But, really, what we're concerned with here is "Auld Lang Syne". And that one's free.
Canadian Karen Fowlie gives us one more free version of "Auld Lang Syne". Even at just over a minute, this is a sweet Alt Country toast to the old year. You can pick it up on Bandcamp. Karen also has a Christmas song, "Christmas Is Tomorrow", but that one's not free. It's also a bit more Indie Pop than Alt Country. "Christmas Is Tomorrow" can be purchased for $1 through Bandcamp. Or you can buy the four songs that make up "Single Releases" for $1.
But, really, what we're concerned with here is "Auld Lang Syne". And that one's free.
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Do I know who Cait Black is? Haven't got a clue. But what I do know is that this is one of the prettiest new Indie Pop/Indie Folk versions of "Auld Lang Syne" you're likely to hear this year. Get it through Bandcamp. Too bad it's a mere minute and a half. Amazing what you can do with just a ukulele and a few human voices, isn't it? 1. God Jul Jesus - Honningbarna 2. Pretty Veil - Hanne Kolsto 3. Santa Baby - Sassy Kraimspri 4. O Helga Natt - Postiljonen 5. December - Out Of His Hands 6. Padre Santa, Puta Madre - Manheads 7. Stay The Night - Sgrow 8. Driving Home For Christmas - Honeytraps 9. Lik I Peisan - First Class Sudan 10. Follow Me (To The Shore) - Guro Von Germeten (ft. Andrea) 11. Winterlove - Supermale 12. In A Warm Place - Sunturns 13. Boots Man Fireplace - Therese Aune 14. Julepop - The Beards 15. Na Slukkes Tusen Menneskeliv - Sandra Kolstad (ft. Oslo Radhus) 16. Merry Christmas Baby - Deathcrush (ft. Harald Male) ALTERNATIV JULEKALENDAR SITE 17. The Angels Sing With Crosby - Magnus SOUNDCLOUD SITE 18. Sno - Anana 19. What You Gave Me - Leif & The Future 20. Death Through A Kiss - CCTV 21. Christmas In Space - Gin & Tonic Youth 22. The Sun Praising Party - Phaedra 23. Somewhere In My Memory - Drape 24. Det Er Hvidt Herude - Scarlet Chives 25. Christmas Song - Nive Nielsen & The Deer Children 26. When You Wish Upon A Star - Arne, Jonny & Stian Allstars The wrap of of this Norwegian Advent Calendar gives us lots of treats and a few tricks. This is very forward leaning stuff--some of it quite heavy. So, you know, not all of it is easily accessible to broad tastes. I tend to be drawn to pretty pop music, myself, so I can recommend The Sunturns, The Beards and The Honeytraps right off the top. I also really dug Nive Nielsen (we had them on Boxing Day) and was quite intrigued by Scarlet Chives (even if I didn't understand a word of it). Magnus was quite good with their electronic mashup. I'd like to listen to Therese Aune and Phaedra when more relaxed; Phaedra, in particular, seemed very pretty in a Pop Folk vein. And I loved Sassy Kraimspri's Rocked up "Santa Baby". That said, you can keep Deathcrush and their rendition of "Merry Christmas Baby", if that's what it was. Learn more about the bands, if you can read Norwegian, at the Alternativ Julekalendar website. Otherwise, you might be best off downloading your tracks from their Soundcloud platform.
1. Wombling Merry Christmas - The Very Most 2. Hey, It's Christmas - J. Catala 3. Silver Bells - Adam And Darcie 4. Don't Beat Me Up, It's Christmas - Fotoshop I'm very late on this one and I apologize to everyone involved. Indiecater is an Indie label based in Ireland and, every year since they came into being, they've graced us all with the sweetest Christmas compilations on the planet. Seriously, first chance you get, check out "An Indiecater Christmas", "An Indiecater Christmas 2009", and "An Indiecater Christmas 2010". I've bought them all, generally through iTunes. Many of these songs and groups you'll instantly recognize as the standards--the Bing, Perry, Andy and "White Christmas"--of an Indie Pop Christmas. The Very Most, The Garlands, Allo' Darlin', Adam & Darcie, Betty & The Cavaleros, Boca Chica. And last year's set included the wonderful Natalie Prass. This year, the stars didn't align properly for a full Christmas record. The good news for you, however, is that this year's "Indicater Christmas Gift" is free for the price of a kind word or two. Head to this page on the Indiecater web site and leave a nice comment requesting the free EP and they will send you the link. You can preview all the songs on Bandcamp. It's a short set, by Indiecater Christmas standards, but it's all choice. If you aren't familiar with The Very Most and Adam & Darcie, you might be on the wrong Christmas music site. J. Catala's contribution is unbearably sweet and awesome, and Fotoshop takes us a little to the left with some fascinating electronica. The UK's Phoenix Imago has a bit of that Southern Cali laid back folk pop sound that's been working so well for artists like Colbie Calliat, Jack Johnson and John Mayer. At least on this track, which also features a jazzy cadence. Anyway, it's an upbeat positive number and the video's cute. So give a listen to "Christmas Is Not Just For Christmas" and, if you like it, head over to Facebook and "Like" Phoenix Imago's page. Do that and you'll get yourself a free download. Or start at his web site and give him a Tweet. That dude with the Red Nose gets all the press, but he's not even one of the original 8. What about the rest of Santa's Reindeer? What's their story? Canadian singer-songwriter Ryan McAllister gives us the "true" story of Blitzen. And it's a much more interesting story than a young doe or buck being teased about a red nose. Blitzen, we're told, was rescued from a blizzard and near starvation. But he got his day in the end. This is really a very nice tune, extremely well done, and I'm happy to see Blitzen get his own backstory and tribute, rather than having another invented reindeer that "you don't know". "My Name Is Blitzen" is free at Bandcamp, as is "Whiteout Christmas" and both songs appear on Ryan's holiday EP, "Whiteout Christmas", available on iTunes. This is another song we owe to the German site Lie In The Sound, and we (and Blitzen) are very thankful to them, indeed. Sarah McLachlan does Christmas music well. So well. This terrific new original eclipses even her beautiful full-length "Wintersong", I think. Well, maybe that's a bit strong. But "Space On The Couch For Two" is a really great song (written by the students of her school of music) and it's free. For charity. Free for charity? How does that work again? Well, the idea is the song is free, but Sarah is hoping you'll feel the spirit and drop a dollar in the pot. Sarah's raising money for her free school of music for children, something she decided was necessary when schools began cutting all their art and music programs because at least one party in government (and probably both) don't see the value. Damn DC punks. Anyway, watch the cool video, then head over to the web site Sarah set up for this. Whether or not you contribute is entirely up to you. Admittedly, I just grabbed the song. Just a quickie here for you. The Ruffled Feathers are a chamber pop group from Vancouver and, last year, they produced one of my most favorite free Christmas downloads, "The Highest Mountain". I see this year, it's on Bandcamp and free again for the season. Don't miss it again, if you did before. The instrumentation is genius, Gina Loes' vocals are irresistible, and the lyrics mention a cat (who also makes an appearance on the cover art). How ya gonna top all that? 1. Angels We Have Heard On High 2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 3. I Don't Want A Lot 4. O Come All Ye Faithful 5. Away In A Manger 6. Silent Night 7. Rest In The Light DOWNLOAD THROUGH NOISETRADE One of my absolute favorite albums from last year is Anna Gilbert's "Christmas" (read our full review here). Well, maybe you just couldn't find it in your budget to buy the album last year and maybe you forgot all about it this year. Fear not, oh followers of the festive tuneage. Anna Gilbert is here to deliver like Santa. Via Noisetrade, Anna is offering a free download of SEVEN of the 11 tracks from "Christmas"--that's like two-thirds of the entire album. FREE! And it was a good one, so take advantage of this offer, while it lasts, adding some high quality Christmas music to your reservoir at the most reasonable of prices. 1. Batman Smells (A Rebuttal) 2. The Millennium Falcon For Christmas 3. Winter Day 4. Is A Chupacabra Kosher? Because you still need this EP in your life--and because it's free again--we're bringing this one forward from last year. That's right, we're going Back To The Future! John Anealio writes music about Science Fiction themes. Hey, there's got to be a market for that, right? Right? Bueller? Bueller? Actually, the music is quite inviting, nice sunny pop-folk in the vein of, well, using his own description, "John Mayer, Weezer, and James Taylor playing Dungeons and Dragons together on their iPhones". The longest cut here, "Winter Day" didn't seem at all Sci-Fi, though it was still a tad geeky. And what could be better than a Hanukkah song about eating a Chupacabra? But, seriously, your mixtape needs this, or something like this. And how many things like this are out there? "Seasons Geekings" awaits. Download it at Bandcamp. Free! |
The FREE ListHere we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations. Archives2010 Free List Categories
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