Once upon a time, in my not-so-far-away youth, a magical thing would happen on Thanksgiving night. Induced into a 12-hour coma by massive consumption of fat and carbohydrates, the whole world would drift off to sleep, and when we woke up, the magical Christmas elves had appeared and every shop window and light pole in town was adorned with a wreath or twinkly lights or even a Christmas tree. Jolly Christmas carols would pour out of doorways, and shopping would gaily begin.

Nowadays, the Christmas season seems to start on Labor Day, giving us all a hefty four months to get tired of Santa's big dumb face and peppermint sticks, and hearing exactly 4,500 versions too many of the godforsaken "Little Drummer Boy." Now, I'm a notorious Scrooge, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but the whole watering-down of the holiday is part of why I've grown to detest it so much. Also, it coincides with terrible snowy winter, which I also hate.

So what's my solution to the madness? Well, I've tried beating 'em, and it doesn't work, so I'm just going to join 'em. Joy to the world, or whatever. Seriously, though, if we must begin celebrating the holiday four months early, we may as well demand better (or at least more interesting) music to go along with the occasion. Why torture ourselves with "Jingle Bell Rock" and any number of permutations of "Fa-la-la-la-la" when we could be listening to music that's actually great, and just happens to be holiday-themed? Thus, my friends, I present you with my favorite world music Christmas CDs and a hefty list of more specific Celtic music Christmas CDs to get you started. Now is definitely the time to stock up -- think of it as "good taste ammunition" which you can use to ward off the old standard-fare boredom as soon as you get the chance.

Got any favorite world music Christmas CDs? Leave a comment and let us know what they are! And feel free to be Grinchy -- if you'd rather share your least favorite Christmas music, go ahead and post that, too. You're in good company around here!

Very sad news is just starting to come in from Mali: Wassoulou diva Ramata Diakite has passed away after a long illness. MaliWeb is carrying the story (in French), and they state that she passed on October 30, sadly only five weeks after marrying her new husband. The article lists her as being 35 years old, but other sources say she was born in 1976... in either case, entirely too young.

Known as one of the Wassoulou region's most talented singers, and the best-known, second only to reigning queen Oumou Sangare, Ramata (sometimes called Ramatou) Diakite was a strong ambassador for her culture. I was fortunate enough to see her once, and I (along with the rest of the crowd, which included country singer Patty Loveless, who had played earlier on the same festival stage) was captivated, and I've been looking forward to seeing her again ever since.

Update: Diakite's friend and manager Erich Ludwig has further information and touching remembrances at his personal blog.

Watch Diakite's "Leroule" Music Video on YouTube.

I don't often give bad CD reviews, mostly because I don't often really dislike music. I'm pretty open-minded and I can think of good things about almost anything. In fact, I can even think of some good things about former Celtic Woman Orla Fallon's new release Distant Shore. I just never want to have to listen to it again.

By anyone's standards, it's a well-made CD. The production value is high, the talent is evident, and there's nothing that stands out as "wrong." And frankly, I think that Distant Shore has pretty widespread appeal. However, Michael Buble, ankle boots, and shredded coconut also all have widespread appeal, and I wouldn't mind if all of them just went away, either.

When it comes right down to it, I just think Distant Shore is too pretty. I like my Irish music with a proper layer of grit, and I'm just not finding any here. Then again, to call this CD "Irish music" would be like calling Shania Twain's music "country" (as Minnie Pearl rolls over in her grave). No, it is (at best) Celtic-tinged, despite the fact that Fallon has pretty substantial traditional Irish music street cred, having won a number of prestigious competitions as a harpist. And though I can occasionally get behind a good pop record, this one just does very little for me. Have you heard it? What do you think?

A little over a year ago, a musical called FELA! premiered off-Broadway in New York City. Featuring choreography by Bill T. Jones and musical arrangements by Aaron Johnson and members of New York-based Afrobeat ensemble Antibalas (members of which also appear in the musical), FELA! tells the story of the life and music of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

The off-Broadway production of FELA! was received so well by audiences and critics alike that it is now making the big move to Broadway. Opening for previews at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on October 19, the show officially opens November 23. Visit the official FELA! website to learn more about tickets and other information.

In related news, Knitting Factory Records recently bought the rights to the entire Fela Kuti catalog, and is in the process of remastering and releasing the whole shebang. As a predecessor to those releases (which begin with a reissue of Black President on October 27), the Knitting Factory is sponsoring a string of "Felabrations" throughout the country, which began on October 12 - check the Giant Step Media website to see if there's one in your city.

The moral of this story? Fela Kuti is about to be a very big name. If you already know the broader points of his life story and can discuss his music with a certain amount of authority, you're a big step ahead of a lot of people. If you're behind on that stuff, quick! Catch up! You've still got a few days!