Category: New Wave

FRISKY MONKEY - LAST CHRISTMAS

12/6/2018

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.

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FRISKY MONKEY - CHRISTMAS SONGS

11/10/2018

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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.

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STATUETTES - FOR THE HOLIDAYS

12/4/2016

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Sometimes, things get lost in the shuffle. You come across a cool tune, set it aside because other things are happening, and the next thing you know, it's buried at the bottom of a pile of "stuff to get to" that you never get to.

I meant to share this one with you a long time ago. I think the group even sent me an advance stream before the official release (just checked and, uh, yep, they did). So all I can say in my defense is...... (I'm thinking, I'm thinking)....... better late than never?

The Statuettes are out of Salt Lake City. Michael Gross, who does most of the vocals and songwriting for the Statuettes, used to be in the Brobecks and that name sounds awfully familiar to me. The band released their third full-length, "Modern Despondence", earlier this year. With song titles like "This Is The End", "Bad To Worse", "The End of Everything" and "I'm Still Nothing", you can see why the album has that title. (I recommend "The End of Everyting"--I liked the groove on that one).

"For The Holidays" is less about being home for the holidays than it is about your ex being home for the holidays. I mean, you know, you split up with the hometown girl, but you aren't seeing anyone currently, and the good times were good, and, well, its Christmas. The reasons for the breakup are starting to get fuzzy as you're seeing the ex through Christmas colered glasses. As you're fantasizing about getting together just for the holidays (hey, if you were looking to commit, you'd probably still be together in the first place), your mind starts down the road to a "Same Time Next Year" situation (for those too young to remember "Same Time Next Year", it was about a couple of happily married people who nonetheless have an affair after a chance meeting and decide--still happily married--to meet up at the same time each year for roughly 30 years).

Anyway, The Statuettes have a nice Pop Rock vibe to them on "For The Holidays". A better Gin Blossoms is what came to my mind for this song, although that comparison sort of melts away pretty fast when you hear some of their other stuff (which tends more towards guitar driven Indie Rock). They also had a nice synth riff in there that made me think of someone (but who it is is always just out of reach of my mind) and the piano play is also excellent. You can buy "For The Holidays" pretty much anywhere you can buy downloads. Or, for the moment at least, you can snag it free from Bandcamp.

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TORSTEN KUDJER - WEIHNACHTSZEIT (CHRISTMAS TIME)

11/28/2016

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Oh, yeah. After hours of going through the usual crap one finds on Soundcloud at Christmas (More EDM and covers of "This Christmas" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" than any human being should have to endure in a lifetime), you can't believe the smile that came to my face when I landed on this one. It's 60s Doo Wop Rock in German. And it's delightful.

The artist is Torsten Kudjer and he is from Germany (Ludwigshafen, to be precise). And he, apparently likes retro music--at least that's what it says on Facebook (I think). Its odd, though, because the first track I came to was "Christmas", which was much more modern Indie. I like that one, too, but I love "Weihnachtszeit". He's got a couple of older holiday tracks, too. "It Feels Like Christmas" is Funky 90s Pop Rock. And then there's a sort of a Indie Alt Rock vibe on "Home For Christmas" (featuring Susanne Dressel). His lyrics could use a bit of work, maybe (gotta take into account English as a second language), but the music is great feel good stuff.

I honestly don't know if there will be a Stubby's House mix this year. I tend to doubt it. But, if there is, I sure needed a song like "Weihnachtszeit" on it. You can use that little toggle (down arrow) on the widget above to download it. What's that you say? You prefer your Christmas songs in English? Well, I prefer this one in German. But, for you....here it is in English (the English version is titled "Holidays". Why? I don't know). And, what the heck, just grab all of the Christmas singles from Torsten Kudjer on Soundcloud.

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The FREE List

Here 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.

FRISKY MONKEY - LAST CHRISTMAS

FRISKY MONKEY - CHRISTMAS SONGS

STATUETTES - FOR THE HOLIDAYS

TORSTEN KUDJER - WEIHNACHTSZEIT (CHRISTMAS TIME)

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