Category: Psychedelia

Stubbys House of Christmas

WOODEN SHJIPS - O TANNENBAUM

1/8/2011

This tip comes from a longtime friend, Dr. Jim. Wooden Shjips is a minimalist psychedelic rock band from the San Francisco scene. Earlier, they were selling two holiday tracks on a limited edition cassette. But, once the cassette sold out, the group put "O Tannenbaum" and "Auld Lang Syne" up as free downloads on their web site. All proceeds from the sales went to San Francisco food banks and the group says, if you're feeling charitable, please make your donations to such organizations in your local community.

THE CUBICAL - GOLDEN RULE

12/30/2010

Sort of an interesting sound on this Christmas single from Liverpool artists The Cubical. "Golden Rule" incorporates a bit of blues, a bit of folk, some of the band's psychedelic garage sound. In the end, it sounds a bit like the UK version of Americana. My head is tired and I keep hearing "Come On Eileen", so I'll need to come back to this one better rested. You can judge for yourself, though, as the streaming and downloading is free at Bandcamp.

CRYSTAL STILTS - PRACTICALLY IMMACULATE

12/25/2010

Crystal Stilts - Practically Immaculate by theQuietus

Crystal Stilts debuted this song earlier in the month, but decided to give it away just a couple of days ago. With their label, Slumberland, closed for the holiday, the band was asking blogs and on-line magazines (not ours, sadly) to make the song available. "Practically Immaculate" struck a chord with me when I came across it, for some reason. I love the organ play--reminds me of the old Buddah bubblegum records of the 60s. The Brooklyn band is noted for a, more or less, psychedelic sound, and I guess this one qualifies. Use the Soundcloud widget above or pop the band and song title in your search engine and you'll find plenty of spots to download it.

WHEAT - HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

12/20/2010

I have a weakness for Boston bands, having developed the taste when I went to college there. So when I saw the blog Chromewaves mention the Boston band Wheat had a Christmas record, I was on the case immediately. Wheat is an Indie Rock outfit and they've been kickin' it since 1996. For the "A" side, Wheat tackles the standard "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and I liked their take a lot, though I can't really describe it well. There's a bit of ELO styled vox and a synth orchestra before the band launches into their rock and slightly psychedelic take. Anyway, it's very nice and perhaps someone else will offer up a better explanation. The "B" side is an original, "It's Snowing, I Love You", and that one's a little stranger, though quite hypnotic. Pick this one up at Wheat's web store. Click on the tiny cover art, hit "purchase now", and check out. Don't worry, it's free.

THE DREAM SCENE - CHRISTMAS

12/14/2010

1. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
3. Do You Hear What I Hear?
4. Sleigh Ride
5. The Holly And The Ivy
6. Little Drummer Boy
7. Jingle Bells
8. Silent Night
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. Rockin' Around The Chirstmas Tree
11. Silver Bells
12. The Chirstmas Song

Another new trend I really like and hope to see more with of Christmas music is the "you can download it for free, but you can also buy the CD or vinyl" trend. The Dream Scene is an experimental band from Athens, GA (home to R.E.M. and lots of other talented folks). I'm sure someone will tell me what a dope I am, but I've never heard of this band before. But they must've been around for awhile since the songs on this set are said to come from between 2004 and 2009. The little bit I had a chance to preview intrigued me, though. There are definitely some uncommon influences, here--jazz, classical, etc--though I'd still have to call it experimental rock. Not sure I can see myself using these in a mixtape (for my stuff, maybe "Little Drummer Boy"), but these really are quite fascinating and hypnotic audio movies. Love the cheesy organ on "The Christmas Song"--I think most folks will like that one best. Something I need to spend more time with, but it's decidedly different. The download of Dream Scene's "Christmas" is free from Party Party Partners. The CD or vinyl can be purchased here ($12 for the vinyl, $8 for the CD).

VARIOUS - A VERY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

12/14/2010

1. Bannerman - Lost Christmas
2. Hold Dear – Anthem For An Orphan
3. The Crawley Christmas Singers – I Don’t Wanna Think About It
4. The Gladeyes – Carols and Parties
5. Dear Time's Waste – The Drink
6. Glass Owls - December
7. Bear Cat – This Christmas, All I Really Want Is To Love Somebody
8. Alaska – Oh Holy Night
9. Cool Rainbows – Grown Ups Christmas
10. Chelsea Jade & James Duncan – French Kissmas
11. Canadia – Apparently It's Christmas
12. The Bayonets – Winter Bells
13. Timothy Blackman – Christmas Bells
14. Luckless – Christmas Morning
15. Tono and the Finance Company - Orphans DOWNLOAD AT LITTLE MONSTER
16. Great North – A Guiding Star
17. Jocee Tuck – Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree
18. Artisan Guns - This Year

While I've found myself occupied with "projects" and hurrying about, trying to finish up Christmas shopping and wrapping and shipping, there have been an awful lot of freebies that I've passed on posting because they've been posted elsewhere first. Not that that bothers me at all. I just feel like you're getting so little of my time and attention, these days, I at least owe it to you to find you something fresh. It's not as if the stuff that's already been posted elsewhere requires any less exposition. Always figured I could get to the other stuff tomorrow. And I just haven't. So we need to clear some of that stuff out of the queue. Let's start with this collection I first saw listed at Santas Working Overtime (you really can't get through the holidays without them). "A Very Little Christmas" is an album from Little Monster Studio, a New Zealand based studio that, in his own words, "mostly exists to cater to Producer/Engineer Dave Parker's various recording projects." Given that, this is quite an ambitious collection from Auckland. Sadly for them, I get a little more jaded at this time of year, having listened to so much Christmas music. I don't think I even heard the first 6 songs when I put this on. The first song that caught my attention was Bear Cat's "This Christmas, All I Really Want Is To Love Somebody", which had a nice little vibe going on--sort of a cross between Western and Tropical or something--and the lyrics and chorus were neigh on irresistible. Is there such a thing as Lo-Fi Wall of Sound? OK. Now you have my attention. Show me something. Alaska has the task of performing the album's one traditional carol, my personal favorite carol at that, "Oh Holy Night", and proves themselves up to the task. Cool Rainbows gives us a delightful, sparkling "Grown Ups Christmas" which I guess I'd call Indie Pop (these labels, does anybody really know what they all mean?). The song is as light as a morning flurry and I do worry that it's fate will be the same--not sure It'll stick with me. There's a lot going on in Chelsea Jade and James Duncan's duet--a little psychedelia, a little shoegaze, a lot of heat. Great song. That one'll stick. Best lyrics (and title), so far, from Canadia--"Apparently It's Christmas"--an energetic pop folk delight. Alt-Country from Great North. Artisan Guns close it out with a wonderful number of building intensity--it sounds like a finale. You get the idea. Some of this may be superfluous in your collection, but a lot of it is quite good. This is quite a bit more relevant that your average indie collection, and, overall, much better recorded. It's certainly one with enough diversity and promise that investigation is warranted. You can download this in either 160k or 320k and a small handful of hardcopy CDs are available through New Zealand merchants, Amplifier and Marbecks.

ONWARD, VOYAGEUR - CHRISTMAS SONG

12/11/2010

Indie Pop band from Vancouver (The Great White North), Onward Voyageur seems to have built up quite the reputation for a band without any real discography. Haven't got the time to check, now, but I'd swear I've encountered their music before. "Christmas Song", and Onward Voyageur for that matter, has a great sound, though. Jangly guitars, sweet and very tight harmonies, just a pinch of psychedlic spice tossed in. Don't know that Mariah Carey will be covering this one any time soon (thank God), but I loved it. It's already swimming into the deeper parts of my cranium. Yeah, that one's gonna stick. Totally Indie and totally Pop. You can buy this song from the online vendors for 99 cents, but why bother when it's up for free download at the official Onward Voyageur web site?

DOGS ON TOUR - MUSIC FOR WINTER, VOLUME 2

12/11/2010

1. Angels
2. Happy Christmas
3. Jingle Bells
4. In The Bleak Midwinter
5. I Don't Know
6. Santa Claus, Where Is He?
7. Six Words
8. Blue Christmas

DOWNLOAD AT THE DOGS ON TOUR SITE

Dogs On Tour is actually a collection of Indie artists and artists from other Indie bands--Hudson Branch, Jadiid, Enoke, Andy Mills, Nate Henricks, All that Noise for Feeling and more--so the combination can, at times, be fascinating. Electronica, Rock, Indie Folk, Indie Pop and more--all these influences can be heard throughout combining in new and unexpected ways. It's all a bit raw, but not at all in a bad way. And, really, isn't being a bit raw a whole lot of what the Indie scene is about? There's a real feeling of just a bunch of friends who happen to be musicians hanging out and jamming. It's pretty cool, really. The titles may seem to indicate a lot of originals, but those are just a kind of shorthand ("Santa Claus Where Is He?" is "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"). But "Six Words" is new to me and "I Don't Know", my favorite track, sounds like almost completely improv. If you have to spend Christmas away from your family this year, this is practically a family by proxy. Just keep in mind that, by downloading "Music For Winter, Volume 2", "you are agreeing to the terms of sharing it with everyone you possibly can, passing this link on to others all over the world, and having a Merry Christmas."

KULA SHAKER - SNOWFLAKE

12/10/2010

Psychadelic Rock band Kula Shaker are joining in the holiday fun with a pair of brilliant Christmas crackers. First, they out-Beatle the Beatles on "Christmas Time Is Here Again". I know it's blasphemy. But, if the Beatles had really thought that song was going to last forever, I think they'd have done it up like Kula Shaker does. But, for me, the real sugarplum was "Snowflake"--a song that reminded me of some of my favorite stuff from the 60s AND some of my favorite stuff from the 80s and 90s. A little bit of surf guitar at the start, a screaming organ, a classic New Wave beat, 90s attitude, full wailing rock in the break. Wow. Great stuff. Pick it up free on the official Kula Shaker web site. (Does anybody really care about Crispian Mills famous parents? I didn't think so.)

VARIOUS - CHECKING IT TWICE

11/14/2010

1. The Boom Bang - The Coast of Christmas Trash
2. Kite Flying Robot and Brother Gruesome - Tell The Tale
3. Depth And Current - Xmas Feeling, feat. Skating Polly
4. Student Film - Slay Belles
5. Penny Hill - No Whiskey Snow Cone, feat. Samantha Crain
6. Gang Starr Museum - Comanche Christmas Eve,
feat. Dustin Sanchez & Bobby Missile
7. Crocodile - Birthday Boy
8. Gentle Ghost - The Creature's Eyes, feat. Brine Webb
9. Locust Avenue - At Christmastyme
10. Evangelicals - A Cruel Heart (On Christmas)

LABEL SITE
DOWNLOAD AT BANDCAMP

Nice People is an indie label out of Norman, Oklahoma, in the grand tradition of all the indie rock labels that came before them. Their artist roster ranges from cult favorites the Feel Spectres and Depth & Current to a pair of young ladies (aged 15 and 10) who call themselves Skating Polly (not featured on this EP). The music featured by the label runs the experimental gamut from psychedelic pop, to pop punk, to art rock, to......whatever. So this label freebie is likely not going to appeal to traditionalists. But if you're into all things rock, depending on what you're in to specifically, you might find a song or two here that makes you happy that there are Nice People in the world who share their wares for free. For me, that track is Locust Avenue's psych-pop delight "At Christmastyme", which would have fit right in on one of those Midnight X-Mess albums put out by Midnight Records in the early 80s. Others might prefer the much more raw (and loud) "Coast of Christmas Trash" from the aptly named The Boom Bang. Or perhaps you'll settle in for the garage rock of Gang Starr Museum; I can't even begin to describe all the basic rock styles and artists they're borrowing from to create "Comanche Christmas Eve", but its oddly satisfying. For those looking for more ethereal sounds, there are the tracks from Crocodile and The Evangelicals.

Nice People are hoping to make this an annual event, so go check out "Checking It Twice"--at least once. Christmas music doesn't have to be all sleigh bells and Santa Claus. There might just be something here to suit your holiday fancy. And it's FREE. Who knows, you might even be inspired to subscribe to the label's free podcast on iTunes.