Mount Tyrant are based in Dallas Texas. They call what they do Dark Pop--which I'm guessing means lots of minor chords and terrible happenings. "My Baby Left Me On Christmas" is certainly not a happy song. And the lyrics reflect the chill. But its also some damn fine Rock N Roll. So lend the Mount Tyrant an ear for a well written, well produced, well played, damn fine bit of Rock N Roll and try to forget the depressing mood...if you can. Download "My Baby Left Me On Christmas" free from Soundcloud.
So I got an email from Monika Bullette a few days back, alerting me to her new Christmas song, "Christmas Lights (I Only Light Up When You're Around)". And I'm thinking, "I know that name."
Way, way, waaaayyy back....when the Internets were young.....in the dark ages.......you know, like around 2004, Monika had a free Christmas song on her site that she'd done with Hangnail Phillips. The song was "The Finest Gifts" and I thought it was just about the most beautiful and perfect Christmas song I'd ever heard. I didn't really start trolling the Internet for free downloads until 2005, so Monika was one of, if not my very first. You always remember your first. Thereafter, Monika Bullette's site was one of my first destinations in the annual Christmas music hunt. And she usually had something new to offer for the season. After that, she hooked up with the Sky Drops. And the Sky Drops dropped "Christmas Feels Like Halloween" in 2010 or 2011 and "Christmas Time Is Here" in 2012 (both still free on the Sky Drops web site, btw). And then my Mom got sick and I didn't hear anything about or from Monika until that email the other day. Monika Bullette's new Christmas song for 2015 is a demo, so it's got a bit of a raw feel to it. Nothing wrong with that; I dig raw. But Monika was also kind enough to post several other Christmas songs--all available to download free on Soundcloud--filling in those missing years for me. AND she posted "The Finest Gifts" again. Ah, Monika, you remembered. That was our song (sorry, was that too stalkerish?). And, if you never have before, cats and kittens, you have to hear this one. 
01) Alice Bisi (Oh, Alice) - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
02) Hund - I'll Be Stoned For Christmas (Dent May cover) 03) Naughty Betsy - All I Want For Christmas (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover) 04) Barbados - Just For A Place In Your Heart 05) Elizabeth Morris (Allo Darlin) - The Season (Padda remix) 06) OAK - Holiday (The Get Up Kids cover) 07) Husky Loops - Shy Guy 08) Baseball Gregg - Cyber Monday 09) Steven Lipsticks And His Magic Band - Christmas Thieves 10) Boys Age - Hey Oooh 11) X-Ray Picnic - Northern Exposure 12) Flood Regions - Leprechaun On The Moon 13) Yellow Yonder - The Runner 14) mesic - A Long December (Counting Crows cover) 15) RACE - Jesus Was A Communist (Reagan Youth cover) 16) Iron Only - Airplanes 17) SMASH - Switching Light 18) Qlowski - I Do not Wanna Be Capitalized 19) Wolther Rabbitt - Then there are secrets between us (demo) 20) Homelette - Song For U 21) Le Man Avec Les Lunettes - 15 Dollars For A Sandwich 22) Dj Bitterness - I Get Drunk Like Pizzul Because It's Xmas Without You 
Isn't that one of the best things you've ever heard? I don't even know if its a Christmas song. And I don't even care. And they're from Japan, believe it or not. Just wow. Mind blown.
A lot of our annual gifties have gone away. No Santastic this year. No Suburban Sprawl. No Alternate Root. No Cigar Box Nation. And this will be the last year for our annual present from Beta Radio. On the bright side, we still have Sofia Talvik's annual Christmas song, our stocking stuffer from Joe Algeri (the JAC), and the always superb collection from XO Publicity. My all-time favorite, though has to be "A Polaroid For Christmas". And they're back again this year with one of their biggest and best. Polaroid is an Italian music blog and, every year, the host of the blog asks bands and artists from all over the world if they might like to do a Christmas song--cover or original (or at least a song to keep one company whilst trimming the tree). And from that simple request comes some of the absolutely, hands down, no question BEST Indie Christmas music you will ever hear anywhere. Every year! It's unbelievable how good this stuff is. Some will make it into the circuit via Bandcamp or Soundcloud, but many/most will not. And it's free to download. Every year! We are truly living in blessed times (well, as far as free Indie Christmas music goes). There's always a little something for everyone--nice little Indie Pop tunes, Shoegaze, Electronica, LoFi Indie Rock, Alt Folk, Dream Pop, Punk Country...seriously, they'll run the gamut. Now...it's getting a bit late and, normally, I'd just go later and break it down for you. But Mrs. Katz (not her real name) has another doctor's appointment tomorrow (Shhh. I didn't tell her this time), so I need to get to bed. And, to tell you the truth, I listened to this whole thing and, if I were to list my favorites, I'd be listing about 20 of the 22 tracks. So I'm going to let you find your own favorites (it's all free, after all). I will mention my very, very favorites real quick--tracks 1, 5, 10, 11, 20 and 21. Go get the whole shootin' match from Polaroid. And should you find yourself wanting to dig deeper into the artists and their music (like Boys Age up there), Polaroid has everything all linked up for you.  One of the tunes we posted last year that got a lot of positive feedback was Noah Guthrie's version of "(Christmas) Baby Please Come Home". Guthrie de-Spectorized the tune and made it a lament. Guthrie has a new Christmas tune out for 2015 and, like its predecessor, it's available as a free download from Noisetrade. On "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer", Guthrie's recipe includes a bit of Funk and a dash of Jazz (and maybe even a smidgen of Reggae). Those are the seasonings added to Guthrie's Indie Alt Folk Rock sound. It's interesting. Cool, even. But I'm not sure it's the equal of "(Christmas) Baby Please Come Home". Then again, it's kind of hard to get deep and meaningful singing about reindeer games. Both songs are still free at Noisetrade.
 Long time Pop Punk favorites the Mixtapes announced they were splitting up earlier this year. Not wanting their fans to be left empty-handed, the band posted a large collection of songs from splits, rare b-sides, non-album tracks, unreleased recordings, and a few studio goofs. The collection contains precisely one Christmas song. And, even though "Broken Hearted Christmas" pretty much falls into the "goof" category, it's cool to have as a souvenir of a band that was well-loved in the genre. Besides, all told there are 23 tracks here (including a 15 minute freestyle) and some are pure gold. You can download "These Are Us" from the Mixtapes free of charge at Paper + Plastic Records.
The Holidaze are a Pop Punk supergroup featuring members of Good Charlotte (Joel), 5 Seconds of Summer (Ashton), Simple Plan (Pierre), and Goldfinger (John). Along with Alex Gaskarth, the artists got together to record "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" to help promote the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit that seeks to inspire today's youth through entertainment and education focused initiatives. They ask that you consider making a contribution of whatever you can afford.
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" starts out traditional (showing off some serious pipes) but finishes in a rousing Pop Punk flourish. It's intended as a free download. The group has blown through their Soundcloud download allotment, but you can now download the song here.  Even with the Internets, finding out about EVERY new release is impossible. Some real good stuff flies completely under the Radar O'Reilly. I just tripped over this new album from Celkilt, which was released on CD overseas on November 22. Oddly, the shorter version of "Kiltmas Songs"--the EP version--was released digitally on Amazon the week before. But they still don't have a listing for the full album, even as an Import.
I can't swear to their genealogy, but Celkilt are a French band who wear kilts and sing Irish flavored Rock tunes. It's great stuff, if a little head-scatching. And, at least on "Kiltmas Songs", it sounds like they're having a party on every track. Sorry I missed this one until after I was broke. There's always next year. Anyway, Celkilt, in the spirit of the season, has an Advent Calendar at their website with each day bringing a new picture or video or future concert dates. Nestled in there on Day 9 is the only free download, so far. "Let It Snow" isn't included on either the digital EP or the digital single--only on the full "Kiltmas Songs" CD. So here's your chance to get it free from Celkilt. Simple enough. And they don't even want your email address. Merry Kiltmas! Kilts for everyone! 
Who, you may ask, is/are Twinkie? Not the UK Punk band. Not the female Soul and Gospel singer. Not the disgusting yet somehow irresistible taste treat. "Just 2 brothers from Memphis, Tn having fun". Alrighty then.
Apparently, Twinkie is comprised of Matthew and Mark Downen and, while they aren't exactly the Yule Logs, Twinkie is pretty much a Christmas thing (though there are two non-holiday tracks in their Soundcloud feed). There's a video up on YouTube from 2011 of "Please Come Home For Christmas", but that's about the only footprint I'm seeing. But this year's Twinkie tunes, so far, are much better (IMHO). Take "Christmas Down In Memphis". OK, its a Blues. You got me. I'm biased. But--and I know I'll probably offend a lot of people in saying this--to me, it sounds like what I'd imagine a T-Rex Blues number would or should sound (yes, I'm aware that T-Rex actually DID record some Blues, but that Glam element always moved those tunes out of the Blues column for me). Even on Twinkie's less impressive "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", there's a bit of a T-Rex vibe (it ain't Glam, but it rocks). Both songs are available as free downloads on Soundcloud. And its possible there may be more to come. Just in case, "like" the boys on Facebook so you can stay apprised. 1. KISSAMILÉ Let It Snow (Cover) 2. MANUEL ÉTIENNE – All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey Cover) 3. HOBOKEN DIVISION – Cookies & Milk 4. ORWELL The Man With All – The Toys (Beach Boys Cover) 5. EDDY LA GOOYATSH – Rise Up Shepherd And Follow (Traditional) 6. RICH DELUXE – The Clarinet That Roared 7. JULIEN BOUCHARD – Last Christmas (Wham! Cover) 8. POPANOËL – Interlude I 9. DIRTY WORK OF SOUL BROTHERS & RODGER N FURTER – Rougail Dinde 10. ESSIA ESCH – What Christmas Means To Me (Stevie Wonder Cover) 11. THE WISE DUDE’S REVOLVER – More Snow, Please… 12. ROMAIN THOMAS (LULLABIES) – A Cold Snow 13. TEQUILASAVATE Y SU HIJO BASTARDO – Noches En Posadas 14. TWIN PRICKS – Last Christmas (Wham! Cover) 15. KING AUTOMATIC & RICH DELUXE – Stay Drunk At Christmas 16. RÉMI SANTA AND FRIENDS – I ♥ X-Mas (Je Coeur Noël) 17. POPANOËL – Interlude II A tip o' the hat to Lie In The Sound for bringing this collection of Indie Pop and Indie Rock to light.  Since I speak neither French nor German, I can tell you that "Pop A Noel" was put together by Europop, Emission Electrophone, and Nancy(?). Who and what they are, I haven't got a clue. Looks like Nancy might be a town. But I can tell you that this is the first such collection AND that there is an intention to do more.
Several of these tracks sound, to me, like opportunities unfulfilled. An artist has a great concept for reworking a seasonal standard but then just doesn't go anywhere with it. As a whole, I suppose I'd give "Pop A Noel" a "B". But there are some tunes that rise above the rest and would be welcome on any holiday mix or in any holiday library. And, hey, it's free and (so far) every track here is exclusive to this collection. So why quibble? My personal favorite on a first run through was Hoboken Division's "Cookies & Milk" ("You can keep your cookies and milk/I'm drinking whiskey now"). It just sounds like the most fully realized Christmas song in the lot. Other tracks I liked a lot include Tequilasavante's "Noches En Posadas" (there's something winning about a punkish one-man-band singing a Christmas song in Spanish on a French compilation that is otherwise sung in English), King Automatic & Rich Deluxe singing "Stay Drunk At Christmas" (with its double-oh-seven Surf guitar), Rich Deluxe again on "The Clarinet That Roared" (with its relentless circus rhythm), and "Je Coeur Noel" by Remi Santa and Friends, which has the sweetest Indie sound and likely the most staying power for that. "Rise Up Shepherd And Follow" was pretty good, too. The one that got away, as it were--the one I so wanted more from-- was Essia Esch's cover of Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means To Me". She found a totally new groove for the song and it could have turned into something super special, but it needed something more--a second gear, or, I dunno-- and it never got there and just kind of gave up. Too bad, she's got a sweet sound. And its still better than 95% of the covers of that song. Anyway, "Pop A Noel" is free for the taking on the Europop website, available in either MP3 or FLAC. Go get it. 
This is interesting. We've been celebrating the Festival of Lights on the front page. This isn't Hanukkah music, but....
Anthony & Irene Chapman are from New England, but emigrated to Israel several years ago. Their holiday EP, "The Newborn King", features two versions each of two classic Christmas carols. The second version of each starts out the same but then goes on to feature lyrics sung in Hebrew. No doubt some traditionalists in each camp will find this difficult to accept, but I say, if we can bring music together, why not whole nations? Alright, alright, a little naive, even for me. But I do think its a great concept and it works great here. Even when the Christmas music of Anthony & Irene Chapman isn't featuring lyrics in Hebrew, the music, itself, is a fusion of influences. The Middle Eastern feel of "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" is undeniable and, while "Silent Night" has its share of Middle Eastern influence as well, what struck me on that one was the Progressive Jazz Fusion feel. The cumulative effect is both bracing and very appealing. Take away the Hebrew lyrics and you still have original arrangements and music that excites and stimulates. Dare I say "inspires"? Very cool. "The Newborn King" is available free from Bandcamp and Noisetrade. |
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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