A Power Pop guy from way back, Cliff Hillis has also scattered the occasional Christmas song hither and yon. So Cliff is now giving us a "Merry Cliffmas" EP featuring 4 of his holiday specials. "A Day Like Christmas" I know goes way back--a decade or more. "Christmas Wish" (an NRBQ cover) was his Christmas single from last year. I can't say, right now, whether the other two are new or old. But "Christmas Songs Tonight" is the most Power Pop of the selections, here, if that's what you're looking for. The last track, "Honey Badger Christmas" is Pop Novelty. Good stuff, though, all of it. "A Day Like Christmas" has been a favorite of mine for years. I have it on an obscure album, "It's About Christmas", but I think its made an appearance on another comp or two over the years. Check out more of Cliff's music on Soundcloud.
 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.  UK Indie Rock newcomers Pauma have generated plenty of buzz on both sides of the Atlantic since the release of their debut single (and subsequent EP) "Sink Or Swim" just weeks ago. And it's easy to see (or hear) why. Pauma has a Classic Indie Rock sound (is Indie Rock old enough to have a "classic" sound yet?), full of fuzzy guitars, reverb drenched vocals, and an irresistible groove. They also feature smartly written lyrics pulling it all together. Pauma's music is what happens when the problems of today meet up with optimism for the future.
The Christmas single, "Oh, It's Christmas", doesn't rock quite as hard as "Sink Or Swim", but its got that early 60s Spector beat and Wall of Sound style (which Indie Rock has favored from its inception), and choruses that nearly sound sarcastic in their sincerity. Best listened to at high volume. "Oh, It's Christmas" is a free download via Soundcloud.
It ain't always easy to find good Christmas Jazz that's also free. But there's, for sure, some out there. James Oakwood makes a lot of music in a lot of different styles, but I dig this Jazzy Bluesy Funky holiday groove from the Oak Man. "Minutes After Midnight" is all the more remarkable when you realize that that's all him, all the instruments and vocals. Ah, the marvels of modern technology. Technically, "Minutes After Midnight" was last year's James Oakwood Christmas single. This year's track is "Xmas Hamper", much more a Progressive Rock deal, but also plenty good. Its Christmas. So remember to feed your head. And James Oakwood's Christmas songs are a nice way to do that. "Minutes After Midnight" is free on Soundcloud. "Xmas Hamper" is free on ReverbNation.  "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.  I'm speechless. Wow. Let me say, first, that this collection contains 42 tracks and I have neither the time nor energy to listen to them all right now nor to type them all out. That said, there is some truly amazing music on this collection.
Ordinarily, this is the type of collection I'd breeze right past. The cover art tells you that this is, essentially, Video Game music. And, ordinarily, Video Game music is presented 8-bit style, which can be fun in small doses, but not over 42 tracks. But that's not what you get on "Super VG Christmas Party". There is music, here, of many stripes--inspired by video games, but fully produced and...just amazing. Over 100 musicians from around the world were involved in recording the music, here. The Symphonic Rock music I sampled puts the Trans-Siberian Orchestra to shame. There's Ambient and Indie Pop. There is at least one track with an Americana influence. And then there's a perfect union of Jazz flute and shredding Rock guitar on my favorite track (so Far), "Holiday Haze" by The Returners. To be sure, there were some tracks I didn't care for. But with 42, I think you're likely to find several you'll love. And its all FREE. My personal favorites of what I've sampled included "Holiday Haze", "Snow Dancing In The Schoolyard", the mellow as heck "White Crossing", the Jazz guitar "Esto Gaza", and the hard rockin' "Flight of the Santa Man". It does appear to be all instrumental, if that bothers you. But still....FREE. Check it out on Bandcamp.  01) Flying Vaginas - Santa Bring Me A Dinosaur 02) Baseball Gregg - Rebel Without A Claus 03) Burnt Palms - You 04) New Adventures In Lo-Fi - Temptation 05) Slow Shot - Shining All Night 06) The Mumble Jackson - Darling 07) Barbados - The Fall 08) Machweo - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 09) Setti - Crauti 10) Skelets On Me - Love 11) Le Man Avec Les Lunettes - I'll Be Home for Christmas 12) Neverending Mojitos - Cooking Up Something Good 13) Osc2x - Dreaming Of A Wild Christmas 14) Winter Dies In June - Winter Dies In June 15) Neverwhere - Christmas Eve Lonesome Bitterness Blues One of my favorite presents every Christmas is the one with a big musical bow on it from the Italian blog Polaroid. Every year, their humble blog host invites bands to submit a song for the holiday season. It could be a Christmas or seasonal song or just a song to keep you company while you trim the tree. It's always a glistening, sparkling collection of Indie Pop and Rock, most of which you won't find anywhere else.
Every year, at least a few of these songs will captivate me and become among my favorites for the year. For me, this year's highlights are mostly on the back half. Though not properly a Christmas song, I loved Skelets On Me's cover of John Lennon's "Love". Le Man Avec Les Lunettes sound almost Lennon like on "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Machweo's spacey Ambient Psych "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (which is actually "Let It Snow") is plenty amazing and entrancing (listen to it while staring at the cover art for full effect). And the two numbers closing the set, "Winter Dies In June" and "Christmas Eve Lonesome Bitterness Blues" are my favorites of all (if not the cheeriest). Head to the Polaroid web site for the full download. Poke around a bit and find the earlier volumes, which (if nothing's changed since last year) should all still be available.  Alright. Now we're talking! Irish Punk! The Lee Harveys' "Christmas Time In Dublin" is one half of a split single. The B-side is "Fisticuffs On Boxing Day" from Paranoid Visions. The latter is classic Punk (and why has no one thought of Boxing on Boxing Day before?), featuring an expletive or two. But the A-side is accessible to a wider stream of Rock fans, I think. It's got a nice melody underneath the bombast, and melody is not generally something associated with Punk.
The driving force behind The Lee Harveys is Bitzy Fitz, who fronted the Punk band The Strougers in the 70s, headlining gigs where a young U2 were the opening act. When The Strougers split up, Bitzy went about the business of raising a family. Nearly 30 years after laying his guitar down, he picked it up again, started writing songs again and, before you knew it, The Lee Harveys were born. Bitzy appears to have as much energy as ever but the added musical savvy that comes with age and experience. Check out the band's full-length "Gun City" for the full Bitzy and Lee Harveys experience. Download the split single on Bandcamp.  The Mackenzie Rhythm Section is a soulful Canadian four piece. I gotta tell you, I love the keyboard player in this group. Just sayin'. Anyway, MRS are certainly capable of funking a lot harder when they're in the mood to. Seriously, check out their full-length, "The Big Break". I'm gonna have to buy that one. Good time soulful rock like this I ain't heard since the J. Geils Band called it a day. I keep waiting for a bad track to come up so I can get back to the Christmas music. So far, nothing but gold. Oh, yeah, I'm buying this. Anyway...
For the Christmas single, The Mackenzie Rhythm Section keeps it smooth, silky, and I'm sure somebody's tongue is in somebody's cheek. "The Twelve Sexy Days Of Christmas" is a unique take on the whole 12 days theme, conceptually, musically and lyrically. It's definitely worth the free download on Bandcamp. And, seriously, you've got to check out "The Big Break". It. Is. Just. So. Freakin'. AWESOME! |
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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