Compact disks are popular holiday gifts. But you don't always get the CD you really wanted. Don't fret. The good CDs are fun to listen to. But bad CDs can also bring some yuletide cheer. Set your favorite holiday beverage on that ear-grating CD and let it protect your favorite table. Or even more festive, make a Christmas ornament out of the unwanted CD. Insert a colorful string through the CD's center hole. Then tie it to your tree and watch it sparkle.

Do you want to know which CDs will adorn your tree and which ones will bring cheer to your speakers? Read on.


Anyone who thinks that integrity has disappeared from rock music should give Traindodge a serious listen. Traindodge's latest EP, Torch (3 stars), is another strong offering from one of Norman's most under-publicized bands. The trio's ambitiously structured songs seamlessly glide from tension to resolution, from dissonance to consonance. For sure, Torch is a much more introspective and therapeutic sounding album than 1999's About Tomorrow's Mileage.

Traindodge slows the metronome down a notch or two on Torch. But the band never sacrifices intensity. Traindodge still packs a wallop of a sonic punch with a sound that mixes Fugazi with Sonic Youth.

And the band still stretches songs out for the sake of experimentation. But four- or five-minute songs work best for the band, which is why the 11-minute sprawling drones of "Cactus Flag" become a bit heavy-handed. Still, the song's almost dreamy pastiche is refreshing, and it's a nice contrast to neighboring tracks. Listen to Rob Smith's dizzying drumming on "The Raining Room." Also pay attention to Jason Smith's guitar work, which goes well beyond crunching chords, instead exploring some interesting harmonic terrain.


Too bad industrial auteur Trent Reznor doesn't offer some musical exploration. The creative leap that brought Nine Inch Nails so much critical acclaim always seems to disappear whenever Reznor deconstructs his original songs. NIN takes a creative leap back with Things Falling Apart ( 2 1/2 stars), a companion album that reconfigures roughly a half-dozen tracks from The Fragile with mixed results. Things isn't the first NIN companion album to falter. Broken and The Downward Spiral spawned uneven CDs as well.

The album suffers because Reznor doesn't take enough chances. Reznor's remakes are merely skeletal renderings of the originals. That's not to say the album doesn't have its good moments. It does. But the superfluity of three different versions of "Starf***ers Inc." is overwhelming, particularly since a couple of versions sound like rave-ready club remixes. And "Slipping Away" reworks "Into the Void" with half the passion of the original, only manipulating a snippet of the original song's cello line. "Slipping Away's" heavy drum pulse overpowers the music.

But Reznor does a nice job exaggerating "The Frail's" somber mood by replacing the piano intro with strings - and a prominent cello drone at that. Whorls of modern life's banality, including a man sighing and a soft drink pouring into a cup, are a nice touch.

Surprisingly, Reznor's best work is his industrial sound sculpting on a cover of Gary Numan's "Metal." Maybe he should have done a covers-only album.

Only hardcore NIN fans should shell out the dough for this album. Others should put those dollars toward some holiday music.


But should Christina Aguilera's Christmas album, My Kind of Christmas (1 1/2 stars), be the one?

Skeptics may ask: Does the world need a Christmas album from a blond, waifish, teen-age singer? But Aguilera can actually sing.Her style draws comparisons to a young Whitney Houston. For the record, Aguilera's album boldly boasts four - count them four - new Christmas songs. You won't remember most of Aguilera's new tracks. "Xtina's Xmas" - plainly put - sucks. But you probably will appreciate her covers of Christmas classics like "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." Aguilera's R&B vocal stylings bring a new twist to old classics. She also shines on the '70s soul of "This Christmas" and the blues-inspired "Merry Christmas, Baby."

Sadly, too many songs sound like "Genie In A Bottle" with Christmas lyrics. Thankfully Aguilera doesn't merely dub sleigh bells over "Genie In A Bottle" and call it a Christmas song. Remember when Jewel did that to "Hands" on her Christmas album last year?

Aguilera is also smart enough to know that good back-up musicians are essential. Blues pianist Dr. John, jazz drummers Peter Erskine and Harvey Mason, percussionist Luis Conte and trumpeter Warren Luening are just a few people who add some grace and solid musicianship to Aguilera's album.

Aguilera doesn't create a Christmas song that can match the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" or the Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight)." But her covers are well done. My advice is to give the album a spin, then hang the silver snowflake-decorated CD on your tree.
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