In this episode we kick off Playback by diving into Bob Dylan’s Christmas album Christmas in the Heart, a record most people joked about… until they actually heard it.

We talk about how Dylan leans fully into the old-school Christmas-album tradition—choirs, classic arrangements, big-band vibes—filtered through his late-career voice, and why the result is way more sincere and moving than you’d expect. We also get into the fact that Dylan donates all of his royalties from this album to hunger relief charities, which reframes the whole project as something quietly generous and heartfelt.

In this episode:

– Standout tracks from Christmas in the Heart (“Must Be Santa,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” etc.)

– How Dylan’s rough voice intera ...