Hooray! Billboard has confirmed last week’s made-up-seeming rumors: Reformed Jew Bob Dylan will briefly interrupt his crotchety musings on mortality to bring us his first-ever Christmas album. As fans of both his serious records and the practical jokes he plays on his fan base between releases (like those times he shot a Victoria’s Secret commercial, wrote a song with Michael Bolton, and converted to Christianity), we’re pretty happy about this news despite our intense hatred of Christmas. According to Bully Pulpit, the site that first broke the story, the tracks recorded so far are covers — “Must Be Santa,†“Here Comes Santa Claus,†“I’ll Be Home for Christmas,†and “O Little Town of Bethlehem†— which means, we hope, that this will be as funny, intentionally slipshod, and Self Portrait-y as we’re imagining. As excited as we are to see the cover (Columbia Records is welcome to use our photo-illustration), we’re even more excited to find out the name of this thing. Will it be simple and thoughtless (A Bob Dylan Christmas, maybe)? Silly and self-referential (North Pole Skyline or Sleigh Lady Sleigh, perhaps)? Or just something random and totally inscrutable? Leave your guesses in the comments.
Bob Dylan Christmas Album Coming [Billboard]