It’s an early Christmas present for yours truly: A mercifully slow week in the music world. There are only a couple of dozen new albums arriving — only one of which I really want to hear — and a handful of TV appearances in the offing. See for yourself:
NEW MUSIC | THE BEST
Frank Zappa
Hot Rats Sessions
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Fifty years ago, Frank Zappa’s inimitable, groundbreaking first solo album, Hot Rats, was released, putting the songwriter and musician on the map as a virtuosic guitarist and changing the course of music forever with its conceptual, compositional and technological innovations. Self-described as a “movie for your ears,” the mostly instrumental 1969 album was a new musical avenue for Zappa following the dissolution of his band The Mothers Of Invention as he melded the sophistication of jazz with the attitude of rock and roll to create a highly influential masterpiece widely hailed today as a pioneering album of jazz-rock fusion. On December 20, just one day before what would have been Frank Zappa’s 79th birthday, Zappa Records will celebrate Hot Rats and the legendary composer’s highly prolific 1969 period with a mammoth six-disc boxed set titled The Hot Rats Sessions. This expansive new collection documents and compiles every composition recorded during several days in July 1969 when Zappa recorded Hot Rats and a wealth of other material that ended up being used throughout multiple releases during his lifetime. Filled with an abundance of rare and unedited mixes, work mixes, relevant Vault nuggets and complete basic tracks mixed from the original multi-track master tapes by Craig Parker Adams and mastered by Bob Ludwig in 2019, the collection provides a fascinating look into the making of this classic album, and includes essentially every musical entity that was recorded during these iconic sessions.”
NEW MUSIC | THE REST
Julianna Barwick | Circumstance Synthesis
The Black Halos | Geisterbahn EP
Blueface | Find the Beat
Boldy James & The Alchemist | Boldface EP
Solomon Burke | The Complete Atlantic Albums
Cam’ron | Purple Haze 2
Doe Boy | Streetz Need Me 2
DP Beats | DP On The Beat Vol 4
Freshie | Bad Behavior
Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders | GarciaLive Vol. 12: Jan. 23, 1973
Lonemoon | Andromeda
Merzbow | Chameleon Body
NLE Choppa | Cottonwood
Sean Price & Lil Fame | Price of Fame
Pyramids on Mars | Edge of the Black
Queens of the Stone Age | Lullabies to Paralyze Vinyl
Queens of the Stone Age | Era 
Vulgaris Vinal
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross | Watchmen Score Vol. 3
SOB X RBE | Strictly Only Brothers
Various Artists | Cats: Highlights From The Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists | Little Shop of Horrors New Off-Broadway Cast Album
Various Artists | Melody Makers: The Bible of Rock ’n’ Roll 
DVD
wifisfuneral | Ev3rything Sucks
John Williams | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Soundtrack
Murray Wilson & Snow | The Break Away EP
Jarmila Xymena | Only You
Yikii | Don’t Cry Little Ghost
Frank Zappa | The Hot Rats Sessions
ON TV
This week: Jennifer Hudson makes the rounds, Lizzo wraps up the year on SNL, and Chance the Rapper takes over for James Corden for a night. Don’t touch that dial:
Monday
Lea Michele | Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Idina Menzel | Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Chance the Rapper, Lil Nas X | Late Late Show With James Corden
Tyler Childers | Late Night With Seth Meyers
Jennifer Hudson | Live With Kelly & Ryan
Tuesday
Liam Payne | Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Andrea Bocelli, Jason Derulo | Live With Kelly & Ryan
Blake Shelton | Kelly Clarkson Show
Wednesday
Yola | Jimmy Kimmel Live
James Blake | Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Rick Ross | Kelly Clarkson Show
https://youtu.be/ditUPHe0KY4
Thursday
White Reaper | Jimmy Kimmel Live
Dua Lipa | Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Jennifer Hudson, Sharon Van Etten & Norah Jones | Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Lewis Capaldi | Live With Kelly & Ryan
Jennifer Hudson | Kelly Clarkson Show
Friday
Darlene Love | The View
Saturday
Tyler Childers | CBS This Morning
Lizzo | Saturday Night Live
