Category: Americana

Stubbys House of Christmas

JOHN PRINE - CHRISTMAS IN PRISON

12/23/2015

I could just as easily post this on the Essentials page (that poor, poor, neglected page). John Prine is, of course, a legendary artist and songwriter. He was Americana long before the term existed. And, although John released a full Christmas album in 1993, his self-penned "Christmas In Prison" was originally released on the album "Sweet Revenge" in 1973. If you weren't on the Christmas music hunt that long ago, you might now realize how few songs about Christmas were released in the decade following the JFK assassination (beyond your MOR artists like Bing, Perry and Andy). And it wasn't as if some AM Top 40 station was going to pull out a John Prine record and play "Christmas In Prison". Oh, hell to the no. But FM stations were just beginning to get adventurous with their Christmas music. And all the cool FM (and college radio) DJs had "Christmas In Prison" in their little tote bags of LPs

and 45s for the holidays. At least that was so in the New York market. And "Christmas In Prison" soon became one of those songs you looked forward to hearing on the radio every Christmas, along with other "FM only" holiday fare like Joni Mitchell's "River" (and that one, I'm told, was only a seasonal spin in the New York market; it didn't become popular during the holidays in much of the rest of the country for many years).

Just a long-winded (but important) holiday music lesson as a way of noting that John Prine's "Christmas In Prison" (the live version that appeared on "A John Prine Christmas") is available free through Noisetrade at the moment. Why, when I was young, we had to walk for twenty miles through the snow with no shoes to get to a record store and we'd have to chop wood for hours for the store to even let us look at a John Prine record. You kids, today--gettin' your music for free. Hey, you kids, get off my lawn! Yeah, well, aside from making me feel old that I remember 1973 so well, get John Prine's "Christmas In Prison" free at Noisetrade. It's an essential Christmas song for any holiday music collection.

SHINY PINES - THE CHRISTMAS EP

12/23/2015

Here's a nice three-song Christmas EP from South Carolina's Shiny Pines. You could call their sound Americana or Alt Rock, but they call themselves a Southern Rock band and that works. "I'm Dying or This Must Be Christmas" finds our protagonist waiting for a terrible shoe to drop because "Life ain't never this good." That's a double negative, dude. Just roll with it. "It's Supposed to Be Christmas" might be the same dude on a regular Christmas--"It's supposed to be Christmas, but it feels more like hell."

But the star of the Shiny Pines "Christmas EP" has to be the rockin' "Go Tell It On The Mountain", which you can hear in the video above. You can grab this set on Noisetrade.

THE TILLERS - CHRISTMAS TIME WILL SOON BE OVER

12/23/2015

The Tillers, an Old-Timey/Bluegrass band from Cincinnati, Ohio, turned out this cover of "Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over", a classic fiddle tune, back in 2012 and have reposted it for this holiday season. You can find it and download it free at ReverbNation. You don't see too much free Bluegrass Christmas music (it ain't easy finding Christmas Bluegrass even when it isn't free), so its worth tossing up here, I think.

RICKIE LEE JONES - CHRISTMAS IN NEW ORLEANS

12/18/2015

I'm pretty sure we gave you the heads up earlier this year that Rickie Lee Jones' new album, "Other Side Of Desire", contained the song "Christmas In New Orleans". Well, Rickie Lee is including that song with two other of her Christmas recordings as free downloads from her web site. The other two--"Oh Holy Night" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"--have been around a while longer, so we gave the title above to the new one (and, yes, "Oh Holy Night" is the one recorded with the Chieftans). Rickie has been offering her Christmas songs off and on for years ("Christmas In New Orleans" bumped "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"). At one time, you could even buy a physical disc (a CD-R, IIRC) of the Christmas tunes from her web site. Now the thing to remember with Rickie's free Christmas downloads is there is no set schedule for their availability. They might be gone by the time I post this or they could last through Christmas. Some years Rickie has offered them for just a couple of days (like, honestly, two days) and then they're gone. So, if you don't already have them, head to Rickie's web site without delay. The version in the video was recorded at/for WFUV. The free download is from the album.

LEGENDS OF COUNTRY - FROM ST GEORGE TO SNOWFLAKE

12/17/2015

We featured this song from Legends of Country last year as the flip of the Christmas single, "It's A Long Way Back From A Dream". But then it wasn't free and now it is. Legends of Country is the side project of Jof Owen of The Boy Least Likely To. It's not quite Indie Pop and not quite Americana. Alt Country? Anyway, "From St. George To Snowflake" tells the tale of an all night drive from St. George Utah to Snowflake Arizona. Whether or not the sound qualifies as Americana, the subject matter certainly does. Nothing more American than small towns with evocative names. Nice tempo, nice lyrics on this one, though I preferred the A-side (which was actually a New Years tune). Grab the tune free at Bandcamp or Soundcloud.

VARIOUS - NOISETRADE HOLIDAY MIXTAPE 2015

12/8/2015

Like the rest of us, Noisetrade enjoys a good holiday mixtape. And it looks like they have a new dance partner. In the past, they've teamed up with Paste Magazine and HGTV to bring you some seasonal sounds. This year's collection is presented by Noisetrade and FanBridge, the outfit that helps bands keep track of how many folks are clicking through on emails (and assorted other services).

Some of these tunes, we've presented to you before--like Jetty Rae and Miranda Dodson. Some we hadn't gotten to yet and some are old friends, like Sleeping At Last and Drew Holcomb. Among my new favorites on the set...Dressy Bessy's "Kringles" (so long as nobody turns it into a potato chip commercial) and "My Favorite Time Of Year" by Jackopierce. Mostly CCM, Indie Pop, Folk Pop and Americana, every track is a winner and there are 20. So pour a glass of eggnog, turn on the tree, and enjoy the "Noisetrade Holiday Mixtape 2015". It's free at Noisetrade (thanks, Captain Obvious).

1. Dave Barnes- Better Than Christmas Day
2. Sleeping At Last- Snow
3. Angel Snow- O Holy Night
4. Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
5. Jars of Clay- Christmas for Cowboys
6. The Mastersons- This Holiday's No Holiday (Without You)
7. Corey Kilgannon- All Through the Night
8. Jackopierce- My Favorite Time of Year
9. Matt Wertz- Christmas Just Ain't Christmas (Without You)
10. Ellie Holcomb- Christmas For You And Me
11. Shannon LaBrie- My Snow Angel
12. Wade Bowen- O Holy Night
13. JJ Heller- Star Of Wonder
14. Jetty Rae- Christmas Kiss
15. Kyle Andrews- Next to You
16. Luke Dowler - All I Want For Christmas Is A New Guitar
17. Dressy Bessy- Kringles
18. Miranda Dodson- It's Merry Christmas Time
19. Danny Leggett- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
20. The Digital Age- Silent Night

KING CARDINAL - ALONE ON CHRISTMAS EVE

12/8/2015

King Cardinal is a Denver Americana band and "Alone On Christmas Eve" is a well crafted Christmas song, albeit a sad one. The protagonist has been carrying a torch for his one true love for most of his life. It would appear her husband just passed and, faced with the prospect of spending his declining years alone, he's still trying. You get the feeling that he's the reason the relationship never panned out. He says "I wore a smile this year". See, I can change. But his beloved is having none of it. Though there's genuine love for him, their moment is long gone. He sings, "Nobody wants to be alone on Christmas eve...won't you marry me instead?" He's proposing as if it's as much for her as for him. She sings, "Merry Christmas. I hope you find what's yours."

Anyway, that's what I'm getting from "Alone On Christmas Eve". Even if I've got it upside down (my ears ain't what they used to be; give me lyrics people), it's so pretty and so well done, it's impossible to keep your heart from breaking just a little.

King Cardinal wrote the song for an upcoming Christmas show. If you're going to be in Denver on the 12th, check them out at the Lion's Lair. More info on their Facebook site. "Alone On Christmas Eve" is available as a free download from Soundcloud.

THE GIBBONSES - MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY

12/7/2015

The Gibbonses are a husband and wife teak currently based in Texas. But, before that, they were in Seattle. And, before that, they were performing on cruise ships. The cruise ship is where the couple met and, like a military hitch, the cruise ship gig lasted two years.

The couple brings both Soul and Americana influences to the music they write and sing, which should be more commonly done (I mean, you know, that's basically what Elvis did), but isn't these days.

"Merry Christmas Baby" is one of those songs that pretty much sounds great, no matter what genre you're recording in. But it was refreshing to hear the Charles Brown chestnut in a down on the prairie campfire cowboy style. Oh, Jackie's vocals have plenty of Soul and I don't think they had electric guitars on the lonesome prairie. Still, the overall sound is decidedly Americana.

Anyway, I'm a sucker for "Merry Christmas Baby". Always have been, always will be. You can download the version from The Gibbonses free via the widget up top or from Soundcloud.

COURT YARD HOUNDS - BOM BOM BOM

12/5/2015

"Bom Bom Bom" from the Court Yard Hounds was a 2013 holiday single. If you recall, I pretty much missed everything in 2013. I don't know if the other Christmas sites missed it or not. Even if they didn't, might be you would appreciate a reminder of how great this song is.

I've no doubt some people avoided the tune on purpose as Court Yard Hounds are two-thirds of the Dixie Chicks. Now, through time and distance, only the complete ideologues still harbor a grudge against the Dixie Chicks (and most of them left Stubbys as soon as I added a link to my Labor Quotes repository). My guess is only the complete ideologues ever held a grudge in the first place (funny how politics was supposed to stop at the water's edge for Bush, but not for Obama. And, with that, the rest of the ideologues just left. Their loss.). The Chicks will be playing and touring together again, this coming year, including a bunch of US dates, if you're interested.

The music of Court Yard Hounds was never the music of the Dixie Chicks, though. The sisterly harmonies are fully intact, but the sound is Indie Alt Folk Pop. And this song, "Bom Bom Bom" is not just a great song, but a great Christmas song. It should be a part of everyone's annual holiday playlist. If the name on the label was Low or Over The Rhine, it already would be. I was actually surprised that the song could still be had for free from a two year old post on the Court Yard Hounds website. But it is. It will cost you your email but, hey, what doesn't these days?

BETA RADIO - THE SONGS THE SEASON BRINGS, VOL. 4

11/27/2015

So here it is, the final installment of Beta Radio's seasonal quadrilogy. Thankfully, as in years past, this installment of "The Songs The Seasons Bring" is being offered up free (via Noisetrade). Even if you ordered up the CD and/or LP release of the full record (as I did), it's still nice to open this little present early and listen to it as a self-contained gifty. Knowing the series is ending, I can't help but listen with some sadness and that probably colors my thinking. Whether for that reason or another, this installment has the sound of finality to it. "I Heard The Bells" is typical of Beta Radio at their best--the arrangement, the harmonies, the acoustic harmony of the instruments. Still, it sounds like an ending, and a sad one at that. This year's original, "Orange Rind", is more upbeat and forward looking. And Volume 4 closes, appropriately, with "Silent Night".

Beta Radio's slices of Christmas pie don't last forever. I'd grab this one quick, if I were you. Fare thee well, Beta Radio. We at Stubbys are going to miss our annual get-togethers. I feel like we've grown-up together. And, now, here we are. Maybe its a new beginning for you guys; it's an ending for me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have some dust or something in my eyes. Crying? No. There's no crying in Christmas music (Tom Hanks told me so).