's John McGlynn said he feels he has a pretty good handle on how this country celebrates the December holiday. So it came in handy when his Irish choral group recorded in humid July its third holiday album, the PBS special "Christmas Memories."

"Anuna have a very famous Christmas show that they do every year--which hopefully we bring to the States next year," McGlynn said via telephone from his home in Ireland. "It consists of modern classics and well-known pieces in our own little Irish/Celtic slant. We decided we'd do some very upbeat stuff, stuff that people in America are going to know very well. We just put a few little jewels in there. There's a French carol in there, two Irish carols and, of course, 'White Christmas' is in there as well. It's very accessible. We picked them because we thought they would suit the PBS audience and an American Christmas."

"Christmas Memories" is a Borders exclusive.

Various Artists
"We Wish You A Metal Christmas and a Headbanging New Year"
(Armoury Records)

Renowned guitarist John5 can't celebrate the holidays this year with his family in Michigan because he, Rob Zombie and the rest of their bandmates are working on the new Zombie album. However, he did get a little taste of it in the summer when he laid down axe riffs for the "We Wish You a Metal Christmas and a Headbanging New Year" interpretation of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." The track also features Alice Cooper, Billy Sheehan and Vinny Appice.

"Actually, to be completely, 1,000-percent honest with you, I came in and did my part, and everybody else put their parts on after I did it," John5 said. "It was pretty easy for me. Scheduling was tough because we're making a Zombie record and Alice is touring and everybody's working. But everybody wanted to do it.

"I was watching TV and there was a commercial on; it was a Christmas song. I was like, 'Oh, cool. They're already playing Christmas music.' I do like Christmas music. It definitely puts me in the spirit."

The album features an all-star collective of members from hard-rock bands such as Foo Fighters, Queensryche, Dio, Alice Cooper, ZZ Top, Dokken, KISS, L.A. Guns, Marilyn Manson, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, King's X, Judas Priest, Anthrax and Ratt. They jam out together on some of the most beloved--and irritating--holiday songs. For example, Motorhead's Lemmy, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl team up for "Run Rudolph Run."

Elliott Yamin [ tickets ]
"My Kind of Holiday"
(TRP Records)

Even though "American Idol" finalist Elliott Yamin has never celebrated Christmas, he enjoys the season and its spirit. In the name of self-promotion, he recorded a Christmas album last year exclusively for Target; this year he re-released it with additional tracks for wider distribution.

"It was just a little awkward, recording a Christmas album," Yamin said via telephone from his Los Angeles-area home. "I never really celebrated Christmas. I didn't grow up celebrating Christmas. Christmas doesn't mean the same [thing to me] that it does to most of America. I still love that time of year, don't get me wrong. The irony of it is so funny: being a Jewish guy coming out with a holiday record."

When asked why he decided to tackle such a project, he said, "Why not? Why not have another opportunity to have more music out there with your voice, your name on it, and be able to continue sharing my voice with everybody? That's what it's all about."

Relient K [ tickets ]
"Let It Snow Baby ... Let it Reindeer"
(Capitol)

Relient K vocalist/guitarist Matthew Thiessen has a matter-of-fact view about holiday albums, specifically his band's 2007 collection, "Let It Snow Baby ... Let It Reindeer," which was re-released Oct. 7.

"Christmas comes around every year, so you might as well put the record out every year," Thiessen said with a laugh during a recent phone interview. "Because I'm not into putting out the same record every year, we're going to tack a couple more songs on to it this year. We'll probably tack more songs on to it next year. It's just this whole idea that we had for our Christmas catalog, pun intended: let it snowball every year and add to it."

In between tours, the Christian popsters recorded three new tracks: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Silver Bells" and "Oh Holy Night." CDs come with a card enabling fans to download the additional songs for free.

The Almost [ tickets ]
"No Gift to Bring"
(Tooth and Nail Records)

For Aaron Gillespie--frontman for The Almost and drummer for Underoath--it was pretty much a no-brainer to record "Little Drummer Boy" for The Almost's holiday EP, "No Gift to Bring."

"'Little Drummer Boy' was my idea, but my publicist for The Almost thought it would be a good idea to do a Christmas song and rework a few songs off ['Southern Weather'] and make a holiday EP. I felt the 'Little Drummer Boy' was pretty obvious," Gillespie said with a laugh from a tour stop.

"I love Christmas music as much as the next person, but I'm not one of those guys who listens to Christmas music in June," he added. "In the season, it's great. It's fun to listen to, but I have a friend who, all year, can't wait for Christmas time so he can get into his Christmas records. I definitely think, though, it holds a space in everyone's hearts."

The track listing also includes "Awful Direction," "Amazing Because It Is" (full version), "Your Love is Extravagant" and "Dirty and Left Out" (McTague-lectro version).

More New Holiday Releases:
Ashton Allen, "The Christmas Songs" (Barnes and Noble)
Tony Bennett, "A Swingin' Christmas" (Sony)
The Boxmasters, "Christmas Cheer" (Sawmill Records/Vanguard)
Sarah Brightman, "A Winter Symphony," (EMI)
Mary Chapin Carpenter, "Come Darkness, Come Light: 12 Songs of Christmas" (Rounder)
Kristin Chenoweth, "A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas" (Sony BMG)
Harry Connick Jr., "What a Night! A Christmas Album" (Columbia)
Enya, "And Winter Came" (Reprise)
Melissa Etheridge, "A New Thought For Christmas" (Island)
Flaming Lips, "Christmas on Mars" (DVD/CD) (Warner Bros.)
Bela Fleck, "Jingle All the Way" (Rounder)
Gentleman Auction House, "Christmas in Love" (Emergency Umbrella Records)
Faith Hill, "Joy to the World" (Warner Bros.)
Al Jarreau, "Christmas" (Rhino)
Jars of Clay, "Christmas Songs" (Gray Matters)
Cyndi Lauper with The Hives, "A Christmas Duel" (single) (The Orchard)
Ledisi, "It's Christmas" (Verve)
Yo-Yo Ma and Friends, "Songs of Peace and Joy" (Sony BMG)
Martha's Trouble, "This Christmas" (Aisling Records)
Brian McKnight, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Gemini 3/Razor and Tie)
Elvis Presley, "Christmas Duets" (Sony BMG)
Rascal Flatts, "Greatest Hits Volume 1" (includes "White Christmas," "Jingle Bell Rock" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas") (Lyric Street)
Julez Santana with Dipset Capo, Jim Jones and Mike Epps, "A Bad Santa" (Koch Entertainment)
Sixpence None the Richer, "The Dawn of Grace: A Collection of Original and Traditional Christmas Songs" (Nettwerk)
Straight No Chaser, "Holiday Spirits" (Atlantic Records)
Ten Out of Tenn, "Ten Out of Tenn Christmas"
Rosie Thomas, "A Very Rosie Christmas" (Nettwerk)
Various Artists, "An Alternative Christmas" (Alternative Addiction)
Various Artists, "A Princeton Christmas: For The Children Of Africa Vol. 2" (CreateSpace)
Various Artists, "I'll Stay 'Til After Christmas" (AWR)
Various Artists, "Songs for a Cause" (Target Exclusive)
Various Artists, "Hotel Cafe Presents ... Winter Songs" (Sony)