Even though Thanksgiving isn't for another week, Christmas decorations have already been up in stores for what seems like a couple of months. And the Christmas holiday season will get its unofficial "early" start in the Triangle this weekend, with Saturday's annual Downtown Raleigh Christmas Parade. But an altogether cooler local tradition is the Brantley Family Band's Christmas album, a longtime labor of love for Bull City guitarist Jim Brantley's family and friends.

This year's model will be the seventh one they've done, and they'll start recording next week on Black Friday -- "in protest of over-consumption, shopping malls (and) rushing the season." The 2010 edition should surface sometime in December; I'll keep you posted. Meantime, dig this gem from last year.