 The blog Largehearted Boy leads us to this tasty selection from The Aislers Set, made free courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records just days before Christmas. The Brooklyn band's been around long enough to build a bit of a following and to establish their sound. I think you're going to like "Cold Christmas"--a nice upbeat Indie Pop track reminiscent of all those mid-60s post-Spector pop 45s. Head to Suicide Squeeze to get it free.
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 Looking to see what Pete Green is up to these days, I came across a link to this song in his Twitter feed. Don't know anything about Oxo Foxo, except that she's a British lass, but this is a beautiful song. And, if you liked "Everything's Dead Pretty When It Snows", I think you're going to like "It Never Snows At Christmas" (and vice versa). Not recommended for people spending Christmas alone this year...because it'll absolutely break your heart. Use the widget above to download and visit Oxo Foxo at her blog.
 It's so close to Christmas, I'm not sure how much I'll be posting tomorrow. Especially on the free page, which I'm guessing has become quite the draw (I mean, you're here aren't you?). So I'm leaving you tonight with some absolutely gorgeous stuff.
This was one of the first Internet downloads I ever encountered. It was 2005 and, after listening to this one, I began to think there might be value to this Internet thing afterall, beyond just a good place for Fantasy Baseball. Pete Green is a young singer and guitar player from Sheffield, England. He started performing solo about 2002, put out his first solo record in 2007, put together a band soon thereafter and is currently singing with the Sweet Nothings (new name, same band)--record coming soon. Oh, and he's got a cat. So you know he's cool. "Everything's Dead Pretty When It Snows" was recorded in 2005 and it remains a popular Internet favorite in December. It's only a matter of time before the song works its way into full-on standard category. In my opinion, and for my Christmases, it's already there. You can still download the song freely from Pete's mostly abandoned Sparklemotion web site--he left it up so that you could. And there are other non-holiday downloads there as well, if you like what you hear.  1. Mason Porter - Silver and Gold
2. Eyes Lips Eyes - Slept in Through Christmas 3. Toy Bombs - Halloween for Christmas 4. Ryan Innes - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 5. Matt Ben Jackson - Run Rudolph Run 6. Jordan Mantzke - Do You Hear What I Hear? 7. Chance Lewis and Apt - Christmas on 100 Block 8. Timothy George - We Three Kings / City Light 9. Fictionist - This Christmas 10. The Neighbors - White Christmas 11. Kathleen Frewin - I Wish it Was Christmas Today 12. Dustin Christensen - SilentNight It seems like only yesterday we were telling you about the great new holiday single from Eyes Lips Eyes. Hmm. Might that be because it was only yesterday? Yeah, well, anyway, the band that originated in Utah routinely returns to their birthplace, especially for the big "EVE" celebration in Salt Lake City. Additionally, Eyes Lips Eyes lent their Christmas song to this Velour Family Holiday Compilation, a free download of some of Utah's best bands and the Christmas songs they love. There's a full range on this one, from the Hip Hop Rock of Chance Lewis and Apt to Alt Folk, Indie Pop, a soulful "God Rest Ye", a plaintive "We Three Kings" done at a funereal tempo. "This Christmas", by the way, isn't the Donny Hathaway track. And I guess that SNL song is going to stick, huh? Always wanted a local artist compilation from Utah. Seriously. Now I've got one. Go get yours at Velour's Facebook page.  Make a joyful noise indeed. The German group The Jooles has a wonderful retro flavored bit of Sunshine Pop with "Feels Like Christmas". There weren't a whole lot of Pop Christmas records in the late 60s and early 70s and this one sort of helps to fill that gap. And, in a free love kind of spirit, The Jooles are offering this song for free download with absolutely no strings attached. Just head to The Jooles web site and hit the download button. No email address required.
 So stop me if you've heard this one. Two Indie bands from England embark on a Scandinavian tour during the blizzard of the century and one of them ends up in jail while the other gets stranded because of the weather. There's no punchline. That's apparently what happened when Sex Beet and Jerry Tropicano got together for a winter tour (with some nice racy posters, too). Jerry Tropicano is the one in jail. Sex Beet is the one stranded far from home. It's of great comfort to us (not so much to them) that they celebrated the pending tour by recording a little Christmas number before they left. It's got that kind of Indie pop lo-fi spontaneity that makes for recordings that, ironically enough, have staying power. Get "Christmas Line" at Dots And Dashes.
 Black Cards is the current project of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, featuring the steamy and dreamy Bebe Rexha on vocals. Wentz announced the new project in a cryptic blog entry on his web site back in June but, so far, the music has been coming out slowly with only a couple of tracks posted on the group's MySpace site and those being Electro Dance--quite a departure from the music of Fall Out Boy. Wentz has recently announced that things are going to start breaking quickly for Black Cards with their full length album debut due early in 2011. The "Santa Baby" diversion doesn't really sound like a Black Cards track. Sounds more like Bebe doing a bit of karaoke. But that's OK with me. I'm a sucker for a pretty girl. Adorable. Download using the above widget or at Bebe's Soundcloud page.
 1. It Won't Be Christmas (Till You're Here)
2. Christmas Kisses 3. Old Man December 4. Joyeux Noel Thanks to Hip Christmas for putting us on the trail of this artist. Soulful Julie C. isn't just content to give away one free Christmas song. She's giving away four--unveiling a new one each Monday before Christmas--including her current single "It Won't Be Christmas (Till You're Here)". And, hey, what do you know, it's week number four. This is some real fine original stuff that'll remind you a bit of Joss Stone and a bit of Norah Jones on the downbeat side and of the old "girl groups" on the upbeat side. No email required (though, if you sign up for the mailing list, you'll get a (non-Christmas) track from Julie's upcoming album). Just head to Julie's web site and click on the artwork for each song to get your downloads. How cool is that? Don't know how long they'll last, so get em now.  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.
 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). |
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. ArchivesDecember 22-31, 2010 Categories
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