New Music Monday! The Holiday Edition!

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s time for the onslaught of the holiday season! Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and even Solstice will soon be here, and that means so are the appropriate albums.

Up first, December 8th marks the release of Glee: The Music, Volume Two, proving that there’s no such thing as too much glee. Many of the songs have already been performed on the show, and while a number of the songs have been simply amazing (Jenna Ushkowitz’s cover of “True Colors for one,) I can’t wait to see what they do with the Broadway standards coming down the pike. Plus Glee covering Kelly Clarkson? Yes, please!

And if that’s not enough Glee for you, their cover of Wham!’s “Last Christmas” is already available as a single on iTunes. And in the spirit of holiday giving, a portion of all sales of this track will benefit the Grammy Foundation for music education. Seriously, can Glee do any wrong?

For those of you into something a little edgier, out rocker Rob Halford recently released his holiday album, Halford III – Winter Songs. That’s right! We finally have a heavy metal version of “We Three Kings” and “Oh Holy Night.” Talk about rockin’ around the Christmas tree. But make no mistake. This is no throwaway holiday album. Unlike some lackluster heavy-metal holiday albums (I’m looking at you Twisted Sister!) this one delivers. If metal’s your thing, give it a listen, you won’t regret it!

Out December 1st, Gift Wrapped: 20 Songs That Keep On Giving is a mixed bag of Christmas and Hanukkah songs with performances from My Chemical Romance, Foxy Shazam, The Flaming Lips, Melee, R.E.M. and more. Highlights include the previously unreleased My Chemical Romance cover of Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and R.E.M.’s rendition of "Deck The Halls.”