Of their previous holiday singles, my favorite was the very Dream Pop (sorry, Jim) "Merry Little Christmas" from 2013. But they're all free at Bandcamp, so why not collect the whole set?
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" is, I believe, the fourth Christmas single from Sentinel, an Indie Pop/Dream Pop duo from Austin, Texas. On their Christmas singles, at least, Sentinel tends to look for inspiration from several different artists they admire, put them all in a bowl, stir well, and then bake at 350 until done. In this case, their take on "I'll Be Home For Christmas" pays homage to Ice House, The Cocteau Twins, The Jesus and Mary Jane and The Carpenters.
Of their previous holiday singles, my favorite was the very Dream Pop (sorry, Jim) "Merry Little Christmas" from 2013. But they're all free at Bandcamp, so why not collect the whole set?
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I meant to post this one earlier but, since Noisetrade doesn't do embeds anymore (that I can figure out) and I can't do Spotify, I couldn't find any audio. But I was looking in the wrong places. Better late than never.
Do you remember that great Indie Pop Christmas song from about 5 years ago, "Our Favorite Christmas Movie"? That song, which I still believe will be one of the survivors when future Christmas music historians dig through the mountains upon mountains of new Christmas songs written and recorded in the last decade, was from Ian McGlynn. McGlynn had a full Christmas EP that year, "North Pole Vault", which exhibited much of the same charm. And, prior to "Our Favorite Christmas Movie", McGlynn had popular seasonal Indie releases with "Listen To The Choir Sing" in 2009 and "The Snow Angel And The Icicle Sword" in 2010. Really, McGlynn's sound and writing style kind of lends itself to holiday music. But, if there was a follow-up to "North Pole Vault", I must have missed it. Well, Ian's back! This time paired with Lisa McGlynn (who, as I lack specific knowledge, I'm going to guess is his wife). The McGlynns' "Christmas On The Lake" is a wonderful Christmas song which sounds like a cross between a Christmas classic like Bing or Andy might have done and "Stop The Cavalry" (or something similarly 80s and British). As I began work on the Stubby's mix several days ago, I just blindly and randomly tossed tunes on a disc to listen to in the car. I had no idea who or what this was when it played, but it felt instantly Christmasy. Alas, The McGlynns' "Christmas On The Lake" does not have a spot on the Stubby's mix at present (it's one of several bubble tunes, but the bubble's getting small), so, if you like it and want it for your personal playlist, I highly recommend grabbing it from Noisetrade ASAP. The Smalltown Poets have released a couple of excellent CCM Christmas albums--2011's "Smalltown Poets Christmas" and "Christmas Time Again" in 2014--but they've been all quiet on the Yuletide front since then (although, as a CCM band, pretty much everything they record could be tied to the spiritual aspect of the holiday). But the band has returned with a holiday single for 2018. They describe their version of "Carol of the Bells" as what they would imagine it would sound like if Queen and Radiohead decided to record a Christmas single together. That's not too far off the mark, though it misses without the presence of a Freddie Mercury. Now had they recruited Marc Martel to join them on the vocals.... Truth be told, I think they came up with the description after they'd recorded it and listened to it, not before they laid out the arrangement. And it's a fine rendition of "Carol of the Bells" that, I think, sounds like The Smalltown Poets. And there ain't nothing wrong with that. You can get this one free, in exchange for your email, from Noisetrade.
"It's Christmas, Volume III" is the annual Philadelphia holiday collection, for which all proceeds go to support the ACLU. It's an assortment put together by Sure! (Will DeNola and friends) and contains mostly Pop, some of it lo-fi. The selections from Sam DeMartino and Molly Twigg are excellent, especially their cover of "Always Tomorrow" from the Rudolph soundtrack (there's one that doesn't get covered a lot), and Sure's "I Believe In Santa Claus" is worthwhile. But it's Sam DeMartino's solo effort, the Jangle Pop "Twinkle Lights" that's the standout of this collection. Can't really tell whether his lady love (the twinkle lights that complete his Christmas tree) is really coming home or if he's simply delusional, but let's not waste too much time over-analyzing a sweet and simple Yuletide love song that twinkles like the lights in it's title. "It's Christmas, Volume III", and it's two predecessors, are name-your-price at Bandcamp. And, just a reminder, any proceeds raised support the ACLU (and, boy, we need them now, more than ever; not for nothin', but they're putting numbers on the arms of asylum seeking children, now, before they ship them to that Texas concentration camp and we all remember the last time such a thing was done. I didn't use to be an "open borders" guy, but, in light of the inhumanity of Trump, I am now. I don't like to get political on a holiday music blog but this s#&! has gotten totally out of hand. These refugees and asylum seekers are better Americans than most of us will ever be, and Trump proves it every day.).
O Youth have their own version of an Advent Calendar, combined with the 12 Days of Christmas. Their annual name-your-price collections of Christmas music make one song playable each day up until Christmas, at which point you can grab the whole thing.
Based in Knoxville, O Youth describe their style as Art Punk or Doom Folk, but I think that's more of an inside joke than a genre description as I'm finding everything to be very accessible Indie Folk Rock, Indie Folk Pop, and some Alt Country. Their originals are great, but they breathe surprising life into the covers, too (and, more or less, doing them straight). This is the quintessential example of a group enjoying what they're doing so much that you can't help but enjoy it, too. As the title of "The Seventh Day of Christmas" might imply, O Youth has been at this for a while. So catch up on the first six "days" (from 2012-2017) and, come Christmas, you'll have 12 new packages to open. For you political animals, there's "When Trump Repeals Christmas" on the 2016 collection. And O Youth will always have a place in my holiday music hall of fame for covering the Coca Cola jingle "The Holidays Are Coming" on their 2017 set. I still have to go back and check the earlier "Days", myself. It's all waiting for you at Bandcamp.
Cross The Proclaimers with Peter & Gordon and you've got The Brothers Fife. Something about a Scottish accent. Am I right or am I right (or am I right)? The Brothers Fife are Gary Griffin and Uncle Isaac, born and raised in Fife, Scotland...oh, wait, that's the "official" version. They're actually Grant Jeffrey, originally from Kingskettle, and Andrew Lennie, of Newburgh. Lennie, I believe, is the one in the kilt.
Back in 2015, being, uh, cash poor, they recorded a Christmas song (or 3) as a gift for the family. "Christmas Holidays" was something of a local hit. So they followed with "Christmas (I'm A Fan)" in 2016, which was their tribute to the Proclaimers. In 2017, it was "A Little Love For Christmas", reflecting Uncle Isaac's inability to get a date. Deciding that was a bit melancholy, The Brothers Fife went uptempo Folk Pop, this year, with "Wintertime Lovin'"--giving Isaac a full-on love story (the joke is they say they auditioned actors for the video in the belief that Isaac would not be convincing in a romantic lead). So is Christmas music the only thing they've done? Almost. They recorded a sweet Valentine's Day single, "Young Lovers", earlier this year and are now plotting a soccer anthem for 2019. And things are definitely looking up for The Brothers Fife. They're actually playing out live, now, selling the maximum 50 tickets at The Dragonfly in Edinburgh. If you're in the neighborhood, they'll be back for shows on December 21 and 22, playing all their Christmas hits. "Wintertime Lovin'" is backed by "Hey Santa (I'm In Love With Your Mrs.)", which is also fun. Name-your-price at Bandcamp and pick up the rest of The Brothers Fife catalog for the same.
Feels like we haven't had much free Pop Punk this year. I remember when pretty much all the free ones were Pop Punk. I guess we cycle through genres like socks these days. So here's one from a Yonkers group with a somewhat sinister looking logo. Nothing sinister about Shakeout's Christmas single, though. "Happy Holidaze" is just the sort of peppy poppy Pop Punk we've known through the years. The song is name-your-price at Bandcamp, with any proceeds going to VH1's Save The Music Foundation.
And speaking of good Pop songs. Well, that was a few days ago, I guess. "Waiting For Santa" is a nice snappy unpretentious Pop song from Anna & Brian. Brian is Minnesota's Brian Heilman, whose Bandcamp site is listed as Boy on the Wall. No clue who Anna is.
No deep meaning behind the song. Good girl, bad boy, waiting for Santa. And that's good enough for me.
The virtual flip is a cover of Hanson's "At Christmas". But it's the A-side I like. Get 'em both from Bandcamp.
I don't know who originated "Helter Skelter Christmas", but, when I saw it on Bandcamp, I had to download it. The version, here, is by The Juggling Potatos, a conglomeration of New Jersey artists (some only identified by first names--perhaps those are the Bedrosians...or the Potatos) and is included on a 42 track collection "A Bedrosian Christmas". The "album" contains pretty much any Christmas song you can think of (including a cover of Bob Rivers' "I Am Santa Claus"). Some of its OK, some of it is meh. But, right in the middle, there's "Helter Skelter Christmas"--a Christmas parody to the classic Beatles tune.
There was a video of "Helter Skelter Christmas" posted to YouTube in 2011...same lyrics, different performance, also from New Jersey. Coincidence? You decide. Regardless, that one was uncredited and unavailable. So I'll take any "Helter Skelter Christmas" I can get. Download the whole 42-song "A Bedrosian Christmas" or just the songs you want a la carte from Bandcamp.
The winning headline, of course, would be "Free Hot Breakfast!" Unfortunately, there's actually a band called Free Hot Breakfast (but no exclamation point, so there's that).
No, the Hot Breakfast! we have in mind (and in our hearts) are the duo of Matt Casarino and Jill Knapp from Delaware. They perform what they call Dork Rock, which is basically Power Pop music based upon observations of the idiosyncracies of human existence. Like, for instance, do you still have Christmas shopping to do? Of course you do. For goodness sake, you had 12 months to get it done; it's not like Christmas is some "surprise holiday". Well, then, identify with and heed the words of "An Idiot For Christmas". Do you tell people you were stuck with "The Holiday Shift" when, really, you volunteered for it to stay away from friends and family? It's holiday pay, after all, and "yes, I can move slower". Or maybe you just really enjoy the little things about the holiday. There may be nothing more humanly idiosyncratic than this:
It don't matter where you live or where you work
If you're the boss, you're middle management or clerk If you're scraping by or wearing corporate clothes Everyone's a child when it snows
The songs on "The Holiday Shift" are about all of us. Possibly in spite of ourselves. They're songs about being human. We're all idiots for Christmas. And, if we're not, then we're idiots for not being idiots (I confess I have one friend who finishes her Christmas shopping by the end of February. Where's the fun in that?). They're fun songs, they rock, they're free. What more could you ask from Christmas songs?
"The Holiday Shift" was originally recorded and released in 2016. We all remember what 2016 was like. All other considerations aside, Hot Breakfast! mastered the songs themselves and were pleased, but not thrilled, with the results. You know how it is when something feels unfinished. It just sits on your shoulder and gets bigger and louder until you do something about it. So Hot Breakfast! got the amazing Cliff Hillis to remaster "The Holiday Shift" for 2018. You know Cliff Hillis (or you should). Cliff's done his own share of Christmas tunes (some of which are still free to download on Soundcloud). And word on the street is that Cliff is a master of mastering (and re-mastering). So now, without changing the original performances, "The Holiday Shift" sounds the way Hot Breakfast! always hoped it would. Get your download of "The Holiday Shift" while it's still hot at Bandcamp. Newly Remixed and Remastered for 2018. Name-your-price (0 works). And have a Dork Rock Christmas. |
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