One of the most important bands in modern Christmas music is the band Low. Their 1999 Christmas album is, of course, legendary and brilliant. And it was that record that established Indie Christmas music as "legitimate". By which I mean that Indie music was being written off by the industry en masse as sub-par and disposable. It was just a fad and was never going to last. Especially when it came to Christmas music. Ah, those Indie people...they just give that stuff away...no one would actually pay for that. But Low's "Christmas" demanded respect and attention. Even though its ascent to legendary status was a bit of a slow burn, no one could dismiss it. As far as I'm concerned, "Just Like Christmas" has already established itself as a seasonal standard which will exist in perpetuity as "White Christmas" has done.
It is a bit of a double edged sword, of course. It's kinda cool to have a kind of music that belongs to just you and your friends--dismissed by everyone else. It's intimate and personal and, yeah, a lot of Inde bands built their names by giving music away. Once you gain acceptance from whomever it is who is in charge of such things, the genre belongs to everyone and it becomes commercial. It no longer feels special, no longer feels like it belongs to you and you alone. It's a bit like when your parents got Facebook pages. It isn't the cool thing anymore. But the truth of it is that all new music goes through this. Either that or it dies. Aren't we happy they still make Rock and Roll Christmas records? I am. I mean, for all the crap Rock out there, there are still some true works of genius.
So, anyway, when Low puts out a new Christmas song, you sort of have to sit up and pay attention. Their last Christmas single was a bit of a bore, in all honesty. But, this time, they done good. Only available digitally, so far as I can tell, "Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)" is vintage Low. It's as stark as winter and honest as the midnight moon. It has the simultaneous warmth and cold of a walk alone through the woods in the pre-dawn hours, with the occasional bite of the wicked wind. "Some hearts will break at Christmas Time. Some hearts are made too hard to find." Let's be honest, here. 2016 has been a miserable year and some of our brightest and best have been called home. Survival of the human heart requires finding hope is desolation. (I still can't believe these guys are an American band) Low is touring the UK and Ireland this month. They'll be singing all the old Christmas favorites. And this new one. "Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)" is available through Amazon and Sub Pop Records.
It is a bit of a double edged sword, of course. It's kinda cool to have a kind of music that belongs to just you and your friends--dismissed by everyone else. It's intimate and personal and, yeah, a lot of Inde bands built their names by giving music away. Once you gain acceptance from whomever it is who is in charge of such things, the genre belongs to everyone and it becomes commercial. It no longer feels special, no longer feels like it belongs to you and you alone. It's a bit like when your parents got Facebook pages. It isn't the cool thing anymore. But the truth of it is that all new music goes through this. Either that or it dies. Aren't we happy they still make Rock and Roll Christmas records? I am. I mean, for all the crap Rock out there, there are still some true works of genius.
So, anyway, when Low puts out a new Christmas song, you sort of have to sit up and pay attention. Their last Christmas single was a bit of a bore, in all honesty. But, this time, they done good. Only available digitally, so far as I can tell, "Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)" is vintage Low. It's as stark as winter and honest as the midnight moon. It has the simultaneous warmth and cold of a walk alone through the woods in the pre-dawn hours, with the occasional bite of the wicked wind. "Some hearts will break at Christmas Time. Some hearts are made too hard to find." Let's be honest, here. 2016 has been a miserable year and some of our brightest and best have been called home. Survival of the human heart requires finding hope is desolation. (I still can't believe these guys are an American band) Low is touring the UK and Ireland this month. They'll be singing all the old Christmas favorites. And this new one. "Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)" is available through Amazon and Sub Pop Records.
Some songs are just required listening. I know there are some out there who will think this is merely a novelty record and, with my well known scorn for the goof, will argue that I'm being a hypocrite. But, if anyone was really that up for an arguement over a Christmas song, I'd pull out a Venn diagram and point out that there is an overlap of some songs that may register as novelty records, but are nonetheless also tunes that simply must be in your arsenal. You may not need it every day or every year. But the day will come when you will absolutely need to have this one available. We've just been waiting for someone to write and record it. And now someone has.
"Christmas In The Asylum" from Big Top Heartbreak officially releases as a single December 16. But there's no need to wait as the track is included on the album "Deadbeat Ballads", which was released in October. The album can even be had in limited edition vinyl. Dare we hope for a vinyl 7"? Are you ready for this?
"Christmas In The Asylum" from Big Top Heartbreak officially releases as a single December 16. But there's no need to wait as the track is included on the album "Deadbeat Ballads", which was released in October. The album can even be had in limited edition vinyl. Dare we hope for a vinyl 7"? Are you ready for this?
This one just came out yesterday and its already one of my favorites this year. It's from UK Indie Rockers The Twang. "On the 24th" finds a young man spending Christmas Eve in the local pub, downing a drink while the Christmas lights reflect off the ice cubes in his glass. He looks around to see all the familiar faces--not friends, mind you, but the same people he sees every night he sits at the pub...probably all thinking about what's lacking in their lives just as he is. All of which leads to the question, "Do we still believe?" And, if we do, do we still believe always or just on one day a year? I don't know what it is about the Brits. They can write the most depressing song ever and still make it sound like a good time. Maybe that's why Punk was bigger overseas. They had that sarcastic snear that said the whole thing was a put on, while a lot of American Punk bands just sounded angry.
I wish I could embed some audio or a YouTube video, but I can't. But lots of the bigger music sites did get the embed, so you can stream the tune here. And you'll find "On The 24th" by The Twang available for purchase at iTunes and Amazon. It's a good one.
I wish I could embed some audio or a YouTube video, but I can't. But lots of the bigger music sites did get the embed, so you can stream the tune here. And you'll find "On The 24th" by The Twang available for purchase at iTunes and Amazon. It's a good one.
OK, time to mix things up a bit. Here's some Reggae Christmas music from Long Island. The group is Bete Noire and they tell the tale of Rudy, that red-nosed reindeer, with Jamaican rhythms (Hmm. I always thought Jamaica was in Queens). I like the video better than the song, to be honest, but "A Message To Rudolph" is not such a bad little Christmas song. It just needs a little love is all. And its good to have some new Reggae on your mix and we don't get that much. And Bete Noire, they do know how to bring the fun in. Grab the tune at Bandcamp or via Amazon.
One nice thing about writing in these godforsaken hours is I get to be one of the first to see what Guuzbourg is up to over at Christmas A Go Go (I assume these are more normal hours for him). Anyway, today he's got the single from the Sleigh Shakers, "Jingle Hell". Which is awesome. The A-side from this Dutch band, "Jingle Hell", may be rocked up and rough, but that's a Muddy Waters riff they're doing. No doubt. And you know me and Blues (Blues Rock qualifies). The B-side, "Christmas Chicken Blues" is fun, but more Little Feat than Chess. Guuzbourg says there is going to be vinyl on this one, too. I hope I can gets me a copy. Once again, I can't embed any audio (I can't do Spotify and the Soundcloud stream is "private"). But you can hear "Jingle Hell" at Christmas A Go Go and you can hear "Christmas Chicken Blues" at PressParty. While we wait for vinyl, the digital version released today on Amazon.
Part of me wishes they'd chosen anything other than "Little Drummer Boy" and part of me is glad they chose "Little Drummer Boy", but piKziL's version of the well worn chestnut is our favorite genre...different. Indeed, piKziL basically describes their music as coming from an alternate universe. It's a blend of modern Lounge or Chill with Electro Cool Ambient. The style was very popular from the late 90s to about 2010 and has receded back to more of a sub-genre of various sub-genres in the last few years. It does have the virtue of bringing together fans of certain kinds of New Age Jazz and fans of House. Anyway, enough with the lecture.
I still like "Little Drummer Boy" as a song, but I recognize that a lot of people don't. So I wish they'd covered a different song so that more people would be open to it. But I'm happy they chose the song because, presented differently, it's possible more people might be open to it. If it sounds like I'm conflicted, you're right. But I have hope in that I don't think piKziL is finished covering Christmas songs.
piKzil is the collaboration of music veterans Liza Oxnard and Kip Kuepper. If you can't quite get there with "Little Drummer Boy", take a chance on their September release "Songs From My 3rd Life" which shows a much stronger Jazz influence. And, if you like their take on "Little Drummer Boy", you'll find it on iTunes and at Amazon.
I still like "Little Drummer Boy" as a song, but I recognize that a lot of people don't. So I wish they'd covered a different song so that more people would be open to it. But I'm happy they chose the song because, presented differently, it's possible more people might be open to it. If it sounds like I'm conflicted, you're right. But I have hope in that I don't think piKziL is finished covering Christmas songs.
piKzil is the collaboration of music veterans Liza Oxnard and Kip Kuepper. If you can't quite get there with "Little Drummer Boy", take a chance on their September release "Songs From My 3rd Life" which shows a much stronger Jazz influence. And, if you like their take on "Little Drummer Boy", you'll find it on iTunes and at Amazon.
I always feel bad for kid singers. You know, you're like 10 years old and everybody gives you extra points just for being so young. And then you grow up and your just another singer. I mean, its gotta be tough. Personally, I've always felt they should just let kids have a childhood. But what do I know? And we've had a couple of well known kid singers grow up to be absolutely wonderful adult artists. I've really been enjoying the grown up Jackie Evancho more than I thought I would (when she was a kid singing Classical, I was just bored). And, now, here's Hollie Steel after what seems like a long absence.
Hollie Steel, who I don't think had the same kind of classical training as Jackie Evancho, was on Britain's Got Talent at the age of ten back in 2009. She got a lot of publicity that even reached American shores when she forgot the words to a song and broke down on stage in the second round. They gave her another chance and she recovered, eventually finishing 6th. And, for a few years, there were Hollie Steel records, including a lot of Christmas singles. Haven't heard much of anything from Hollie since, oh, 2012. I hear she's still big on social media and YouTube. She has a new Christmas single out, "Patched & Sewn". And I really like it, though I think I'm just amazed at how young she still is (for the record, she's 18, now). So there's this kind of vicarious youth transfer that comes through the song and video. It's like that Twilight Zone episode, "Kick The Can". And if I ever needed that, its this year. If you're looking for a youth potion on record, "Patched & Sewn" is available on Amazon.
Hollie Steel, who I don't think had the same kind of classical training as Jackie Evancho, was on Britain's Got Talent at the age of ten back in 2009. She got a lot of publicity that even reached American shores when she forgot the words to a song and broke down on stage in the second round. They gave her another chance and she recovered, eventually finishing 6th. And, for a few years, there were Hollie Steel records, including a lot of Christmas singles. Haven't heard much of anything from Hollie since, oh, 2012. I hear she's still big on social media and YouTube. She has a new Christmas single out, "Patched & Sewn". And I really like it, though I think I'm just amazed at how young she still is (for the record, she's 18, now). So there's this kind of vicarious youth transfer that comes through the song and video. It's like that Twilight Zone episode, "Kick The Can". And if I ever needed that, its this year. If you're looking for a youth potion on record, "Patched & Sewn" is available on Amazon.
I read about this one a long, long time ago and I've been waiting for a purchase link and some audio to turn up. But "Shadows" is now available. This is Christmas music for your head and your soul, if not the kind of thing you'd put on your mixtape. Trevor Sewell is at least a bigger name in this country than his native UK, but mostly for his songwriting and not nearly as big as he should be. "Shadows" is a song he wrote and has tried to record for a little while (he's actually recorded it a few times, but never released it). He could not find a comfortable vibe for the tune. Janis Ian sits down at the piano and, immediately, everybody knew it was right. They did it in a single take. You can't improve on perfection. "Shadows" is a song about unconditional love--and you can take it as something spiritual or something earthbound. Either way, it's just a beautiful song that will reach inside you and pull out the darkness.
Trevor's been working on a new album and I'll be looking for it as another one of the guest performers is Tracy Nelson (God, remember Tracy Nelson? One of the greatest natural Blues voices I've ever heard.). In the meantime, go get "Shadows" at Amazon or wherever fine downloads are sold. A portion of the proceeds from the single are going to Janis Ian's Pearl Foundation, assisting with education ans scholarship programs.
Trevor's been working on a new album and I'll be looking for it as another one of the guest performers is Tracy Nelson (God, remember Tracy Nelson? One of the greatest natural Blues voices I've ever heard.). In the meantime, go get "Shadows" at Amazon or wherever fine downloads are sold. A portion of the proceeds from the single are going to Janis Ian's Pearl Foundation, assisting with education ans scholarship programs.
This is one of those weird years where Hanukkah and Christmas coincide. I mean really coincide. Hanukkah 2016 begins at sundown Christmas Eve and ends January 1. In a way, its cool, but as a Christmas music blogger who likes to feature Hanukkah music when he can, not so much. I've barely looked for new Hanukkah music this year and then this one falls into my lap. It turned up on Soundcloud and I didn't even realize it was Melissa Manchester when I pressed the "play" button. Man, there was a time in my life where Melissa Manchester was The Bomb. Might be hard for you younger folks to relate, but I listened to a lot of Melissa Manchester. And I'm happy to say I was listening to her before she'd charted a single record. The title cut of "Bright Eyes" was my jam ("O my heart, I cry"). What a voice on her. Damn. Now I've gotta pull out "Bright Eyes" again. Love that tune. Nope, I don't think that makes me at all uncool (kids, don't ever feel uncool just for liking the music you like, no matter what anybody says; crank that sucker). And Melissa's still a mighty fine looking woman. I don't mean to be sexist or anything; I just always had a crush on her (well, I had a crush on a lot of women, but Melissa was right up there with Carly Simon).
So, anyway, Melissa did a full Christmas album back in 1997, followed up with a Christmas single in 2006, but she'd never done a Hanukkah song before. Melissa says she wrote "Let There Be More Light" in 2008 following a bombing in Mumbai that killed many including a young rabbi. Gatherig at a synagogue in this country to mourn, another young rabbi asked the congregation, “How do we carry on? Do we meet such darkness as this with more darkness? No. God commands us to bring more light into the world. More light!”. If you're looking for a new Hanukkah song this year, at least we've got Melissa Manchester and "Let There Be More Light". Grab it from Amazon or iTunes.
So, anyway, Melissa did a full Christmas album back in 1997, followed up with a Christmas single in 2006, but she'd never done a Hanukkah song before. Melissa says she wrote "Let There Be More Light" in 2008 following a bombing in Mumbai that killed many including a young rabbi. Gatherig at a synagogue in this country to mourn, another young rabbi asked the congregation, “How do we carry on? Do we meet such darkness as this with more darkness? No. God commands us to bring more light into the world. More light!”. If you're looking for a new Hanukkah song this year, at least we've got Melissa Manchester and "Let There Be More Light". Grab it from Amazon or iTunes.
Let's pick up the pace a little bit with the Lady Luck Combo, a Rockabilly trio from Sweden. Oh, yeah, Rockabilly is huge in Scandanavia. No idea why. Their new holiday single is "Welcome Mr. Santa", but you may have come across the tune before. The video above was posted in 2012. Still, it's some mighty fine Rockabilly. And, anyway, I needed a buffer between Melissa and our closer. "Welcome Mr. Santa" is available domestically from Amazon.
What do you get when you combine two of your favorite things, or two of your least favorite things, or one of each (taste being relative)? You get Darth Elvis & The Imperials, an erzatz Elvis act that sings songs about "Star Wars". Yes, Darth Elvis is real. And, for the second year in a row, they're releasing a Christmas single. This one is "Rockin' Rebel Christmas" and it drops on December 16. All proceeds from the sales of the single will be donated to ASSERT (Angelman Syndrome Support Education & Research Trust). Angelman Syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes severe learning difficulties and the Trust helps to support families and carers of people living with the disorder. We don't have audio as yet (nor a purchase link, but we'd expect it to be at all the usual spots), but we do have last year's single, "Sithmas on Hoth". You didn't ask for it, but you're getting it anyway. And, if you get a spare minute and want a good laugh, check out "I Want Chewbacca" (available to download free).
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