Pureplay of the Day: Calm Stream

Calm down. Christmas is still two weeks away. Plenty of time to shop, wrap, decorate, cook, and prepare for invading relatives.

If the holiday rush is starting to jangle your nerves, turn on Calm Stream, a Russian downtempo electronica station. An occasional smooth jazz vibe creeps in — but calm, always calm. There is zero holiday cheer in this station.

Even the site is soothing, with its snow-white background and minimal, no-hassle, in-line music player. This site defines elegance. It is also a social hub of a sort — most of the page features an international chat window where you can practice your Russian. (Get out your Cyrillic keyboard.)

Brad Hill