If it’s December at You Ain’t No Picasso then it’s time for Mixmas. Every year I use the holiday season as an excuse to get some of my favorite musicians to contribute a mix centered around a theme of their choosing. They share some of their favorites and we get a little peak into their playlist and their brain.

MP3: Idiot Glee – White Christmas

Idiot Glee is quickly becoming one of the biggest reasons to be proud to be from Lexington. He’s releasing his debut album next year on Moshi Moshi and it looks to be capital-G-good. Here’s James explaining some of the songs that made him who he is.

“5 Songs From Childhood I’ll Never Stop Loving” by James Friley aka Idiot Glee

Genesis – “Firth of Fifth” (YT link)
My dad had me on all sorts of prog rock growing up. I still love it.

Weezer – Sweater Song (YT link)
When this album came out, I was only 7. It was one of my first two albums…I will never turn this song off when it comes on. My mom loves this album!

The Beatles – “Paperback Writer” (YT link)
For some reason, my brother and I strongly remember stealing our dad’s Past Masters Beatles album out of his van at nights, sneaking into bed with portable cd players to listen to it’s goodness. And we strongly remember our favorite songs – his was “Rain”, and mine was “Paperback Writer”.

Yes – “I’ve Seen All Good People” (YT link)
Same as Genesis above. I think Yes are just…so…good.

Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (YT link)
My dad accidentally bought Nevermind when it came out. I don’t know what, but he thought it was something else. Upon listening to it, he hated it, and tossed it to my older brother Ian. Ian gave it a spin….and wahla! He discovered Nirvana. His love for the album of course got me interested, and for a long time, I listened to everything he did. He took piano lessons, so I took piano lessons, etc… Perhaps because of my dad’s mistake in the early 90s, Idiot Glee is here today….