 | Nashville based Psych/Grunge band JEFF The Brotherhood think Santa's just a creep. I mean, what kind of perv watches you while you sleep? Really? This hard rockin' number might just land the guys on Santa's naughty list. But they don't seem too worried about it. And, come on Santa, the dueling guitar solo was awesome. I think, at the end of the day, if you can rock this hard, you're on somebody's Nice list. If not Santa's, then Sump'n Claus ("Everybody gettin' sump'n"). "What's A Creep" from JEFF The Brotherhood is available for free in exchange for your email address and zip. Head here to get your download. |
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"Love Disease (Christmas In New York)" is the perfect Alt Rock holiday yin/yang song. For the yin, it's the tale of spending Christmas alone without the one you love, following a breakup. For the yang, it's an anthem of survival. The song is the precursor to a full album, due in February from Montreal's Xavier Cafeine. Lots of energy in this one. I think you're gonna like it. Free on Soundcloud.
Soul Shop is a Massachusetts recording studio--all analog. For the second year in a row, Soul Shop gathered up as much of the local talent as they could to cut a holiday album. The New Lights are the Soul Shop house band, and they're joined on the album by a long long list of musicians and vocalists from area bands (if you want to see who is playing/singing on each track, click the "info" buttons). "Christmas Alone With You", unlike its predecessor, contains mostly original material. And the songs range from Americana to Soulful shuffles, to straight up Rock. You'll have to seek out your own favorites, but mine were "Haven't Seen You Since The Summer", which sounds like a 70s soul number, and the Bluesy "Cold Weather Man". Having lived in Massachu for a bit, it was also cool listening to "(It's Not Christmas) 'Til It Snows In Boston" (with Jeremy Lee Given on vocals and keys). And the cover songs, "Jesus Christ" and "Holiday Road" are both excellent. "Christmas Alone With You" is a free Bandcamp download. Once you've checked that, you might want to have a listen to 2013's "Last Month Of The Year". They made 30 hard copy CDs of that one. Though I can't say if any of the CDs remain, the digital download of "Last Month Of The Year" is also free.
 Was a time when I used to be very keen at picking up the annual Christmas songs from Garage Rockers Thee Fine Lines. 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.... And then I kind of lost track of them. I couldn't find anymore Christmas songs from Thee Fine Lines. So I just kind of figured they'd split up or maybe got tired of doing Christmas songs. Nope. They were still doing a Christmas song a year, apparently. And, last year, they put them all together in one handy dandy Bandcamp download called "Seasonal Songs". So somebody may have covered it last year, but I wasn't here.
Now, if my math is correct, they've got a Christmas song up there for every year from 2004 - 2013. None for this year. Yet. They do say they tend to record their annual Christmas song right before Christmas. So there is still time. Doesn't much matter to me right now because there are six songs here I haven't yet heard. And it's always a blast to hear "Nothin' But Tears Under My Christmas Tree" again. So go help yourself to some of the finest raw Rock Christmas music you'll ever hear. As Bluto from "Animal House" would say, "don't cost nothin'."  Santa, I've been a good boy all year (mostly) and I want hard rock with fuzz guitars for Christmas. Here ya go. From Britain's Eat Me, "I Forgot It Was Christmas". Incidentally, once again google would have been useful before naming the group since "Eat Me" seems to be a very popular band name.
Like a lot of folks, especially in the UK, Eat Me has about had enough of Simon Cowell's idea of Christmas music. Says Jamie Warnes, “We want to show that whilst rock music might be unfashionable right now, there’s nothing more fun than getting together with your best buddies and rocking out – especially at Christmas time, with The X Factor and its bland warblers all over everyone’s telly sets." The song is free on Bandcamp and comes with a virtual flip..."Stay Another Day". "Stay Another Day" is one of those songs folks in the UK insist on calling a Christmas song, even though it has nothing to do with the season, simply because it charted around Christmas time decades ago. I love the unexpected. For some reason, the Brits love "Walking In The Air". I suppose it's not unlike our love of the songs from Charlie Brown's Christmas, since "Walking In The Air" made its debut in an animated holiday special. I'd like to say that the difference is that the Vince Guarldi songs were better. But the problem I have with "Walking In The Air" is how its done. It's always presented with that high boys choir tenor voice that sounds like someone's been sucking down too much helium or something. When I have enjoyed the song is when its done differently. The Red Pills (after poking fun at the original) Rock the crap out of "Walking In The Air", making the song genuinely enjoyable for me. You can download this one and The Red Pills' 2010 Pink cover of "White Christmas" free at Bandcamp.
 We're big, big fans of Kissing Party at Stubby's. The Denver band could sing the phonebook and I'd be fascinated by HOW they sang the phonebook. And that phonebook song would immediately go into heavy rotation at Chez Stub. I don't know why, but the music of Kissing Party almost always has me smiling.
It seems as though Kissing Party releases a free song every December. They aren't always Christmas/Winter tunes, yet they always fit into the holiday mixes like the missing puzzle piece. It just ain't Christmas at my house without them. This year's free single from the group is "My Only One", an energetic Alt Rock/Indie Pop outing that closes with some bells of various types knocking out the familiar notes of "Auld Lang Syne". Even the scratchy record sounds and the needle lift come off as pure genius. Kissing Party, you done done it again. "My Only One" is free via Bandcamp. And, if you don't already have it, make sure to get the "Winter In The Pub" collection of Kissing Party Christmas songs. It's legendary (well, as legendary as a year old digital collection can be). Hey, look at that; they've already added "My Only One" to the collection. Cool.  The Pocket Gods are living legends of the Alt Rock/Indie Pop universe, having been blessed by no less an icon of the underground music scene than the late John Peel. Originally, back in the late nineties, the group was just Mark Christopher Lee and whomever he decided to let join him on any given night. They were a trio for a long stretch and then went back to being just Lee around 2012 (I have no idea what the current line-up is). Nominated for a Grammy a few years back, The Pocket Gods are said to be the most prolific band in the world, having reportedly released over 70 albums and 30 EPs and singles in the last 15 years. When you record that much music, you're bound to have recorded a Christmas song or two. Or twenty. I'm not sure how many, honestly, but they're regulars on the Cherryade Christmas albums, which are now in their tenth year. They have a track on this year's Cherryade set, too, but "The Light Of The World" isn't it. In 2012, they released a full album of their Christmas madness, 14 tracks long.
The Pocket Gods play a psych infused brand of Indie Pop Rock, citing the Beatles and Ramones among their influences. "The Light Of The World" is a stand alone digital single which you could buy through Amazon. Or, you can join The Pocket Gods mailing list over at ReverbNation and get downloads of "The Light Of The World" and "Searching For The Divine" for free.  And the hits just keep on comin'. Here, for your downloading pleasure, is a three song EP of Christmas garage rock from Kris Rodgers and the Dirty Gems from Portland, Maine. Its cold up there, so they rock extra hard to stay warm in the winter months. If you didn't know, "Fingers" Rodgers is the keyboard man on the Connection's latest Christmas record (which, if you haven't picked up yet, you need to) and a favorite of Little Steven's Underground Garage. It's "Can't Spend Another Christmas (Without You)" that rocks the paint off the ceiling for sure. The EP also includes covers of Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means To Me" and Elton John's holiday B-side "Ho Ho Ho (Who'd Be A Turkey At Christmas)".
Kris is offering the EP as a "name-your-price" download through Bandcamp as a special "holiday sale". But he doesn't really say which holiday. So don't sleep on this one or it might no longer be free come Monday. Just sayin'. |
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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