As another year twinkles softly into twilight, I find myself looking back at the year in music. With million-selling digital downloads, Billboard magazine charting the sales of cheesy ring tones, and Case Logic CD folders bulging with burned discs, the public has declared that what they want is the content, and they aren't so concerned with the medium.

I'm no foodie, but this year's home-heating costs make for luxurious reasons to fire up the oven and put your "bake on." And what better than a little holiday cheer to put some brushed snare in your whisk, or some hipster Santa soul in those stiff hips and soggy boots? What could be more perfect than mincemeat and Jimmy Smith's Christmas '64, smoking that mighty Hammond B3? Or decorating sugar cookies with Ren & Stimpy's Crock O' Christmas from 1997? Yes! How about vanilla extract with Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown and cloves for Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby"? Here's a handful of new Christmas music that might become your inspiration for some creative kitchen-craft and tree-trimming time.

Many youngsters were present at the Quad City Symphony concert on Saturday, December 3, but they weren’t the only ones encouraged to let the music lead their imaginations to faraway places. In a night of music written by artists who, as described by conductor Donald Schleicher, are “serious composers with imaginations,” the Quad City Symphony conjured an atmosphere that allowed words and music to stimulate our minds, and create worlds where elephants wear suits and angels are summoned.

It's ironic that a band that can't choose a name can develop a sophisticated, comprehensive system of musical cues that allows every member to change (or merely anticipate) what's happening on stage, from tempo to key.