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RICKIE LEE JONES - THREE CHRISTMAS GEMS

12/24/2010

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
3. Oh Holy Night

Every year for a while now, Rickie Lee Jones has posted these three songs as a free download on her web site, her little holiday gift for fans. Since the first couple of years, though, she's limited the download window to just a few days. Last year, the songs were gone by December 27. Just FYI.

This year, the songs are still free downloads. But if, like me, you have a preference for hard copy, they've now been pressed to CD as "Three Christmas Gems". Head to Rickie's web site and download your free Christmas cheer and/or buy the CD.

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NATALIE PRASS - NO BETTER TIME

12/24/2010

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And here we have it. The first Stubby's House exclusive free download!

Natalie Prass is an Indie Folk Pop artist working out of Nashville, not to lock her into a genre box. The first time I heard one of her songs, earlier this year, I knew this was someone special, someone I wanted to hear more from. I actually thought, in a toss away, "I'd love to hear her sing a Christmas song." So I was thrilled to read in November that she'd be included on the 2010 Indiecater Christmas album. And the song's a winner, too--a perfect holiday treat. "No Better Time" is bouncy and bright. It's got a bit of a retro feel to it, yet it sounds completely contemporary. It's got humor to it, yet it's completely cuddle-worthy. The lyrics are incredibly well written, with such marvelous details as a "candy cane tie" that a lesser songwriter couldn't even conceive; nothing trite or cliched here.

Natalie's a gifted songwriter and a sparkling singer and the names of other artists may pop into your head by way of comparison....briefly. In the end, I think you'll agree she's one of a kind. If you want to hear more from Natalie Prass, and I believe you will, head to Bandcamp for her debut EP "Small & Sweet" as well as a recent collection of "Demos". If you're paying attention, you'll notice that the song "Deer" is available as a free instant download. Cool. And the cover art for "Small & Sweet"? She made that. A true renaissance woman, that Natalie.

Oh, yes, our free download? Our Stubby's House exclusive of "No Better Time"? Here's yer link. And, if that one doesn't work for you, download it from megaupload [links killed 1/2/11]. We'll be killing the link(s) after New Year's, so get it now. I think you're going to like it. I think you're going to want to hear more from Natalie Prass.

Just FYI. I love this picture.

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TRACEY THORN - SISTER WINTER

12/20/2010

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This tip from The King of Jingaling over at The Fa. If you don't know the name Tracey Thorn, you probably at least know her voice. Tracey was half of the duo that was Everything But The Girl, who had quite the run through the 80s and 90s though they managed only one major hit. Tracey's solo stuff strikes me pretty much the way her EBTG songs did, which is a good thing. I see her as sort of a modern day Billie Holliday, in that Tracey manages to wrench emotion out of each and every syllable she sings. Her most recent album, "Love & It's Opposite", was very well received. And, as a bit of a Christmas present, Tracey and Strange Feeling Records have whipped up a little Christmas stocking. The free download includes a picture, a video, and Tracey's cover of Sufjan Steven's "Sister Winter". Even if you never cared for Sufjan's work, you're going to love this rendition. Head to the label web site to get this one.

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HILARY GRIST - IT'S OFFICIALLY WINTER NOW

12/19/2010

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1. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
2. What Child Is This
3. Branch's Arms
4. Holy Winter
5. Auld Lang Syne
6. Silent Night

From the video, you might conclude that Hilary Grist is in the same Indie Pop bag as Pomplamoose. But the pretty Canadian has a lot more depth and diversity. Sure, she can do Indie Pop, but she can also do Jazz and Folk and Folk Jazz and Indie Folk Jazz Pop. She can give you all that and more and, here, she seems to be doing it with just her voice and her keyboards. I'm a fan. I liked "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" well enough. But then came "What Child Is This" and I thought, "Hey, wait a second, there's something here." The original "Branch's Arms" could easily translate to most any genre, though it takes the Folk Jazz spin here. "Holy Winter" was enrapturing--absolutely spellbinding. And then, the coup de grace--Hilary makes "Auld Lang Syne" into something completely fresh and new--part hymnal, part torch song. I wouldn't have thought it was possibly to make that one sound fresh. The set closes with "Silent Night" but, to be honest, I was still focused on "Holy Winter" and "Auld Lang Syne". Truly an excellent little EP, which you can currently get free by going to Hilary's web site and clicking where it says "free download" (naturally enough). But, once you've got the EP, why don't you step inside and look around awhile. "It's Officially Winter Now" and you look like you could use some hot cocoa (OK, just trying to work in the album title. But it is a nice web site).

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BILLY THOMPSON - A GOOD NIGHT

12/18/2010

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1. A Good Night
2. I Celebrate The Day
3. Merry Christmas
4. O Holy Night
5. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
6. Silver Christmas

I can't find out anything about this guy, thanks in large part to the rather large number of artists named Billy Thompson. I'm pretty sure this Billy Thompson isn't the Blues guitarist, or the R&B singer, or the violinbilly artist, or even the progressive indie band from the UK (with a female vocalist; not sure if she's actually "Billy"). But this Billy Thompson posted a link to his free Christmas EP on a music forum, so I downloaded it. And I liked it. Fairly typical Indie sound, but well executed and an interesting song selection including one original, "A Good Night". Billy sounds great on the Reliant K cover and the title track and I dug the medley of "Silver Bells" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". I do wish he'd left "O Holy Night" alone, though. Anyway, whomever this Billy Thompson turns out to be, you can download "A Good Night" free through Filedropper. Just click on the gray button that says "Download This File". Don't hit the big blue button with the big green arrow. I don't know what happens, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be good.

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ADAM TAYLOR - MRS. MISTLETOE

12/9/2010

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Overseas, it's the Advent Calendar, but, in this country, we like our Christmas in 12 day allotments. One of the best 12 Days of Christmas countdowns around is, without doubt, WXPN's. The Philly station annually gets the best local talent to write, record, and/or contribute holiday tuenage which they roll out, one by one, resulting in a pretty darned good collection in plenty of time for Christmas. Track one of 2010's "12 Days of XPN Local" is Adam Taylor's upbeat "Mrs. Mistletoe"--a really nice bit of Folk Pop you'd likely be happy to pay 99 cents for. But you doesn't has ta, cause it's free. We'll revisit the XPN collection when it's complete. Between now and then, you're on your own (unless we hit a really slow day around here). Go download "Mrs. Mistletoe" by Adam Taylor. And, if you've been very good this year, Santa might even let you download last year's goodies, including delights from Marah, The Swimmers, and Hoots & Hellmouth. Go on now. Get a move on. Time's a-wastin'.

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RACHEL BROWN - SNOW WITH MAPLE SYRUP

11/27/2010

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One of the things that I always liked about Christmas music is it's permanence. Maybe a Christmas song only gets played for a few days a year, but it will get played...even if only by your mother or closest friend. And one of the things I like about the Indie era is that anybody can do anything. You don't have to wait for Columbia records to tap you on the shoulder and you don't have to raise thousands of dollars to make your song and reach anywhere from dozens to millions of people. Justin Beiber is a star because of the Internet. Zee Avi got signed to a record deal thanks to a very bad video of a very good Christmas song she posted on YouTube. These do-it-yourself efforts vary. But if I stumble across something I kind of like, I'm going to share it with you. And I kind of like this 2009 song (and YouTube clip) from Rachel Brown. I don't know who she is, but I don't see much that separates her Christmas song from one by Colbie Caillat. And I like Colbie Caillat. Rachel, as it turns out, is a working musician in New York City and she's got a MySpace page. Me, I just liked the song. You can download an mp3 of "Snow With Maple Syrup" here.

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RICKIE LEE JONES - THREE CHRISTMAS GEMS

NATALIE PRASS - NO BETTER TIME

TRACEY THORN - SISTER WINTER

HILARY GRIST - IT'S OFFICIALLY WINTER NOW

BILLY THOMPSON - A GOOD NIGHT

ADAM TAYLOR - MRS. MISTLETOE

RACHEL BROWN - SNOW WITH MAPLE SYRUP

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