A Smooth Soul Hip Hop holiday tune from Japan? Free? In Japanese? Oh, yeah, it don't get no better than that. Take a listen to Louvre's "New Year's Eve (With You)" and get the song free from Soundcloud. (Come on, you know you love it.) |
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I honestly don't know a thing about music (oh...you knew that already), but I do know what I like. And this sweet little instrumental from the Japanese brother and sister Indie Dream Pop/Toy Pop duo Chelsea Terrace is something I like. It's a more or less Ambient piece, partially inspired by the film The Polar Express and featuring strains of "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night". And, if Google translate is to be trusted, it's part of an album the group is working on for next year--"The Electrical 7 Suite". And it's free via Soundcloud.
Now, as if that wasn't cool and Christmasy enough (or, for that matter, Japanese enough), Chelsea Terrace released a Christmas song last year, as well. "Goodbye Christmas" is a vocal tune that appeared on the group's "Telescope Future" CD (which is sold out, so don't bother looking for it). Some people are enchanted by the way French ladies sing (I get it; very sexy), but I love the sound of Christmas music sung by Japanese women. Don't know why, don't understand a word; it just strikes me as so delicate and beautiful. "Goodbye Christmas (Shooting Star Mix)" --with vocals and guitar by Mayumi, I believe--is also a free download from Chelsea Terrace on Soundcloud.
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.
This is the type of thing I like finding on the 'Nets. As I've said numerous times, I've always been fascinated by Christmas music from other countries.
For some, this is going to be too Pop, for others not Pop enough. But it's basically your standard J-Pop style--soulful Bubblegum, really--but leaning a tad toward Indie Pop. I don't know a thing about lulu, but Mikeneko Homeless are a Techno Dance outfit from Tokyo. Every so often, they'll write a tune requiring a more romantic vibe and they'll team up with one young vocalist or another, usually an unknown. Such was the case when Mikeneko Homeless handed the keys to the kingdom to lulu for "Watermelon" earlier this year. The song was immensely popular and the band brought lulu back in the handle vocals for their Christmas record, "This Christmas Lovely Day". "This Christmas Lovely Day" is essentially about a long distance relationship. It seems the two can only get together on Christmas Eve. Well, in a relationship like that, it's hard to completely enjoy the moment because every thought is accompanied by the certain knowledge that the object of your affection is leaving again. In fact, the pair just got together and they're already walking to the train station where he'll leave her again. That bastard! And she doesn't want to say anything (like, you know, "don't leave") because she doesn't want to upset him (apparently they've fought about work getting in the way of the relationship before). It's cold, so she slips her hand in her pocket and...dang if there isn't a ring. That bastard! I'm a little lost on how the whole thing ended. It sounds like he gets on the train and he's looking for her on the platform when a hand grabs his arm from behind...and its her, surprising him; she's on the train and going with him (for a day, at least). But it isn't all that clear to me. It's all in Japanese, of course, and I barely speak English. Here's their translation: Waving from platform, my hand drawn by you I’m taken in your arms before I realise it you smiling at my face surprising on a bumpy train as we knew before the story started, tomorrow is an accidental holiday And here's the Google translation: Waving from home I dragged a hand Imperceptibly in your arm surprised laugh to see my face on the train swaying as I knew from the beginning, tomorrow accidentally holiday Anyway, lulu and Mikeneko Homeless are on Maltine Records, an Internet label, and, for the moment, they have the entire "This Christmas Lovely Day" EP--which includes "Watermelon", numerous remixes, and more--available as a free download (just hit the button that says "download" on the right hand side). I'm partial to the Hercelot Remix, myself, which is more of a club mix. How long it remains free, I couldn't tell you, but its up there now. Everybody needs some J-Pop in their collection and, as its free, this one is as good a place to start as any. |
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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