What else we got in that sack, Santa? How bout some Christian Hip Hop from Illijam & Magoh of the Count It Loss collective? The thought behind "Count It Loss Christmas" is that a fundamentally religious holiday has been hijacked by commercialism and greed and the real meaning of the holiday is lost, leaving some Christians down and defensive. Now, without being cantankerous and going into how the Christians, centuries ago, hijacked the dates and trappings of Pagan Solstice celebrations (do not judge lest ye be judged; do not hijack lest ye be hijacked), Count it loss says their message is to keep the true meaning of Christmas close to your heart and share it with anyone who will listen. And on that, I think we can agree. Dig the beats, yo. Free on Soundcloud.
When you're talking Christmas Indie Folk, they don't come any better than the "Merry Christmas, Good Night" series. The fourth in the series is, as are the earlier collections, available as a free download on Noisetrade.
All 8 songs on "Merry Christmas, Good Night 4" are original. And they're all great. Ny favorites include JackRabbit's "Might Feel Like Christmas" and "Love Is Here" from Elizabeth Hunnicutt. But my absolute favorite by miles is the instrumental "Kaire" by Inman. Without the benefit of vocals, "Kaire" conveys the spiritual side of Christmas completely. I can't really explain it well but, as the track goes through its many changes, I felt completely uplifted in the wonder and awe of the season. Your mileage may vary, of course. But, to me, this was yet another triumphant collection from the Morning and Night people.
 "Shout For Joy" is from Contemporary Christian artist Lincoln Brewster's 2012 album "Joy To The World". It's an energetic and passionate Pop Rocker worthy of any playlist. Now through December 31st, you can cop a free download of "Shout For Joy" in exchange for your email address on the Louder Than The Music web site.
Best thing about The Winter Failure is that they clearly enjoy making this music and, as Joe Biden would say, that's a pretty BFD. Still a little on the Lo-Fi side; haven't yet decided if that's a bug or a feature. But, overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Best tracks, for me, were "Breath Of Heaven" (that's bloody gorgeous, that is) and the originals "You Came To Save" and "Christmas Kinkade". Kudos for covering Five Iron Frenzy's "You Gotta Get Up". Me, I'd toss the superfluous opening and the last two tracks but, otherwise, I think The Winter Failure has hit their stride. Looking forward to next year's set. You'll find this at Noisetrade.
 1. El es Navidad (He Is Christmas) 2. Nacio el Amor (He Was Born Love) 3. Sabemos que Ilego (We've Arrived) 4. Ven ya (Come And See) 5. Christmas Time (English Version) 6. Tiempo de Navidad (Christmas Time - Spanish Version) DOWNLOAD FROM BANDCAMP Ooooh! Costa Rica. I don't believe we've ever had any music up here from Costa Rica. I know some people aren't fond of albums in languages other than English. And that's fine, to each his own. But I know others feel as I do and enjoy Christmas sounds from other places. Not understanding a word of any language but English, I still find beauty in foreign tongues. And the standard I generally set is...does it make me feel like Christmas? Well does it? Punk.
The Music For A Change Project is, as you might have guessed, a group of musicians gathered together for charitable causes. Alejo Porras, one of the group's founders, said the original idea was about putting positive messages into the music. But Music For A Change Project wanted to go even further and turn those positive messages into positive actions. Last year, they decided to help out at a home for the elderly. In addition to actually spending some time visiting the home and helping there in small ways, they recorded a Christmas album with proceeds going there. Not sure what their plans are this year, but, in the spirit of the season, they've posted last year's effort as a free download on Bandcamp. Yes, there were physical copies made and, if you're interested, you'll just have to track those down yourself. Most of the set qualifies as Indie CCM Pop Rock and most of it is on the slower side. But "Nacio el Amor" rocks pretty good and "El es Navidad", my favorite from the EP, is a mid-tempo beauty. The band sings "Christmas Time" in English on track five and then in Spanish on track six. There are sleigh bells and other Christmas trappings, but sparingly used. So the question was, does this EP from The Music For A Change Project make me feel like Christmas? Yes. Yes it does. Your milage, as always, may vary.  1. Hill and Hale and their Merry Friends – Christmastime 2. Andrew Ripp – Joy To The World 3. Ben Woodward – It’s Christmas 4. Brooke Waggoner – O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree 5. Jars Of Clay – Hibernation Day 6. Butterfly Boucher – Cinnamon & Chocolate 7. Abigail York – Holiday At Home 8. Dave Barnes – So, Santa 9. Roses & Revolutions – It’s Christmas Time 10. Ellie Holcomb – Christmas For You And Me 11. Trent Dabbs – Raise The Tree 12. Jillian Edwards – All My Christmases 13. Wes Cunningham – Merry Christmas Baby 14. Over The Rhine – Blood Oranges In The Snow 15. Beta Radio – Winter Eclipse 16. Tommy Busby – One Little Xmas Tree 17. The Bergamot – Winter Anthem 18. Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors – Everything’s Changed At Christmas But You 19. Smalltown Poets – The Wassail Song 20. Maggie Chapman – Make It Rain, Dear 21. Matt Wertz – O Holy Night 22. FUE – Winter Wonderland 23. Young Oceans – All Who Hear 24. Track 45 – Jingle Bells 25. Wild Season – Christmas Every Day 26. Katrina Stone – Deck The Halls 27. Sleeping At Last – I Heard The Bells 28. Canaries In The Coal Mine – Falling Like Snow 29. Katey Laurel – Two Birds 30. Josh Garrels & Mason Jar Music – Silent Night Can't tell you how happy I am that Lie In The Sound posted this one first. Thanks to them, I don't have to type out the, uh, extensive playlist; I can just copy and paste. Phew, that was hard work. ;^)
"Ultimate Holiday Playlist" finds Noisetrade teaming up with.... the Home and Garden TV network? Really? Well, whatever from wherever, I guess. Thirty tracks in all--some old, some new--mostly fairly mellow CCM, Folk Pop, and Folk and Pop. Pretty AC, all told. Among the newer tracks is "The Wassail Song", a cut from the new Smalltown Poets album. Definitely like that one. And they've saved me the trouble of buying or posting "It's Christmas Time" from Roses & Revolutions, a sweet Indie single released last month. They've also included "Falling Like Snow", one of the tracks from the Canaries In The Coal Mine EP we posted here a while back. Among familiar favorites is "Cinnamon & Chocolate" from Butterfly Boucher, a track I've been raving about for years, and Beta Radio's "Winter Eclipse", another track I was over the moon about. There's enough, here, to make it well worth downloading. And its free. So there's that. Some will find this the perfect soundtrack for a wintry night. Me, I like a little more variety, but I can certainly pick out plenty for a mix or two. It's a free download at Noisetrade.  1. Rejoice - Aaron Shust 2. Christmas Is Coming - Jason Gray 3. We Sing Joy - Cloverton 4. Hark The Herald Angels Sing - Scott Riggan 5. Little Drummer Boy - John Schlitt 6. Pat A Pan - Jean Watson 7. It Snowed - Joshua Mills DOWNLOAD AT NOISETRADE New Release Tuesday is undoubtedly one of the top Contemporary Christian music sites out there. Among other things, they offer regular free downloads. I don't know whether it was always the case but, these days, you have to register with the site to get the freebies. But this year, and "An NRT Christmas, Volume 1" tells me its the first time, they've gathered up some artists and gotten them to contribute Christmas songs--most new for 2014 or very recent. And NRT has taken their sampler to Noisetrade, which means we can all get it free whether or not we've registered with New Release Tuesday. I love it when a plan comes together.
Nice variety of sounds here, including a track from John Schlitt of Petra and one from Aaron Shust's new album. It's good stuff, even if CCM isn't entirely your thing. |
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. Archives2010 FREE List Categories
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