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THEOCRACY - ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

12/17/2010

The economy's in terrible shape. Santa closed up the workshop. He's working in a coal mine now. Ironic, yes? Frosty's working in a kitchen somewhere. Rudolph is working as a traffic light. Hey, at least they've all got jobs. In this economy, that's saying something. "All I Want For Christmas" is the latest Heavy Metal Christmas carol from Athens, GA's Theocracy. You can buy the single from iTunes, sure, but you can get it free from the band if you just register for their Chamber of Souls Club. Dude, it's just a fan club. They're not Satanists, their Christians. They don't want your soul, just your email address, OK? Anyway, in exchange you get access to all the band's Christmas singles, 1 per year, going back to 2005, plus more news and exclusives to come. So sign up today. Make a joyful noise this Christmas and keep the neighbors wide awake. You know its what the Baby Jesus would want for his birthday.

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VARIOUS - A CIGAR BOX CHRISTMAS 2010

12/14/2010

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1. Santa Man by Ice Bob, Samster and Rosie
2. Red Snow by Music Gov
3. Santa’s Got the Blues by the Doomtown Jug Sluggers
4. Candy Cane by Caspar Babypants
5. A Christmas Morning by Doctor Steve
6. Linus and Lucy by The Easy Rollers
7. Christmas Card by Olds Sleeper
8. A Christmas CBG by Soulcatcher and his DooFa Diddley
9. Run Run Rudolph by the Shane Speals
10. Rydin’ Thru The Snow by StumbleCol
11. A Santa Request by NoiseMaker
12. Carol of the Bells by Dan Greene
13. Foxy Carol by Skeesix
14. Not so Merry by Anthony Forder
15. Opting Out by LaurieLeeC
16. The Reason for the Season by Kalmario
17. Winter Wonderland by Marshall Stapleton
18. Blue Christmas by Ben Kepler
19. CBG by Juan Sebastian Verta CIGAR BOX NATION WEBSITE
20. Holly and the Ivy by Knotlenny DOWNLOAD CIGAR BOX CHRISTMAS
21. O Holy Night by Sweetlife
22. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers by BenBob
23. VivaVodka by Burnus
24. Canjo Christmas by Bemuzic
25. Lookin’ Out at the Weather by Uncle John Bolton
26. Santa Claus Blues by The One Man Blues Collective
27. We Three Kings by Henry H Lowman III
28. Carol of the Bells by Les Titford
29. Cigar Box Guitar Star by John Wendell
30. Merry Christmas by Teddy Berwald
31. Old Man on the Roof by Music Gov
32. Santa Has the Blues by Hobostubs
33. White Christmas by Uncle Crow
34. O Tannenbaum by Henry H. Lowman III
35. Stranger in the Manger by Albert Guilliot
36. Snow Falling!!! by Patrick Breton
37. Silent Night by Yellowbelly Flatt
38. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Doctor Steve and Family
39. Every Song at Christmas by beStillroy
40. Santa The Ripper by John “Reddog” McNair

Whooeeee! That's a lotta music. Cigar Box Nation is the home of this little holiday treat. Cigar Box Nation is a community of Cigar Box Guitar (and banjo) enthusiasts who meet and greet to share notes and to share (musical) notes. And the community of folks who love building their own guitars (and banjos--technically, I think, called canjos) out of old cigar boxes almost as much (or maybe more) as they love making music on them is a lot bigger than you might think. And you might think such devices would, of course, be acoustic and that the musicians would all be playing some very rudimentary, rural, lo-fi music. HA! HA, I say! The cigar box guitar is only limited by the abilities of its builder and the musician who plays it (usually one and the same). The music on this collection of tracks submitted by the members of the Cigar Box Nation covers almost every genre imaginable--blues, folk, grunge, hard rock, new age, punk, bluegrass, metal, pop, indie pop, old-timey, I think I even heard some shoegaze in there, and there's a lot less lo-fi than you'd think. And the lo-fi that is here is extremely effective. There's far too much here for me to cover comprehensively. But the first two songs, alone, will disabuse you of any misconceptions you may hold about the cigar box guitar. I predict that "Santa Man" by Ice Bob, Samster & Rosie is destined to be among the most frequently used cuts on next year's selection of Xmas mixtapes across the country. "Red Snow" is just incredible. And, really, throughout, the musicianship and creativity of these folks is nothing short of spectacular. I really look forward to spending some time with this one--likely after the holidays--but my favorite so far has to be the Country Blues version of "Linus And Lucy" by The Easy Rollers. I love that. I really do. "Candy Cane" (by Casper Babypants) was a pretty good pop number, too. And I'd also recommend "Opting Out" by LaurieLeeC. There's a little more lo-fi on the back half but, again, everything is great, here. With 40 tracks, you're bound to find something you like on "A Cigar Box Christmas 2010". This, by the way, is the second year of "A Cigar Box Christmas". Last year's collection can still be downloaded free as well, though that one features a "measley" 23 tracks. Get both Cigar Box Nation Christmas collections here. Then, if you're as fascinated as I am, start reading about the music and the people and the cigar boxes they love to build and play. You might even want to join them.

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VARIOUS - FLEAS NAUGHTY DOG, VOLUME 1

12/11/2010

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1) Tim Bushong - O Holy Night
2) Bridgeshadows - Silent Night
3) Blissed - Little Drummer Boy
4) True Liberty - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
5) Einstein Savage - Anti-Santa's Coming To Town
6) Coriolis - What Child Is This
7) Marty Warren - Angels We Have Heard On High
8) Grave Robber - You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
9) Harry Gore - Christmas For Real10) Confessions Of A Sinner - Jingle Bells
11) Leper - O Come O Come Emmanuel
12) False Idle - Hark The Herald Angels Sing
13) Fire Born - All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
14) Frost Like Ashes - Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
15) Cryo-Mancer - O Come All Ye Faithful
16) Desiring Dead Flesh - Holidays Suck
LABEL SITE
DOWNLOAD FROM ROTTWEILER RECORDS

OK, I know I lament the lack of good free holiday Blues and Jazz, but I'm guessing some of our visitors wish there were more free hard rock, metal and punk. You wish has been granted. Rottweiler Records is turning up your holiday heat with a collection that, on first spin through, was pretty darn solid (even if this isn't my personal genre of choice for every meal, I appreciate the good stuff now and again). I haven't had the chance to listen to all of "Fleas Naughty Dog", but sampling suggests it's about evenly split between hard rock, metal and punk. 3 tracks I do want to mention in particular--the three that caught my eye and ear. First, the name Harry Gore caught my eye immediately. I believe I'm correct that that's the same Harry Gore who, ages back, recorded the brilliant Byrds-up version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"--one of the best free tracks I've ever downloaded from the Net. And it sure sounds like him, though he rocks a little harder here (still sounds a bit too mainstream rock for this collection). Another name I recognized was Frost For Ashes and, sure enough, they are the same Christian Death Metal band that previously recorded this track for the "Brutal Christmas" collection in 2002 (don't know whether it's the same version/recording). Finally, during my quick spin, Einstein Savage caught my ear. I liked the bit of a stray cat strut they brought to their "Anti-Santa Is Coming To Town". It stood out in a good way for me. The Harry Gore track and Einstein Savage I'll definitely return to. But I'm sure there will be plenty of others thrilled with every song here. If you like this sort of thing, then this will be precisely the sort of thing you will like.

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THEOCRACY - ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

VARIOUS - A CIGAR BOX CHRISTMAS 2010

VARIOUS - FLEAS NAUGHTY DOG, VOLUME 1

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