I once again teamed up with Detroit record collector and DJ Dave Lawson to bring WDET listeners a brand-new collection of rare and sometimes unusual holiday tunes for the season.

From vintage rock and soul, country and western, funk, electronic experimentations and lounge music, it’s the best holiday music you’ve ever heard!

For those who missed the show on Saturday, catch the re-air at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, or view the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

Modern Music playlist for Dec. 21, 2024

• “Tijuana Christmas” – Sy Mann
• “Jingle Bell Rock” – The Paradise Islanders
• “Big White Cadillac (Remastered)” – Little Joey Farr
• “Little Drummer Boy” – The Crusaders
• “Get Off of My Roof” – Jerry and the Landslides
• “Greensleeves” – The Rondels
• “Chimney Top Twist” – Robbin Sisters
• “There’s Trouble Brewin'” – Jack Scott
• “Who Say There Ain’t No Santa Claus” – Ron Holden
• “My Mom And Santa Claus” – George Jones & The Jones Boys
• “Christmas Doll” – Jim Eanes
• “What I Really Want For Christmas” – Joyce Street
• “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” – Wilf Carter and the Calgary Stampeders
• “Hotta Chocolatta” – De John Sisters
• “Mr. Snowman Goes to Town” – Guus Jansen
• “Rock and Roll Santa Claus” – Babs Gonzales
• “Waiting For Santa” – Clif Gober and The Dedication
• “Santa’s Rap Party” – Super-Jay
• “Deck the Halls” – Gloria Parker
• “Little Drummer Boy” – Yon Max Aaron
• “Blue Christmas” – Toshiba Musical Industries
• “Please Come Home for Christmas” – Fudge Lips
• “Cascanueces” – Nacho Méndez
• “Silent Night” – Joseph Byrd
• “Silent Night” – Can
• “Giddy-Up” – The Dumbells
• “Quand Il Neige Sur Mon Beau Pays (Let it Snow)” – Roland Breton
• “Jingle Bells (Pig Latin)” – The Morrie Morrison Orchestra
• “Jillfingle Bell Fells” – The Honey Dreamers
• “Santa’s Too Old To Rock and Roll” – Debbie
• “North Pole Rock” – Cathy Sharpe
• “I Want Santa For Christmas” – Rita Faye
• “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” – Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets
• “I Wish You a Happy New Year” – Terry Nelson

Listen to Modern Music with host Jon Moshier Saturdays from 4-6 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

To say 2024 was a big year for music at WDET would be an understatement. We broadcasted an exclusive world premiere of Jack White’s new album, we added seven new music shows to our lineup and we increased our music programming from 32 hours per week to 79 — meaning we’ve played over 189,840 minutes of music since last year at this time.

We hosted live performances from local artists like Kevin Reynolds, Shadow Show (who are featured in Mike Latulippe’s list), Strange Heart, Infinite River (who are featured in Liz Warner’s list), Frontier Ruckus, Kasan Belgrave and Winestoned Cowboys; global groups like Mokoomba and Ghost-Note; and even the legendary Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble.

With so much amazing music to choose from, our award-winning hosts had a hard time narrowing down their lists — Ryan Patrick Hooper even played 15 hours worth of his favorites on In The Groove. But in the end, 40 tracks rose above the rest.

These are WDET’s top tracks of 2024.

Listen to the full playlist:

Want to jump to your favorite host? Click their name below:

• Ann Delisi, Ann Delisi’s Essential Music
• Jeff Milo, MI Local
• Jon Moshier, Modern Music
• Liz Warner, Alternate Take
• Mike Latulippe, The Detroit Move
• Rob Reinhart, Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music
• Ryan Patrick Hooper, In The Groove
• Shigeto, The New Music Show

Ann Delisi, Ann Delisi’s Essential Music

• “Get Down” – Masha Marjieh
• “The Rest of Me” – Michael Kiwanuka
• “Brown Fool Eyes” – Hataalii
• “Make It Happen” – Wonder 45
• “Für Elise – Batiste” – Jon Batiste

Jeff Milo, MI Local

To hear all of Jeff’s picks from the year, check out his 11-hour-long Spotify playlist.

• “Is It True Love?” – Bluhm
• “Big Boy” – Katy Needs a Life
• “Meet Me On The Internet” – Summer Like the Season
• “things we want to know” – Vespre
• “The Big Idea” – Lily Talmers

Jon Moshier, Modern Music

• “Big Wheel” – Shannon & The Clams
• “Hours” – Fred Thomas
• “Transmission” – The Routes
• “Soonish…” – Dummy
• “Big Tuna” – variety

Liz Warner, Alternate Take

• “Journey In Satchidananda (feat. Pharoah Sanders)” – Alice Coltrane
• “Blessed Unrest” – Infinite River
• “Life Is” – Jessica Pratt
• “Nothing Simple (feat. Tammy Lakkis & Cleveland Thrasher)” – Shigeto
• “Good Life – Chantty Natural Remix (feat. Groove Terminator & Chantty Natural)” – Soweto Gospel Choir

Mike Latulippe, The Detroit Move

• “Do Me Good” – The Mocks
• “Missionary” – Jack White
• “Transmission” – The Routes
• “Ours Forever” – The Jackets
• “Mystic Spiral” – Shadow Show

Rob Reinhart, Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music

• “Losing You (feat. Sampha, Laura Groves, Jah Wobble & Yazz Ahmed)” – Everything Is Recorded
• “Above Water” – Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men
• “Like I Say (I runaway)” – Nilüfer Yanya
• “Burial Ground (feat. James Mercer)” – The Decemberists
• “Same Risk” – Madi Diaz

Ryan Patrick Hooper, In The Groove

To hear all of Ryan’s picks from the year, check out “In The Groove: The best music released in 2024” parts 1–5.

• “Mum Does the Washing” – Joshua Idehen
• “Favourite” – Fontaines D.C.
• “R&B” – English Teacher
• “Mind’s a Lie” – High Vis
• “Count The Days (feat. Jenny Lewis)” – Swamp Dogg

Shigeto, The New Music Show

• “When It Fall” – SALĀKASTAR
• “Beaucoup de Drogue” – Shaii David
• “Reminiscin’ (feat. Dames Brown) [Re-Press]” – Will Sessions & Amp Fiddler
• “To Mitooni (Passed Out on a Persian Rug Mix)” – Salar Ansari & Shahram Shabpareh
• “Subdued (Tammy Lakkis Mix)” – Sara Marie Barron & Tammy Lakkis

As WDET closes out its 75th anniversary year, we’ll be providing your soundtrack for the holiday season!

In celebration of legendary broadcaster Ed Love’s contributions to jazz, our city, and to Detroit public radio, WDET will be re-airing Love’s landmark program Evolution of Jazz, giving you a soundtrack for the holiday season.

Ed Love began broadcasting jazz in 1960 at various radio stations, and has spent more than 40 years on WDET’s airwaves. At 92 years old, Love still delights our listeners with his Destination Jazz program, first launched at WDET in 1983.

Tune in from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays beginning Wednesday, Dec. 25 through Friday, Jan. 3 to hear highlights from Love’s six seasons of Evolution of Jazz. 

You can pick up some Ed Love goodies at Support WDET Detroit — there are two Ed Love t-shirts and Ed’s list of Who’s Who in Jazz in Ed’s handwritten booklet.

On Saturday, Dec. 21, Modern Music host Jon Moshier is once again teaming up with Detroit record collector and DJ Dave Lawson to bring you a brand-new collection of rare and sometimes unusual holiday tunes. From vintage rock and soul, country and western, funk, electronic experimentations and lounge music, it’s the best holiday music you’ve ever heard!

Tune into The (Not So) Modern Music Holiday Special from 4-6 p.m. this Saturday, or if you miss it, catch the re-air at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Many of our music hosts will be playing their favorite releases of 2024 before the year’s end. Visit wdet.org/playlists to view track lists or listen to your favorite shows on-demand for two weeks after they air.