Here's one for fun. Christmas is celebrated on the same day the world over. But that does tend to render any number of classic holiday tunes completely ridiculous. Perhaps none more so than "Winter Wonderland". Oh, sure, in Buffalo you'll get a winter wonderland in December. Not so much in New Zealand. So Ronan Keating comes in to record and Julian Dennison is going to keep him on the right track...to record a Christmas song that's suitable down under. This was put together by the folks at Air New Zealand and its brilliant marketing without even having to mention their company in the video or song (but they do stick it at the very end of the vid). Like most novelty records, I'm sure it'll have a short shelf life. But its fun. Although the funniest bits are Dennison stopping the recording to rewrite the lyrics (all while humbling the very famous Ronan Keating), the free mp3 is just the final song (like when they're outdoors). Get it while the gettin' is good because it ain't gonna be a "Summer Wonderland" forever. You can even download the sheet music, if you like.
0 Comments
Louis, I hate you. Well, no, not really, but... So I got an email the other day and I honestly hadn't had time to read it until just now. And Louis points me to Randi Fay. Randi's a Green Bay, Wisconsin artist noted for Blues and Jazz, primarily. She's won the WAMI (no, seriously--Wisconsin Area Music Industry--WAMI) two years in a row as best Jazz artist. She just released this gorgeous tune, "Little Babe", which is a song that attempts to capture Mary's view of this little miracle she'd carried for 9 months and the world, which of course is different now, immediately after the birth of Jesus. And when I say "little miracle", I don't even mean that in the sense of "virgin birth" and all that. All children are miracles. Just sayin'. Neither a religious or political view on my part, I promise. The song is just beautiful. I'd have to believe, as Randi wrote this, that she is, herself, a mother. And, as I was typing that, I checked her web site and she's not only a mother, but a grandmother. Respect. "Little Babe" is nearly 7 and a half minutes long and not nearly long enough. Best of all, it's FREE! But wait... I look over to the right on Randi's music page and she's got an entire Christmas album, "Noel" (from 2011). Dang it, Louis. What are you doing to me? Another Christmas album I'm gonna have to buy? I hate you, Louis. I really really hate you right now. (Nah! Just kidding) Head on over to Randi Fay's web site to grab the free download of "Little Babe" just for signing on to the mailing list. Stay long enough to check out "Noel", too (it's here). And, if you're paying attention, there's another free Christmas song for you. Nope, not even gonna tell you which one it is.
Over at 200 Days of Christmas recently, Matt was talking about the wonderful voice of Jimmy Ricks. So whoever is kicking off "Come Celebrate" isn't as deep-voiced as Jimmy Ricks, but those deep voices do command attention, don't they?
The body of "Come Celebrate" is sung by Gospel artist Richard Greer. Born in Ohio, Greer went through a lot before turning his life around. But turn it around he did. Now living in Oregon, Richard has, for the last 20 years, helped spread the strength and wisdom that found him through music (not exclusively, of course). There are lots of different kinds of Gospel music. On "Come Celebrate", Richard chose a smooth Soul sound, while his lyrics convey both love of family and love of God. Works for me. Click the down arrow above or head on over to Soundcloud.
Amy Jay goes for the hat-trick on giving away her new Christmas song, "In A Whisper". You can find it on Noisetrade, Soundcloud and Bandcamp (although the Soundcloud is linked to the Bandcamp, but I think it still counts). Amy is an Indie Folk Pop singer/songwriter from New York and I've always found her lyrics to be superb and her vocals to be angelic. "In A Whisper" ties together thoughts of our family here on Earth with our more celestial/spiritual family. Thinking about one makes her realize how important the other one is and that it's all gone in the blink of an eye. "All I want for Christmas is family near me." And, as if the song needed anything more to win me over, it has the cello of Eric Allen. I'm a sucker for cello and/or flute. Amy says the song is only free for a limited time. And, being as it hits iTunes next week, I wouldn't waste any time grabbing it.
Exactly a month ago, I posted this video on the front page because I was very impressed. "O Holy Night" is my favorite and Marc Martel does a beautiful version. Martel, who used to be in the group Downhere, released his Christmas EP on November 19. You can find the details in our earlier piece (really don't want to repeat myself). But, for a limited time, you can download this gorgeous rendition of "O Holy Night" FREE from the good folks at New Release Today (formerly New Release Tuesday). New Release Today has limited time free downloads of current CCM releases all year long. Being as we're in the Christmas season, probably a good idea to check over there every once in a while (in fact, I see they've just posted a cut from the new J.J. Heller Christmas album). The free download of Marc Martel's "O Holy Night" "expires" on December 10. |
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
All
|