In the style of Woody Guthrie's talking blues, a style which many an artist has found creative license, Diamond David Lee Roth does the holidays in just over two minutes flat. It may not be the star of your holiday party today. But its odd enough that, five years from now, people are going to ask about it. So you might as well download it, now, so you'll have it then. And, right now, "Talkin' Christmas Blues" is free on Soundcloud.
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Those of us who contributed to the Indiegogo campaign will be getting hard copy CDs shortly. But you needn't feel left out. "A Very Merry Bride & Groom Christmas" can be yours for the low low price of whatever the heck you want to pay at Bandcamp. Bride & Groom are Jesse Daniel Smith and Kaitlyn Raitz, an Indie Folk duo from Montreal. There's an honest simplicity to their sound and, on this Christmas EP, there are definitely sounds of resounding joy. And I do love a good cello. My personal favorite from the set is the medley of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" / "Jingle Bells". But feel free to find a favorite of your own. And, by all means, explore the other recordings of Bride & Groom on Bandcamp...all free. You're welcome. Well, I've found a Christmas song (2 actually), from an Irish band, that hasn't been featured on Ceol Collective (formerly 2 U I Bestow) yet. That's nigh on impossible to do. Paddy Nash & The Happy Enchiladas are from Derry, to be specific, and they'll happily flavor their Folk with whatever other genre a song may call for. "It Being Christmas And All" has a great Folk Rock flavor and there's even a really nice crying guitar break and what sounds like a bit of synth brass. The song tells the tale of a (supposedly) reformed miserable sod trying to beg his way back into the life of the lady he lost. "I've done all my gambling, I've done all my drinking I don't even smoke anymore. Would you take me back, take me back It being Christmas and all." The virtual flip is a Folk-ish ballad, "A Place At The Table". And it sounds like the other half of the story. She sings of the heartache and tears her man has caused her. And, while she's not really ready to forgive and forget, she misses him...and more so at Christmas. She hates that she misses him...but she does. So, "if you find the courage...there'll be a place at the table for you". Great stuff. Grab these two Christmas songs from Paddy Nash & The Happy Enchiladas. Use the widgets above or head on over to Soundcloud. And don't forget to stop by Facebook and let Paddy and the band know we're listening over here. Chris Daily is another Austin area musician (apparently, there's a law in Austin requiring everyone to make music...sort of the anti-Footloose). He wrote or co-wrote all the songs, here, as well as playing most of the instruments and providing most of the vocals. He does get some help from Keegan (who I think we've heard from before, here) and Tom Porter. "High Time For A Holiday" opens sort of Alt Folk and that's what threw me for a bit. Soon enough the proceedings turn into some mighty fine Indie Pop and Indie Rock. Really bright and bouncy stuff, but still incredibly Indie and experimental. I love it when a plan comes together. Musically, the highlight for me was "Xmas, Just Once"; if that doesn't get you boppin', nothing will. "Please No Mistletoe" is a clever (if brief) tale of a holiday reveler who is hoping to get something started with a lady friend, but he wants it real, not holiday induced. And "The Holiday Records" is a song that the DJ in me can't resist. "12 Minutes of Sleighbells and Christmas" isn't going to cure the common cold, but it might be a good prescription for the holiday blues. Give it a listen. Available as an instant download (tips welcome) on Bandcamp. If you like what you hear, check out the label's 2011 Christmas comp, "Christmas With The Beast" (that one will cost you your email address).
Best thing about The Winter Failure is that they clearly enjoy making this music and, as Joe Biden would say, that's a pretty BFD. Still a little on the Lo-Fi side; haven't yet decided if that's a bug or a feature. But, overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Best tracks, for me, were "Breath Of Heaven" (that's bloody gorgeous, that is) and the originals "You Came To Save" and "Christmas Kinkade". Kudos for covering Five Iron Frenzy's "You Gotta Get Up". Me, I'd toss the superfluous opening and the last two tracks but, otherwise, I think The Winter Failure has hit their stride. Looking forward to next year's set. You'll find this at Noisetrade.
1. East of Tennessee (From Colony of Bees) 2. The Song the Season Brings (From The Songs the Season Brings: Vol 1) 3. Winter Eclipse (From The Songs the Season Brings: Vol 2) 4. Either Way (From Seven Sisters Deluxe Edition) 5. O Holy Night (From The Songs the Season Brings: Vol 1) 6. Once This Year (From The Songs the Season Brings: Vol 3) 7. Brother, Sister (From Seven Sisters Deluxe Edition) 8. On the Frame (From Colony of Bees) 1. Town Hall - Fable Cry 2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Ray Hering 3. Carol Of The Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Joshua Dent 4. Little Drummer Boy - Alayna Anderson 5. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Hannah Johnson 6. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas - Ally Brown 7. Let It Snow - Taryn Shaw 8. All I Got For Christmas Was Drunk - Grant Ferris 9. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? - Kirabelle Frabotta 10. New York Fairy Tale - Zach Ferrin & Hannah Johnson DOWNLOAD AT BANDCAMP DOWNLOAD AT NOISETRADE Firebreath is a music managing compant and this is the first time that they've stepped up with a Christmas record (all the cool kids are doing it nowadays). The collection takes its title from the Grant Ferris original "All I Got For Christmas Was Drunk". Most of the music, here, is squarely Indie Folk, the biggest exception being Joshua Dent's dynamic neo-Classical medley. "New York Fairy Tale" is a faithful cover of "Fairytale of New York"; featuring Fable Cry's Zach Ferrin and Hannah Johnson; I would have liked to have heard a more adventurous arrangement on that one. And my favorites from "All I Got For Christmas" are the previously mentioned James Dent track and "Little Drummer Boy" from Alayna Anderson. It's a free download at Noisetrade and Bandcamp.
You gotta love it when a small Indie label puts together a Christmas album. Especially their first. Its chaos out front and chaos in the back. But, in the end, you get amazingly original music. Air Punch is a Melbourne based collective and they're preparing to "release" their first holiday set featuring most of the artists in the collective and then some. Official release of the digital set "Ham For Days" is December 11 (if they finish by then; if not, hey, whatever). In the meantime, they've been posting some of the songs on Soundcloud. When it's complete, it should still be free, but you're forgiven if you want to wait until they've got it organized as a playlist. Of what's been posted so far, there were four songs I was especially fond of. "Stood Up On Christmas" by Lucas Heenan was probably the one I listened to the most. His offering is Indie Rock a bit reminiscent of some seventies Pop ("Crackerbox Palace" is what is now stuck in my head, but that may be because of last week's vintage SNL airing). Helena Plazzer is both retro chic and thoroughly modern Indie on "Christmas Truce". Either of those songs would delight and sparkle on a holiday mix. But the two I'm featuring here were the best and brightest (in my opinion and no pun intended). Peter Joseph Head offers a super fun Indie Alt Pop visit to "The Streets Where The Lights Are On" ("The stuff should all be up by now but it won't be there for long"). Peter believes pop music can be both accessible and adventurous and he proves it here. And, just below, you'll find "Secret Santa" from Lehmann B. Smith. Lehmann is said to be a virtual encyclopedia of musical sounds and influences from which he creates his unique brand of "oddball pop". "Secret Santa" has got quite a bit rolled into it. Altogether, it sounds like a funkified spaghetti western. It's super cool; I just wish it were longer. All this and more on "Ham For Days: An Airpunch Christmas Album". Hit the Air Punch Soundcloud feed to check it out (with, again, the proviso that it probably isn't finished yet). UPDATE: Don't know why Air Punch took the "free" off this download of "Secret Santa". I just wish artists would wait more than a couple of hours after I post them to do so. You're making us all look bad. UPDATE UPDATE: Oh, hey, look! The download arrow's back! I guess somebody reads this stuff, afterall. And they've got it up in playlist form, now, too. Also available on Bandcamp. "I know this time of year can be heavy on the heart To make you wish the winter didn't bring with it the dark" Saw this one in the Christmas Underground Twitter feed and they said they might not have time to do a full write-up. So, sure, I'll pick that up for you. 100 Mile House is a Canadian Alt Folk group featuring husband and wife Peter Stone and Denise MacKay and multi-instrumentalist Scott Zubot. The band takes their name from a small town in British Columbia. Folk music can deliver a truth quicker and sharper than just about any other kind of music. It lures you in with its beauty and simplicity and then cuts straight through you like a knife. And the truth is Christmas comes at the darkest and coldest time of year. And the memories the season evokes are both the best and the worst of us. "Once Christmas Starts" is so sweet and beautiful as it brings that truth to the fore. "I know this time of year can be heavy on the heart I will stand by you once Christmas starts" The 100 Mile House Christmas single comes complete with a virtual B-side. "Back To Me" is much more upbeat--in tempo--and sounds like a groove the Byrds could have recorded. The storyline of "Back To Me", whether as metaphor for something other than a person or not, is kind of a "Same Time Next Year" thing. A couple gets together every Christmas but, by the end of December, the love seemingly vanishes and, before January's end, so does the lady. "Once Christmas Starts" is a name-your-price download on Bandcamp. So you can get it free. But any money raised will go to The Support Network and The Sexual Assault Center of Edmonton. So consider tossing a coin in the pot. I did. Good people that they are, 100 Mile House releases a Christmas single for charity almost every year. Last year's excellent "We'll Count All The Days" is an Americana song while the virtual flip, here, is the most fun of these four songs. "I Don't Trust Santa" is a rocked up Western "Rawhide"-flavored tale of a kid who finds the whole Santa thing a little suspicious. "Now all of this kerfuffle wasn't sittin' right with me You're telling me this fella's gonna fit down my chimney Well I've seen pictures of him and the numbers don't add up I don't trust Santa. Enough's enough" Extra points for using the word "kerfuffle". And I'm not giving you any spoilers about the "surprise" ending.
You might as well grab the 2011 Christmas single from 100 Mile House, too--"New Year" / "Christmas Is Killing Me". And then we'll...thank God for miracles, Flaherty. Miracles and Canadian Alt Folk groups who love Christmas. I've been looking for a way to mention that one of my favorite non-holiday blogs, 2 U I Bestow, seems to have changed their name to Ceol Collective (same url, new name). Saturday, they shared this beautiful song by Wyvern Lingo so...perfect, 2 birds with one stone, eh? I'd be inclined to describe the Irish group Wyvern Lingo as Alt Folk or even Progressive Folk. But their own description is much better: "If Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young grew up listening to Destiny's Child and Jeff Buckley was their Da." I don't think I'm going to add all that the the genre sidebar, but still...very well put. The three lovely lasses who make up Wyvern Lingo are weary of hearing people talk about their "potential" and seem ready to kick it into high gear, so to speak. "Snow" is just one song from their most recent EP, "The Widow Knows", and you can get the whole set free from Bandcamp. |
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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