Meant to post this early Christmas morning, but I forgot.
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It's SINGLES DAY!!!! I don't know how many singles posts we'll have this year, for a whole bunch of reasons. But I was waiting for at least one super exciting single to put the first one together. And, thanks to our friends at Christmas Underground, we've got one. And, thanks to my own relentless digging, we've got another. First up, the one I was hipped to by my pals at Christmas Underground. I have not seen a lot of holiday wax advertised, as yet, for this year's Black Friday Record Store Day (all the lists I've seen, so far, are last year's; the complete list for this year is expected next week). But we are getting a tasty slice of Vinyl Single Heaven from Ben Kweller, the Indie Folk Rock artist, formerly of Radish. The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is promising lots of fuzz and distorted guitar on "It Ain't Christmas Yet", Kweller's first ever Christmas single. "It Ain't Christmas Yet" is a Kweller original, the message of which is, basically, waiting sucks. The 45rpm record comes in 43 gram red translucent vinyl and is limited to 1000. 200 of the thousand will come in green and pink splatter vinyl and those are completely random in distribution throughout the thousand. The sleeve is 300gms card stock with green metallic foil stamping. The records will be at all the cool local record shops November 28. Ben did hold aside 200 of the singles for folks overseas and those who may not live near a record store cool enough to have gotten the 45s and those are being pre-sold through his web site. Because the purpose of this single and others like it is to introduce you to real vinyl at your real brick and mortar local record stores, there is no download card with the 45 and it will not be released to iTunes or Spotify. Just sayin'. BTW, the flip is promised to be a raucous cover of "Here Comes Santa Claus" featuring fellow former Radish John David Kent on the drums. And what did my own personal digging uncover? A new Christmas single from Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings! Some of the finest--if not THE finest--R&B being produced today is coming from the Daptone record label and that shines through even brighter on their Christmas releases. "Stone Soul Christmas" from Binky Griptite, Charles Bradley's "Every Day Is Christmas", last year's Sha La Das single, and Sharon Jones' own "Ain't No Chimneys In The Projects". I'd say they don't make records like that anymore, but Daptone does. Sharon's new holiday entry is "Just Another Christmas Song" and it's slated for release on November 18 and should be available in both vinyl and digital formats. The B-side is last year's Google Play exclusive free download, "Big Bulbs". "Big Bulbs" was kind of fun, but wasn't Daptones' best--but as a B-side on vinyl, it'll be nice to have. This one intrigues the crap out of me. Dirt Box Disco is a British band. I'm not entirely sure what their schtick is (and I don't at all mean that in a negative way), but their sound is real Old School Hardcore Punk. I love 'em already. They remind me a bit of the Dead Kennedys (not saying they're on a level with the Dead Kennedys, who I consider one of the greatest bands ever). I'm told their live shows are beyond awesome and their music is not only Hardcore, but anthemic. Dirt Box Disco's Christmas single is "I Don't Want Anything For Christmas" and one reviewer says it's "as catchy as chlamydia at an office party". Its scheduled for a November 17th release and, if you want the CD single, you'll apparently have to order from the band. But the digital version will be at all the usual online spots, including CD Baby. I, for one, will most definitely be looking for it. "But, Stubby," I hear you say. "I don't want to wait to open all my presents. What about something I can buy and listen to right now?" If you're a long time Christmas music collector, you probably have a copy of Atomic Magazine's 2000 Neo-Swing CD "Sleigh Me". (If not, read up on it over at the Yuleblog and then go get it.) Proud to say I bought mine the year it came out. Well, we've got a pair of singles for fans of the Neo-Swing movement--both from artists who appeared on that very same compilation. Ray Gelato, known in England as "The Godfather of Swing", contributed a cover of "Winter Wonderland" to the Atomic set. But his new Christmas single is an original, "Is Santa Claus Real?" It's got a real nice Louis Prima vibe to it. And the sax is killer. I could have lived without the kids singing in the chorus, but what are you gonna do? Overall, I dug it a lot. And you can never have too much Neo-Swing Christmas music. "Is Santa Claus Real?" is a charity single, too, with proceeds going to the Red Cross Typhoon Haiyan appeal, helping out the people of the Philippines. CD copies (highly limited) are only available from Ray and are pretty much reserved for UK orders. But, if you're not in the UK, you can email to see if he has any copies available and what he might charge you for them. The download of "Is Santa Claus Real?", thankfully, is available wherever fine Christmas downloads are sold, including Amazon MP3. George Gee, keeping Big Band Swing alive since the late 70s, believe it or not, did up a killer version of "Run Rudolph Run" on "Sleigh Me". This year, the cat's gone all smooth and silky with "Baby It's Cold Outside" featuring the vocals of John Dokes and Hilary Gardner. You can find that one at Amazon MP3 and CD Baby. Or, if you'd prefer hard copy, "Baby It's Cold Outside" is slated to be a bonus track on the upcoming CD "Swing Makes You Happy". Ah, finally some audio. Now for something....completely different. Biscuithead & the Biscuit Badgers are, ostensibly, a Kids music group. Well, they're kind of a Kids music group the way Bugs Bunny was a kids cartoon. Which is to say there's a level at which kids will delight at the music they make and a level adults will delight at which is probably going to go right over the kids' heads. Hmm. Let's try this again. The music is fun and bouncy and catchy and the words are actually about things. At the same time, the music is eclectic, surreal, and psychedelic and the words are actually about things and very very trippy (and probably subversive). "Snow!" is the group's holiday single and just gives you a small taste of the delights waiting to be had on such albums as "The Greatest Show On Toast" and "Dinosaurs Ate My Caravan". Depending on your needs or desires, the single version of "Snow!" is about half as long as the full-length version, which you can pick up a la carte. No doubt, "Snow!" will sparkle up many a mixtape and, by New Year's, we'll all be "friends of the Badgers", hopelessly addicted to their music. And cheese. You'll find "Snow!" laying roundabout all winter long. Certainly at Amazon and CD Baby. Let's see. Let me dig into Cliff's Notes, here. We already told you about the singles from Magnum, Rakasta Joulua, and Marilyn Scott. "Hey Santa" from Daniel Mark Baird, which we also told you about, is also available now. I'm sure you already know about LeAnn Rimes' single, "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" (the less said about that one, the better). There's a Christmas Rap single [Explicit Language] that kind of tickles me, though conservatives will hate it and I doubt it's truly mixtape material [Explicit Language]. But it tickles me, so I'll give it a mention. It's "The War On The War On Christmas" from Macarone. There's a bit of preaching about hypocrisy and I love how they mock Fox News. Check it out or don't. But don't be hatin'. Folks who dig the parodies and Christmas re-workings of hit tunes may like "Merry, Merry Christmas" by Chris Commander--a holiday reworking of "We Will Rock You". I didn't. Like it, that is. People who like the straight novelty records may enjoy "Mom's Pickle Aluminum Christmas Tree" from Joseph M. Strauss. Not my bag, personally, but don't let me stop you. My guess is Johnny Searfoss knows that I can't resist a title like "All I Want For Christmas Is A Kitten". That's out there. The great actor Idris Elba says he recorded a Christmas single with comedian Noel Fielding and musician Serge Pizzorna that should be coming out this year. According to Elba, the pair called him in 2012, asking if he'd like to lay down a Rap break in a Christmas song. Idris was up for it. He described the track as a "funky seventies sort of slow disco groove". Idris said he caught up with the pair not long ago and asked what was going on with the Christmas song which seemed to jar their memories. Fielding & Pizzorna assured Elba the song would come out this year. And Idris says, "I'm telling you, man, this song is a hit." Only he's got that cool British accent, so it sounds better when he says it. There's a lot of time delayed Christmas music, this year. Anthony Hamilton started working on his Christmas record in 2012. B.J. Thomas was promising new Christmas music back in 2011. Well, lo and behold, here comes B.J.'s promised Christmas record. "O Holy Night" is a six song EP--traditional Christmas songs all newly recorded--and it will reach the store shelves November 18. Maybe there's still hope for Pat Benatar and Meatloaf afterall. Eventually. The promo material says B.J.'s CD is "Limited Edition", but it doesn't say what that means. And, presumably, the actual cover will be in color. But, anyway, here are the tracks. The First Noel O Holy Night Silent Night What Child Is This It Came Upon A Midnight Clear Go Tell It In The Mountain I don't think any single this year will claim to be more time "delayed" than Scottland's "Credit Card Christmas". According to the write-up, this song was a big local radio hit in New Jersey in 1988 (and #1 in Guam). There's usually at least one Christmas single every year claiming to be decades old and I never know whether the stories are true or not. As it happens, I was living in New Jersey in 1988 and I don't remember hearing it on the radio. But, in fairness, I was on the other side of the state. And the Princeton and Jersey Shore music scenes didn't overlap a whole lot. (And how would you check what was #1 in Guam in any given week in 1988 anyway?) The story is certainly plausible in that "Credit Card Christmas" sounds like something you would have heard on the radio in New Jersey in 1988. Scottland, by the way, is Scott Evans and it says he produced a number of Jersey bands, including The Shades. Them I remember. You can grab "Credit Card Christmas" from Amazon or CD Baby. The annual Pearl Jam Ten Club Christmas single has been released (the digital version anyway). Of course, they don't call 'em Christmas singles anymore since they rarely have anything to do with Christmas and they frequently arrive well after the holidays. It's not a Christmas song. Again. But this one might be considered "Christmas adjacent". Certainly, if "What A Wonderful World" and even "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" are elbowing their way into the holiday canon, John Lennon's "Imagine" is a far sight more appropriate for the season, don't you think? Eddie Vedder performed "Imagine" earlier this year in Portugal on what would have been the slain Beatle's 74th birthday. And it was wonderful, a truly touching tribute. The analog (vinyl) singles aren't ready to go out just yet--and we've heard nothing official about the B-side--but Vedder's "Imagine" is available to purchase by everybody (everybody who isn't me, at least) via iTunes (curse you, iTunes!). And its all over YouTube, if you want to hear it first. Proceeds benefit Heartbeat.fm. I try to go through everybody's listings, just so I don't miss something. I don't do iTunes anymore because, for some crazy reason, it's no longer compatible with my Apple computer (Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave). But, believe me, I wade through a lot of drek so you don't have to. I found exactly ONE really cool single on CD Baby that is not also available on Amazon. I'm going to consider this one my repayment to the folks at Christmas Underground for the Ben Kweller tip because, while I could be completely off the mark, it sounds to me like the sort of thing they'd dig over there. Anyway, I dig it and maybe you will, too. Powerkompany are a Cinematic Dream Pop duo from Athens, Georgia. A lot of good music has come out of Athens. The "recommended" artists on CD Baby lists Kate Bush and Lana Del Ray, which sounds about right to me if, you know, we're talking "Born To Die" Lana. Powerkompany is still growing, experimenting, exploring, but last year's album "I Am More Than This" was a huge critical success for them. "I'm Sorry About Last Christmas" is simultaneously dark and light. Exactly how I like my Christmas music. And highly accessible. Don't know what the critics will say, but I love it. The B-side, "Holiday", is pretty good in its own right. A little heavy on the electronica for my taste. But it's growing on me. As noted, you can find it at CD Baby, right now. And, yes, there will be hard copy (the band got them in yesterday and they'll be setting up to take orders shortly). Keep your eye on Facebook for developments on that front and, uh, give 'em a "Like", OK? You know who else is from Athens, Georgia? The B-52s. No, we don't have a new Christmas single from the B-52s. What we do have, and not much time to tell you about, is a new Halloween vinyl single--both sides written by B-52s frontman Fred Schneider. Sure, its a bit of a week segue, but I gotta get there somehow. The single comes from Jack White's Third Man Records and it features Elvira, Mistress of The Dark. The A-side is "2 Big Pumpkins" (you can see where we're going with this already, can't you?) and the flip is "13 Nights of Halloween". And they're written by Fred, so you know they got that beat. And, yeah, yeah, the double entendres are pretty obvious. But its campy Halloween fun, you know? The single is pressed on "pugnacious purple" vinyl and the sleeve is printed with heat reactive ink (the picture to the left is what the cover looks like AFTER the ink is activated--though she looks to have more color in the demo) so, as the festivities heat up, so can you. Third Man Records. Don't miss out. Quick note. My web host has been playing with the control panel again. Eventually, they get the kinks worked out, but there's always some unintended consequences at the start. What that means, in the present case, is that the links don't always take the first time. So, if you find some links that go nowhere, don't panic; I'll be back to fix them later. Now, on with the show. Been waiting on this one for years, now (and, since his last full album release was in 2011, so has everybody else). But here it comes. Anthony Hamilton's "Home For The Holidays" is coming out October 21. Hamilton not only covers "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto" (popular song choice this year) but--BONUS--Chaka Khan lends her voice to "The Christmas Song". How's that for a Christmas present? Hamilton says, “This album is for the people who really love the holidays and what feelings they bring. For the families that get together and love a good time.... I want my fans to be moved by the music and associate each song with a time where no other feeling mattered but love. This album is for people who love good music.” Gavin DeGraw and ZZ Ward also lend a hand, but, c'mon, Chaka Khan (Chaka Chaka Chaka Chaka Khan)! Here's the full track list and cover art. 01. It’s Christmas 02. Spend Christmas With You 03. Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto 04. Little Drummer Boy (Interlude) 05. Little Drummer Boy 06. Home For The Holidays feat. Gavin DeGraw 07. ‘Tis The Season 08. What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas 09. Coming Home 10. Away In A Manger (Interlude) 11. Away In A Manger feat. ZZ Ward 12. Please Come Home For Christmas 13. The Christmas Song feat. Chaka Khan 14. Spirit Of Love Hey, we're getting hard copy of the new Heart Christmas release after all. In the form of a "Deluxe" CD/DVD set. Other than that, our earlier speculation was right on. It's a live set from last year's televised Christmas performance in Seattle. "Home For The Holidays" (OK, so we'd heard "Home For Christmas", originally) is set for release November 11. There's also a stand-alone Blu-ray version (no CD with that one). Still waiting on the official track list, but there are plenty of YouTube videos, if you're curious as to some likely inclusions. Cover art we got. It was two Decembers ago, The Henningsens released their debut single, "American Beautiful". That one shot right up the Country charts like a bottle rocket. They followed that with the "American Beautiful" EP last year and a full album was scheduled but hasn't been released as yet. Nonetheless, The Henningsens are promising a Christmas album this holiday season and they've invited Jerrod Niemann to join in. Like any "overnight success", The Henningsens have been at this music game for awhile. In a way, you could say they've been at it their whole lives, on and off. The Henningsens are a family trio, featuring father Brian, son Aaron, and daughter Clara. Dad had had Nashville dreams in his younger days, but put those aside to raise his family. Of the ten kids (10!), it was Aaron who got the bug. Aaron was playing local gigs, writing songs and meeting with producers in Nashville. Just about then, in 1996, Brian was involved in an accident and Aaron put his dreams on hold to care for his Dad and help out on the family farm. By 2003, Aaron was out playing again and his father was plenty impressed with the music his son was making. The next turn came in 2007 when Brian, Aaron and Clara wrote a song together and decided to try it out at an open mic night in Nashville. Though they had no thoughts of making a career of it then, it wasn't long before The Henningsens were introduced to another up and coming family band--The Band Perry. Some of The Band Perry's biggest hits have been penned by The Henningsens. Performing their own songs seemed the next logical step in this wild and crazy journey they've been on. And so far it seems to be working out for them. So now we have a Christmas album to look forward to (assuming Sony allows it). No word on release date or title as yet. It's a big Christmas for NBC's now cancelled The Sing Off. We already knew about the Christmas album (their second) from Pentatonix, the Season Three winners. Now comes word of a holiday set from fourth season winners, Home Free. Unlike a lot of those music competition shows, the talent on The Sing Off seemed to get better with each passing season and Home Free was probably the most popular of the a cappella groups in the show's history. "Full Of Cheer" is set to hit the racks on October 27, but those who pre-order from the band will reportedly get an instant download of "White Christmas". The group also has a "Deluxe" digital version available through their web site featuring three bonus tracks.
OK, I know I'm the cat guy, but I'm having a hard time getting into this whole Grumpy Cat thing. Keyboard Cat? Sure. LOL cats? I'm all for 'em. I can haz cheezburger cat? I love it. But Grumpy Cat? I just don't get it. I appear to be in the minority, though, and, this Christmas, Grumpy Cat will have his own Lifetime movie, "Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever". They tell me its got a plot and everything. And a soundtrack. Did I mention the soundtrack? The soundtrack album will debut November 11, while the movie is set for November 29. Aubrey Plaza of "Parks & Recreation" is providing the voice of Grumpy Cat and the soundtrack features music--much of it new and exclusive to this set--from Chris Mann, The Bird & The Bee, KT Tunstall, and The Brian Setzer Orchestra. So far, they aren't telling us who sings what, but here's yer track list. 1. Its Hard To Be A Cat On Christmas 2. Sleigh Ride 3. Jingle Bells 4. Up On The Housetop 5. Deck The Halls 6. Worst Time Of Year 7. Christmastime Again 8. Carol Of The Bells 9. Holiday Bells 10. Christmas Honey 11. All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) 12. White Christmas 13. Grumpcracker Medley 14. A Very Grumpy Christmas And now for something that's much more my speed. You know I dig the local artist comps. And this one's going to be FREEEEEEEE!!!!!! Hand Drawn Records is a small label down Texas way (with some facets of the business in Oklahoma). It's a largely DIY label that's focused on artist development. Every so often, as many independent labels do, they release a compilation so that the music loving public can hear the artists on their roster. To facilitate that even further, HDR gives away the downloads of these comps via Soundcloud. Volume 3 is still available for your listening and downloading pleasure, if you feel like checking it out (as are Volume 2 and Volume 1, if you poke around a little bit). For Volume 4 of their compilation series, the label has opted for a Christmas album. You never know what you're going to get from the artists but HDR isn't focusing on original material for this release; they're far more intrigued by what new spin their artists can put on familiar seasonal/holiday classics. The artists Hand Drawn Records has recruited for "The Holiday Record" range from Roots to Folk to Pop to Rock and they're targeting an early December release. We don't have a track list yet (and, I suspect, neither do they). But here's the artist list and the cover art, if you'd like to investigate a little further. We'll be sure to let you know when the album has been posted so you can run and grab you some free local artist Christmas downloads. A final note. We now have confirmation via Jason Manns' Twitter feed that Misha Collins (aka Castiel) will be providing some vocals on the upcoming "Christmas With Friends" CD. We're told he sings like an angel.
Well, kinda. This was actually recorded in 2013 but becomes available (to us in the states) as a digital download via Amazon on July 16 (expected). It's a sweet song, sweetly sung by the sweet and beautiful Swedish singer Heidi Hallifax. "Will You Be There For Christmas?" Well...will you? Just asking. Heidi's got a Facebook page and a Soundcloud page, also a YouTube channel...but no standard standalone web site. Then again, who needs one, right? Don't worry, I'm certain we'll have more singles later. I'm pretty sure we'll be getting a few more Snowflake Singles. In fact, I'm so confident, I think I'll add the Snowflake Singles blog to our list of Festive Friends. Poof! Just like that, its done. Most of last year's Snowflake Singles are still available on vinyl, btw, while supplies last. A few other things to mention as, uh, well, shoot. Isn't anybody doing Christmas in July this year? Oh, that's right. The folks over at Christmas TV History are! They asked people to answer a few questions about their favorite Christmas episodes and specials and they'll be rolling those answers out all month. July 1st featured our good friend Dinsdale Kringle of Santas Working Overtime and, who knows, I might put in an appearance my own self. ;-) Anyway, it's something kind of fun to cool you off on these hot summer nights, so drop on over. Heck, I bet you could still join the fun and contribute your own favorites. FWIW, we're pretty well up to date on The List, so far. Chances are, I'll be crunched come crunch time and its still too early to have many release dates in hand, but there are some tasty nuggets to drink in in the TBA and Possible lists. We've also got a few items up on the Free List (and many more to come) and a couple on our Previews page. So don't forget to check around and make sure you haven't forgotten something. And lots of people were asking if I could share the portrait of Mrs. Katz (not her real name) that was included in my Kickstarter package for The Bowmans last year. OK, one person asked. Not the point. The Bowmans Christmas album, "Make Sure The Snow Falls", was one of the best Christmas albums of 2013...easily in my top 3 for the year. But I was really and truly blown away by the book, Mert The Anxious Evergreen. It's very well written and tremendously illustrated. Really, I wasn't expecting much from the book, but it ended up being my favorite piece of the package. You can still get the album and book (either or both) direct from The Bowmans and I highly recommend you do so, if you haven't already. Especially that book, which took me back to my own childhood cuz that's how awesome books were put together back then. Also makes a great gift. Just sayin' Anyway, here's Claire Bowman's portrait of my baby girl, Mrs. Katz. It's bigger in real life (and so is Mrs. Katz). Now I know everybody knows the July 4th weekend is pretty much upon us. But did you know about the big event that happens the following weekend? Your troubles are over, Dude! July 11-13 is the 13th Annual Lebowski Fest, this year taking place in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville is an awesome town and the music lineup makes me wish I could attend. Those Darlins, The Features, Bobby Bare, Jr. I love those guys (and gals)! I guess I'll just have to settle for throwing the movie into the old DVD player for another year. Feel free to do the same. The Dude abides. Catch you later. Who'd a-thunk it? A Kitty Christmas. As a Kickstarter campaign? I have to admit, I've done no research on this, outside of watching the Kickstarter video. But, c'mon. At Stubby's, cats and Christmas just naturally go paw-in-hand. The concept, near as I can tell, is Santa (played here by Greg Hollimon--a purr-fect choice, if you ask me...which I realize no one did) reading Christmas tails (Oh, yeah, all the bad puns), new and old, to a bunch of adorable kittens (have you ever known a kitten that wasn't adorable?). There's even a tier of support where you can write your own Kitty Christmas carol for the project. Given the annual viewership for the Puppy Bowl, there's definitely an audience for this sort of thing. Don't know if you're budding teenage delinquent will be amused, but it promises to be the cat's meow for younger tykes and for those of us still young at heart. For me, I confess, its like catnip. And, heck, you know your cat will love it. As with all Kickstarter campaigns, there are levels of support and corresponding incentives. Just $25 reserves you a Blu-Ray or DVD and just $15 gets you the digital download. And there are Christmas cards, Kitty Christmas stockings, coffee mugs, producer credits, lobby cards and more, depending upon your level of support. And, as with any Kickstarter project, you won't be billed if they miss their fund raising goal. The people behind Kitty Christmas are hoping to have this project completed and in your paws for this Christmas--that's why they're raising money now, just as summer heats up. Professionally shot, edited and produced. But they've set a goal of $15,000 and they have less than 30 days to get there. $15,000 is a lot of money. $15 really isn't. So let's see if we can't get a bunch of Stubby readers to cough up $15 (coughed up fur balls not accepted)--or $25 or whatever--so that Kitty Christmas won't end up buried in the litter box of holiday ideas. Check out the Kitty Christmas Kickstarter page and watch the video for more information. Mrs. Katz says its what all the cool cats and kittens are doing. Hey, so where've I been? We'll get to that. First, some Christmas joy! This is about the time of year when we start hearing about the lineup of upcoming holiday releases. On the schedule, so far, are seasonal projects from Kelly Clarkson, Pat Benatar, Patty Smyth & Scandal, Meatloaf ("Hot Holidays"), Kim Wilde, Gretchen Wilson, Mary J. Blige ("A Very Mary Christmas"), Anthony Hamilton, Leona Lewis (yeah, fer realz), Restless Heart (well, we've been waiting on that one for a long, long time), Shania Twain (also fer realz, though she's being quite mysterious about the whole thing--just do it, Shania, I promise we'll love it), Martina McBride, Diane Schuur, Jason Catron, Terry Bradshaw and a comp from Fearless Records called "Punk Goes Christmas". There's even a release planned for those Duck Dynasty people. Smokey Robinson's Xmas CD is still floating around in the pre-release atmosphere as well, as are some others that planned their release last year, but missed the window (Matthew Morrison of "Glee" fame springs readily to mind). And, oh yeah, the album I'm MOST excited to hear--the third record in the Jillaine Christmas trilogy, "Jazzy Christmas To You III". Last year's is going to be tough to beat. On top of all that, we are expecting the Greatest Movie Ever Made (tm) to drop this year--JINGLE BELL ROCKS! So much excitement in the air (Is that what that is? I thought it was pollen.)! But here's the project that inspired me to put on my blogging cap for the first time in many months. The Bowmans are twin sisters from Cali (fornia, that is). Sarah writes wonderful lyrics and Claire is quite the artist. Their music tends to fall in that Country/Folk category, with a touch of Blues--Americana, really--and they've got that harmony that only sisters seem to have (The Bowmans are frequently compared to The Roches). You'll find their albums (featuring Claire's amazing cover art) in The Bowmans Merch Store (https://sites.google.com/site/thebowmansmerchstore/) and you can listen to a few of their songs on ReverbNation (http://www.reverbnation.com/thebowmansmusic). Anyway, The Bowmans are hoping to put out a Christmas CD and accompanying illustrated book this year and they're raising money for the project on--where else--Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thebowmans/the-bowmans-christmas-album-and-illustrated-book). Now, I'm a big fan of Christmas music and of Kickstarter. But what was the added spice that had me sipping egg nog and humming "White Christmas" on the 4th of July? CATS! Check the amazing illustration from Claire to the right. Hmm? Ain't that great? But wait! There's more! As with all Kickstarter campaigns, there are various levels of support and corresponding incentives. Me, I'd have been happy with the autographed CD and the book in digital form, myself (a mere $25). But Mrs. Katz (not her real name) would have none of it. Every time I turned away from the keyboard, she'd scroll down to the "Art & Animal Lover" package--which includes a signed print of a Claire Bowman illustration of your pet or the animal of your choice. "No," I'd tell Mrs. Katz, "it's not in the budget." But, before I knew it, she'd punched the mouse (I've got a bone to pick with whomever named that thing) and I was pledged. Ah, well, she'll get her print and I'll get the CD. At least Mrs. Katz respected my poverty enough to not select the "Iconographic Animal" package. These personalized packages are very limited, so either hurry on over to Kickstarter or keep your pet away from the computer for a few days. It's the music you want. Here's a rough mix of some of it. And those be The Bowmans to the left. Attractive young ladies and talented to boot. Read all about their Christmas project and please contribute if you can. (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thebowmans/the-bowmans-christmas-album-and-illustrated-book) Every dollar counts. And, you know how this works, if The Bowmans don't reach their pledge goal by the end of the month, well, then Mrs. Katz won't get her print and there'll be hell to pay around here. Now for the bad news. Those of you as old as I may recognize the title of this entry as part of an old Lewis Carroll poem, "The Walrus and the Carpenter". "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings" Well, the time has come to speak about this here particular blog. In brief, I think we're done. I wish I'd started this blog 15 years ago; then maybe we would have reached the Christmas music Nirvana I hoped for. As it is, I think we had a good run and I'm pretty happy with what we did. I wish I could say there were just one reason why I'm hanging up my keyboard, but there isn't "just one reason." Not to get all spiritual on you but, being as I'm pretty thick and stubborn, the universe (or God or whatever) has always laid out the choices very clearly for me. I'm very lucky like that. I'm always (or almost always) shown what the "right thing" to do is. On one side are all the realities and on the other is just thick, stubborn me. The choice is mine, of course, but--most of the time--I come to my senses and take the path that's been presented clearly as the "right thing". Right now, there is the family health issue that has always been priority one. It's even more demanding than it was last Christmas. In addition to time issues, there are monetary issues. And there's this whole computer thing--and this is a pretty big factor for me. Two years ago, my computer was top of the line; it's already completely obsolete. And I know some of you tech-savvy younger folks are thinking "of course it is", but I can't afford to drop 2 grand on a new computer every other year. And, no, I'm not interested in computing or blogging "via phone" (if I may... f#@% that!). This whole "cloud" business is a trap and a cancer. Don't say you weren't warned. What business presents as a "convenience" always is revealed later on as a scheme to separate you from your money. Technology, I'm afraid, is advancing so fast at this point, that the benefits the Internet presented us--the democratization of information, if you will--is being stolen right back quicker than you can say "Dude, you're gettin' a...". It's so bad, now, that I can't purchase from iTunes on a MAC. Think about how absurd that is. I call them up and they say, "Maybe its your browser; how you tried Chrome?" Dudes. The browser shouldn't matter in the first place--its freakin' iTunes--but Safari is YOUR browser; you created Safari just for MAC and MAC programs. If your own browser can't handle your own programs anymore, maybe you're in the wrong line of work. And, just for the record, I couldn't buy from iTunes using Chrome either. So there. Pfffttt. Always been a big MAC fan. But, since Steve Jobs died, they have ceased caring about their loyal customers. Any Apple Head will tell you the same. I know one guy who has been with them since the beginning. Bought every new phone and pad and pod and, basically, anything Apple ever made. Steve Jobs dies and, suddenly, he can't access his MAC email account of 20 years or more. What's up with that? As it is, as you can see, I can't presently even format properly for this blog. And THIS computer (not MY computer, but the one I'm working with most often at present) doesn't even have a soundcard. How am I supposed to do a Christmas music blog without a soundcard? There's the whole Storage Wars thing going on, too. Soundcloud has been deleting my tracks, here, one by one. Mind you, I never made them available for downloading, just streaming. But God forbid a blogger try to do what everybody and his mother do on YouTube--share music so people can hear it. Its a losing war, on their part, anyway. But small, honest bloggers will be the casualties of that war--not the actual thieves and pirates. It's kind of like the War on Drugs; there's a bunch of poor folks doing hard time for smoking a J while the mega-dealers live in mansions and the politicians and agents cracking down are snorting lines off their girlfriends' stomachs in the back room. And might I just add, here, that I'm sick and tired of emails from companies that want to "optimize" my web site and make Stubby's #1 on Google. I know its your job and all, but, seriously, piss off! If I cared about that, I have places I could go and people I could ask. But I don't care about that and never did. I just wanted to be Stubby's. Let some other fool worry about being #1. I don't make money doing this and never really wanted to, alright? Anyway, rant off. You never know, of course, so its my intention to leave Stubby's up for awhile. I'll likely renew the domain and the PO Box, when they come due. Maybe some day, I'll have something to say. Or maybe, some day, I'll have the time and technology to move forward. I doubt it, personally. But you never know. And there are lots of good folks carrying on the Christmas music hunt. There's a bunch of them in that list of Festive Friends over to the right. Those are good folks--the ones I know are, certainly--and they've done some damn fine work in the genre long before I got here and they'll be doing it long after I'm gone, I suspect. Go check them out now. I'll wait. But, hey, its been a blast. Really, it has. Hope we turned you on to some cool stuff you'd have otherwise missed. God's honest truth: finding Jillaine--and doing my small part to get other people to find her--was worth the whole trip for me. And, yeah, the Stubby's House mixes were a lot of fun to do, too. Hope you enjoyed them (but don't ask; I'm not reposting them). There's some great Christmas music out there. Go get it. We’ve posted several Kickstarter Christmas albums in the past and a Go Fund Me or two. Here’s one from the Fayetteville Ska Alliance using Chip In. The Fayetteville Ska Alliance is a conglomeration of musicians in the Fayetteville, Arkansas area and they’re hard at work putting together a CD of Christmas Ska Cheer to raise money for Spay Arkansas, which operates the NWA Spay and Neuter Clinic. The FSA figures they’ll need about $2500 to do the album up right and they have already raised $900 through local fundraisers. So the Chip In target is $1600 and the FSA is almost halfway there (as you can see from the widget above). And, basically, all you’re being asked to do, here, is pre-order the album. A mere ten dollars reserves your copy of the physical CD when completed (plus the digital download). For a few dollars more, you can get your name in the credits and, for larger contributions, you can get in on some other great albums and t-shirts and the like. Check out the full list of contribution perks. And, of course, you’ll be doing a great service for animal kind. Do it for Fluffy. Do it for Rover. Do it for Mrs. Katz (not her real name). Use the widget above or head to the FSA web site. Or…do it for the Christmas music. $10 for a Christmas Ska CD sounds like a pretty rockin’ deal to me. The album will feature some holiday standards and some newer stuff, too. Here’s a sample track, though it should be noted that this isn’t the final mix. This is actually a new cat toy from SUCK UK that you can get through Insound (cat not included). It's a cat scratching deck. Get it? Too rich for my blood, but too funny not to post.
No, I still have no idea how RSS works. BUT I have figured out one thing. The way this site is built, subscribing to the RSS feed on this page isn't going to alert you to changes on other pages. Right now, most of the action is on the PREviews page. The REviews are coming along, bit by bit. And The FREE List should start hopping in about a month. Subscribing to the RSS feeds on any or all of the pages that interest you is the only way to stay on top of things around here. Other than stopping by every day which, you know, I wouldn't discourage. How bout a song? You can't get this anywhere, just yet. The group is Sweetapple (not Sweet Apple) and they're affiliated with Rockford's Rock Opera. But I just like the video. It's got cats. |
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