Category: Roots

AULD LANG SYNE - CHRISTMAS EVE (WRITHING DAYS)

12/29/2010

Auld Lang Syne / Christmas Eve (Writhing Days) from Kitchen Sessions on Vimeo.

This is pretty cool. A band named Auld Lang Syne with an original Christmas song. And it's no Holly Jolly exercise, either. This 10 minute epic from the Rochester Roots Rock band is pretty much a holiday dirge. At first listen, it appears to be a song about celebrating in the face of endless misery. Perhaps a song about survival and soldiering onward. That's just my initial take, for what it's worth. "Christmas Eve (Writhing Days)" was recorded for the Vimeo Kitchen Sessions and Auld Lang Syne has made it available as a free download through Soundcloud. Just use the widget below.

Christmas Eve (Writhing Days) by Auld Lang Syne

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JOSHUA JAMES - CHRISTMAS IN PRISON

12/23/2010

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Neo-Folk artist Joshua James has dropped a big ol' Christmas present under your tree, allowing, for a limited time, free download of his holiday single "Christmas In Prison". Says Joshua, "Hark! The season is upon us. I am overwhelmed by the sights and the cold of this year's winter. I want you to TAKE this! It is a song written by John Prine. One of the greatest songwriters our world has known. I hope that this season will treat you with love and kindness." Click here for instant download. If you'd like more free Christmas music from Joshua, pay a visit to Northplatte Records, where a few holiday treats are available for free download, including Joshua's rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". And while it isn't free and it isn't his latest, I personally recommend "Fields And Floods", Joshua's seasonal recording from 2007.

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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 - ALTERNATE ROOT 2nd ANNUAL HOLIDAY SAMPLER

12/8/2010

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1. Duke Robillard - Duke's Christmas
2. Sara Petite - Souvenirs
3. Scott Miller - Yes, Virginia
4. Jeff Talmadge - In The Quiet Of Christmas
5. Nu Blu - Christmas In Dixie
6. The Wild Rumpus - Silent Night In The Bar
7. Ian Tyson - Silver Bell
8. Jack Tempchin - Christmas Calling
9. Ox - Xmas In The Jailhouse
10. Boca Chica - Not On Christmas Eve
11. Shane Cooley - Window Shopping For A Long Lost Love
12. The Bengsons - Bells
13. Adam Mackintosh and The Last Dancers - It's Christmas
14. Brittany Allyn - Santa Claus Boogie
15. Gretchen Peters - Northern Lights
16. Jaimi Shuey - Christmastime Blues
17. The Porch Song Anthology - Christmas Is Cold DOWNLOAD IT HERE
18. Lisa Redford - New Years Day (scroll to the bottom of the Alternate Root page)
19. KAL - Jukebox Christmas
20. Dick Philpot - Jesus Lights
21. Brian Ashley Jones - Let's Get Blazed For The Holidays
22. George's Breakfast - Paper Airplane
23. Rich McCulley - Looks Like Christmas
24. Sarah Stanley - Happy New Year
25. Les Kerr (with The Jordinaires) - Christmas On The Coast
26. Robert Marr - Under The Mistletoe
27. Pat Bacon - Ho Ho Ho (No Dough)
28. Laetoli Steps - Christmas Tree
29. Little Green - Bells Are Ringing Their Last Call
30. Garrett Wall - How Christmas Was Meant To Be
31. Harlem Parlour Music Club - We Three Kings
32. The Irreconcilables - See Ya Santa
33. Patterson Barrett - Santa Claus On The Loose
34. Mike McGuire - The Streets Are Quiet On Christmas
35. Blues Guy Schwartz - Christmas On The Hiway
36. The Dave Edwards Band - It's Christmastime

Well, for whatever reason, Alternate Root ended the voting early and basically packaged up all 36 tunes for your holiday listening pleasure. And, believe me, pleasure is the appropriate word. This might be the best stuff you hear all holiday season. And its free from Alternate Root. Just go to this page, scroll down to the bottom, and click on the download link. Or listen to the tracks in the player provided, if you prefer. You'll see a few of the freebies we've already featured and a ton more that we haven't. Alternate Root is all about the best in Roots music, Alt Folk, Alt Country, Alt Rock, Folk, Blues, Americana. It's all in there. Go to it!

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AULD LANG SYNE - CHRISTMAS EVE (WRITHING DAYS)

JOSHUA JAMES - CHRISTMAS IN PRISON

VARIOUS - A CIGAR BOX CHRISTMAS 2010

VARIOUS - ALTERNATE ROOT 2nd ANNUAL HOLIDAY SAMPLER

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