Xmas in October?

A little nook of Sarah McLachlan herbal serenity, thanks to some record publicists.

So I just got the first batch of holiday CD’s in the mail. One is a musical cast recording for Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (which came with little snowflakes in the envelope; they’re now all over my desk). I think I’d prefer the Bing Crosby version.

And then I got Sarah McLachlan’s Wintersong, which is her Xmas-themed disc, with songs like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Silent Night” and stuff. But it’s also got covers of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and Joni Mitchell’s “River.” And then I also got a promo CD for the “River” single, that came enclosed with a little packet of apple and cinnamon herb tea and a votive candle. Har! Guess the publicists want me to crunch out and get cozy. (That’s the candle, CD and tea packet on my messy desk, as photographed by my cell phone camera. Maybe I’ll sip the tea from my 9 to 5 mug?)

The single’s nice, but frankly, I’m a devotee of the Joni Mitchell original. But I’m sure you can expect to hear this cover on a very special holiday episode of One Tree Hill or the Gilmore Girls later this year.