1. Whisperhawk - Merry Christmas (I'm Sorry)
2. Rawrwar - Christmas Miracle 3. The Holly Jollies - Daddy's Really Santa Claus 4. Up n Adam - Snowglobe Inverted 5. Blue Acres - If We Make It Through December 6. Alex Babineau - First Christmas Alone 7. Brett Redshaw - Christmas Is The Best 8. Rawrwar - Cuba 9. Nicholas Burgess - Santa Planet 10. The Super-Krewe - Xmas Potpourri 11. Katie King - Gingerbread Man 12. Alex Babineau - Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy 13. Jeremy Waterman - Father Christmas 14. Sprout - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? |
Late in every season, all these great free comps come out and I almost never have time to listen to them all the way through. Well I listened to "The Chvrch of Santa" all the way through. It's the latest in a long line of annual Christmas offerings from Friends Friends Friends Records. The Nova Scotia "label" evolved from the Raw Rock Militia. That's why "The Chvrch of Santa" is only Friends Friends Friends IV, even though there are Christmas comps dating back to 2010. These days, the Raw Rock Christmas project works like this: early in November, they send out a call to anybody and everybody to send in their Christmas tunes. A month later, they've got an album. It's worth noting that, most years, a limited edition CD will follow (given the turnaround time and all, the CDs usually get listed a few days before Christmas).
Although I listened all the way through, I'm not going to do a track-by-track. But this year's set is a good one. There's our old friend Nicholas Burgess with "Santa Planet". And I'm always happy to see Katie King on these; I love her stuff. The Holly Jollies go all Neo-Beach Boys on "Daddy's Really Santa Claus". There's an acoustic "Father's Christmas" from Jeremy Waterman, a straight-up Folk cover of "If We Make It Through December" by Blue Acres, some very nearly Punk Country from Alex Babineau covering Buck Owens, and even some Second Line Jazz from The Super-Krewe, "Xmas Potpourri". But beyond Nicholas and Katie, my favorites were the two tracks from Rawrwar and the Indie Pop tune up top, Whisperhawk's "Merry Christmas (I'm Sorry)". Importantly, there wasn't a single track where I was even tempted to pick up the virtual needle and move on. Great work, as usual, Friends Friends Friends. Find "The Chvrch of Santa" on Bandcamp.
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Our favorite Atlanta Synth Pop group is back with their contribution to the season for 2018. It was, oh, about a month ago, we told you about Frisky Monkey's previous annual Christmas songs. And, no, there'll be no monkey puns today. No, seriously, I'm fresh out. What there will be is bells. Seems like it's bells everywhere you go. And Frisky Monkey must have gone into the studio and said let's load up the beginning of "Last Christmas" with every bell we've got. After about 25 seconds, though, the bells subside and we get to the music...for the most part, a fairly faithful rendition, though the song has a different texture with the vocals of Juan Cezar. And Douglas Pettus keeps the music from sounding too Wham (you know what I mean). "Last Christmas" by Frisky Monkey is free for the download at Soundcloud. And, if you missed our earlier post, all of Frisky Monkey's "Christmas Songs" are right here on one page for ya. But, seriously, if you want to hear these Frisky Monkeys at their friskiest and finest, please check out "Misadventures of a Misguided Monkey". It's a howler, fur sure.
Remember when the world was young and Indie was, too? I'm far from an expert, but I've always pinned the Golden Age of Indie as being between 1995 and 2005 (that's probably because that's the time, in my life, when the internet truly became the internet). The sounds were fresh and vital, raw and full of energy (in a different way than the Punk years). There was a sense that you could do anything, musically. And, hey, odds were long you'd ever be famous, but that was always the case.
In the midst of that time and scene, there was, in the southwest part of England, the legendary Moles Club. Moles hosted a live music and club night called Purr on Thursday nights. It was where bands like The Long Blondes ("Christmas Is Cancelled") got their start. Purr also spawned a record label of the same name. In 2001 and 2002, Purr created a couple of Christmas CDs...a 4-song EP "Here Comes Santa Paws" in 2001 and a full 14 song collection in 2002, "Gold, Frankincense and Purr". The curator of these discs was none other than Gareth Jones who, these days, helps to put the Cherryade collections together. And Gareth has decided that the time has come for the Purr collections to see the light of day once again. Not only that, but they're available as a FREE download on Bandcamp.
Most of the bands are no longer together, but you may recognize a few names if you followed the music at all in those days. I know I have the Velodrome 2000 track somewhere...I think. But most of these will likely be as fresh as the new fallen snow to most of you. So download, listen, and remember when the world was young. Well....younger at any rate.
1. Motel - Father Sean
2. The Abrahams - He Was The Boy 3. Summerteeth - Who Stole Christmas From The Kids 4. Vic Twenty - Christmas In Korea 5. James Kochalka Superstar - Christmas Wishes 6. Ex-Rental - December (Dubious End-Of-Term Disco Mix) 7. Velodrome 2000 - Christmas Sucks 8. The Seven Inches - Christmas Things 9. Bucky - (I'm A) Little Snowflake 10. People With Eyes - Santa Claus' Daughter 11. The Electroluvs - Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence 12. Motormark - This Is Christmas Day 13. James Kochalka Superstar - Sleighride To Heck 14. Slayed - Merry Xmas Everybody 15. The Blue Minkies - Lonely This Christmas 16. [Keyop] - (I'll Be) Dead By Christmas 17. Ricky Spontane - Sleighbells, Glitter And Glue 18. The Lollies - (You Could Make) An Angel Sigh
While preparing our look at "A Very Cherry Christmas 13", I came across this 2010 free Christmas single from the Synth Pop duo Spray. Siblings Jen McLaren and Ric Autobahn used to be members of John Peel favorites and "pop terrorists" The Cuban Boys. They were one of the early bands to make extensive use of the internet, both for collaborating and for promotion. It could probably be said that The Cuban Boys were ahead of their time and, therefore, not as successful as less talented groups whose timing was better.
"He Came With The Sleigh" is a bit of a "parody" of the duo's "He Came With The Frame" from "Children Of A Laser God". It's almost a parody in reverse. I mean, I love the cynicism of "He Came With The Frame" but I also love the hopefulness of "He Came With The Sleigh". "Now dream with all of your might. If you can't dream at Christmas then you're wasting your time. I need a sign the future's going to change tonight. I think I found it." And the sound is wonderful. Slap the name Roxette or Eurythmics on this sucker and it would sell a million copies. But you can download all three versions (short, long, and the DonQuibeats mix) of this should-be classic from Spray free at Bandcamp. I don't know what's up at Noisetrade, this year, but they've gotten some major scores on free Christmas music. Earlier, we had a few tracks, each, from Rodney Crowell and JD McPherson and, now, we get a sweet sampler from Lindsey Stirling's epic "Warmer In The Winter (Deluxe)". And what a perfect little sampler it is. If you had to pick one representative song from the Electro Pop violinist's Christmas album, I think that song would be "Carol Of The Bells". And so we get "Carol Of The Bells". "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with vocals from one of my favorite Disney stars, Sabrina Carpenter, is also included. And, if you bought the original "Warmer In The Winter" and didn't want to duplicate your efforts buying the Deluxe version, Lindsey gifts us one of the new songs, "I Wonder As I Wander". A very cool three-song sampler FREE at Noisetrade.
Lately, it seems like the whole world has gone bananas. I'm sorry, I thought I was better than making monkey puns (guess not). We've got The Monkees, who this year delivered their first Christmas album in 60 years; we've got Make Like Monkeys, who seem to have released a couple hundred Christmas songs (so far) this year; and here we have Frisky Monkey.
Frisky Monkey is an Atlanta Synth-Pop duo (Juan Cezar and Douglas Pettus) who, since 2011, have been “proud purveyors of atmospheric dance your ass off music”. They also happen to be fans of the annual Christmas single thing. To date, they've turned out FIVE festive freebies--all available in their Soundcloud collection "Christmas Songs". Synth Pop is a genre that dominated the Eighties, at a time when I was discovering and exploring Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, et. al. I was aware of Synth Pop, of course. With MTV leading the way, you couldn't avoid bands like Flock of Seagulls and the Thompson Twins. And one of the radio stations I was fond of, then, was fond of Depeche Mode and Erasure. As the calendar changed over to the Nineties, Synth Pop slipped away and it's just sort of been hovering on the fringes since. It wasn't until Scarlet Club came along with a Christmas album in 2015 that I began to feel some measure of nostalgia for the decade and genre. Frisky Monkey obviously puts more of themselves into their original music--the music they make a living on. So if you want to hear them at their absolute best, check out their latest release from September of this year--"Misadventures of a Misguided Monkey". Now that's the kind of album I could go ape over. If I were reviewing that one, I'd give it five bananas--I mean stars. Songs like "Other Possibilities", "Crystal Blue", and "The Origin of Sadness" are as good as anything from the decade that inspired them. But I'm not one to look a gift gorilla in the mouth. Frisky Monky's Christmas covers are fun and festive. And free! And they share a more direct linage to the originators of the sound than most of what we currently classify as Synth Pop. You might even call them a missing link to the origin of the species (somebody stop me). "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", a collaboration with GlitBiter, was last year's Frisky Monkey Christmas song. "Let It Snow In A Winter Wonderland" dates to 2016. In 2015, they covered the Bing Crosby classic, "The Secret of Christmas". 2014 saw Frisky Monkeys team up with Stereospread on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". And "Blue Christmas" is from 2013 or earlier. Of the bunch, I prefer the two collaborations (possibly because of the introduction of female vocals). I will say "Blue Christmas" is very interesting and different, but it's still "Blue Christmas" (that song can't be saved). So give Frisky Monkeys a chimp--I mean chance. You'll find all of their Christmas songs collected on "Christmas Songs" on Soundcloud. I can hardly wait to see what they gift us this year. I'm sure they won't monkey around. It's a gibbon that we'll get another Christmas song, right? I can't help myself; there's a monkey on my back. Frisky Monkeys are more fun than...nope. Not gonna say it. I'm better than that.
1. The Diamond Center - Christmas Is Here
2. Soft Science - Marshmallow World 3. Bummer & Lazarus - A World Without Christmas 4. Josh Goodman - Christmas In The Valley 5. Bright Ideas - When You Think About Christmas Time 6. 2014 - You Gotta Love Christmas 7. Dylan Barnes - O Holy Night 8. Red Hot Fire - I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm 9. Knock Knock - White Christmas (Fog Version) 10. Charles Albright - White Christmas Minority 11. Gangee - Festivus (For The Rest Of Us) 12. The Strange Party - N(eg)ativity 13. Andy Tate - All I Want 14. Dylan Barnes - White Christmas 15. Danny Offer - The Christmas Party 16. Kittens Having Kittens - It's Warmer When You're Near 17. The Crow Canyon Boys - You Left Me On Christmas 18. The Enlows - Winterman 19. Matt Crap (from The MOANS) - Scary Christmas To All (And To All A Ghoul Night) 20. White Women Love Jazz - Yule Shoot Your Eye Out 21. The Ninja Family Orchestra - Jingle Bells DOMESTIC HONEY BLOG 22. Dylan Barnes - Carol Of The Bells FREE DOWNLOAD FROM BANDCAMP 23. The Croissants - Corn Cob Pipe PURCHASE CASSETTE FROM BANDCAMP 24. Tell el-Armana - First To Arrive 25. Han's Father - Christmas On Tatooine 26. The Caganers - (Poo Poo) Caga Tio 27. The Four Eyes - The Christmas Mash 28. Dylan Barnes - Silent Night
Remember this one? "A Christmas Comp For You From Sacramento" was the subject of a post we did years ago called "Stubby's Holiday Screw-Up". Feel free to look back at laugh, if you have a free moment. Earlier this year, the guy who put this together contacted me (having just learned that we had featured him back then). He had long wondered, he said, how people from all over the place had ever heard about this very, very local project done for fun. Well, he seems to think Stubby's had something to do with it. Maybe, maybe not. But the BIG news is that the comp is FREE TO DOWNLOAD AGAIN! YAY! And they had a new supply of cassettes, but they've been selling well and I see they're down to 3 remaining. If you must buy, run right over. If a free download'll do ya, well, hell, run right over. You never know when I'm going to screw up again. And, rather than write it up new, here's what I originally said about the album before I screwed up.
I have to say this is one of the most fun collections of Christmas music I've heard this year [2014]. Domestic Honey is, according to his profile, "just a dude in Sacramento that tricks his friends into recording stuff he can put out." It was as recently as September that this "dude" (Cody Scott) decided to go for it--get a bunch of local Sacramento musicians and bands to write and record Christmas music. So they definitely made good time. The music covers the Indie waterfront, with most of it tending toward Rock and Pop (but there's lots of variety). With so little time to pull it together, there's a raw sound to the compilation, with a few tracks in the Lo Fi range. And every song has its charm. This reminds me of a lot of early Indie Pop and Indie Rock. The spirit's there. I can't even tell you the highlights. It's easier to tell you the tracks I don't like......there were none. On a collection of 28 tracks, do you know how hard that is to pull off? It's a million to one shot. The songs are mostly short (some clocking in at under a minute) and Dylan Barnes' organ interludes are a special added delight.
Zombie lovers, there's a track for you from Matt Crap of the Moans. Star Wars fans, you're covered. And there's Lo Fi Alt Bluegrass from The Crow Canyon Boys. Or maybe its Punk Bluegrass. Who even knew there was such a thing? Electronica? Yeah, we got that from White Women Love Jazz (and, ok, that was my least favorite). Bummer and Lazarus rework a Peter & Gordon classic into "A World Without Christmas". The Four Eyes give a spritely Alt Rock version of "The Monster Mash". And the "Silent Night" closing is priceless ("Dylan, keep going damn it, I'm not done"). "A Christmas Comp For You" has got something for just about everybody. Now, true enough, I like more things than I don't. But I think even the biggest Grinch is going to find at least 6 or 7 tracks, here, that they absolutely love. And, if you can't find just one--just ONE--song, here, to use on your mixtapes, I dunno; I'd have to guess you're too conventional for my taste. It's free, for crap sake. Just download it and try it on for size. You'll find "A Christmas Comp For You" on Bandcamp.
Every year, there seems to be at least one track like this that hits me the right way at the right time. An Electronic soundscape that's not trying to catch anyone's attention...just happy to be. And I consider my desire to post such things as a feature, not a bug. I have no idea who Mishella is or where she's from. Here's what we know. "Spontaneous Christmas chill vibe track I made in like 2 dayz". Well, alright then. It's one of the things I love about Christmas music. It comes in all sizes and shapes, from places expected and unexpected, from the famous and the unknown, with high expectations and with no expectations. And someone somewhere (in this case, me) is going to like it. "Xmas Vibes" is available as a free download from Soundcloud..you know, if it happens to hit you the right way at the right time.
At this point, I find it pretty much impossible to remember what I've shared, here, and what I haven't. That's on me, really; I never got this site as organized as I'd hoped at the outset. So forgive me if you've heard this before.
"Have A Lazy Christmas" was a 2012 holiday compilation from the Indie label Lazy Acre Records in the UK. If I haven't shared this before, I apologize to all concerned as it certainly seems the label is no longer a going concern. Or at least their website appears to be gone, their Tumblr page seems to be gone, and the last activity on their Bandcamp site and their Twitter feed was in 2013. Yeah, I know it isn't my fault, personally, but I love Independent music and like to feel I'm doing as much as I can (however little that may be) to keep smaller labels alive. It goes without saying that the artists from the Lazy Acre stable are probably still active and I encourage you to google them up, if you hear something you like. I found the Zip for this sitting in my downloads folder--which means I downloaded it at some point not recent but never unzipped it. Unfortunately, there's a lot of that on my computer. It's kinda like being stuffed at Thanksgiving and grabbing a turkey leg for later, only to stumble upon it when you're cleaning out the freezer many months hence, totally forgotten. Except that a frozen turkey leg isn't going to survive those many months of freezer burn while the music is as fresh as the day it was cut. But, come on, a cute little kitty on the cover--how did I not unzip this before? "Have A Lazy Christmas" is just six Indie Pop and Alt Folk songs long, but they're a solid six. Several of the groups are from Norway, including our old friends The Sunturns. But then there's Sledding With Tigers who hail from San Diego. My immediate favorite is "No Sound Of Snow" from Uno Moller, which is a really sweet slice of life, albeit one soaked in melancholy. I'd think most guys out there know the feeling of smelling the sheets for one last scent of the woman who has left them. So its like that. And, though he sings that he knows he'll be fine, it'd be hard to say he sounds convinced. Still, for a sad song, there's a hopefulness in there somewhere. Or maybe that's just me. Other highlights include the Indie Electro Pop opener from Misha Non Penguin, "The Apple Store", and the Indie Pop "Christmas (or whatever)" from the aforementioned Sleeping With Tigers. But give it a go and pick out your own favorites. It is free, after all (technically "Name Your Price"). And it's been waiting for your discovery for several years, now. You'll find it at Bandcamp. |
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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