Did you know that Michael Buble has decided to retire? There are some things we connect with Christmas that are completely within our control... What kind of tree will we get or will we even get a tree at all? Will we have turkey or ham for Christmas dinner, or maybe that old standby the Holiday Stromboli? Will we go over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house for Christmas or is everybody gathering at our own humble manger? Nativity scene or reindeer and Claus? We all have our own traditions of the season that we decide whether to continue or to change. But there are other aspects of the season over which we have no control. And, when those change, we always feel a bit of a loss. I'm still crying over the fact that there are no more Santastic mixes. How many years has it been, now? Bing Crosby dies, Michael Buble retires. Dear God, don't give me any bad news about the Macy's parade or "A Charlie Brown Christmas". We need our traditions and we especially need the traditions we can't control.
As Elizabeth Chan has become our new Bing Crosby, bringing annual cheer in the form of new Yuletide music every year, our friend Robert Voogt is helping to keep another tradition alive...that of the Christmas 7" single. While we still get a handful of Christmas vinyl singles every year, it's worth remembering that that ghost had about been given up for dead when Robert started the Snowflakes Singles Club, and that the only reason there's any Christmas vinyl out there at all, these days, has more to do with the shrinking into non-existence CD market than with the growth of the vinyl market. For now, at least, we can count on Robert to keep this holiday tradition alive as Snowflakes Singles enter their sixth year. And thank goodness he isn't in it for the money; otherwise Snowflakes probably would have melted away after the first or second year.
So we just got word of the 2018 crop of Snowflakes Singles (always an exciting reveal). These are Christmas records recorded by some of the finest Indie groups and artists from around the world, all pressed to white vinyl, enclosed in a sturdy record sleeve with fantastic artwork, and limited to (this year) no more than 320 each. The "A" side features an original Christmas song and the flip features a cover. They are NOW available for pre-order and will ship the third week of November. Let's see who is coming to Christmas dinner this year. Click on the artwork to get to the purchase site (or wait til the end and buy all 3). As the audio for these is not yet available, it is our tradition here at Stubby's to give you some non-holiday audio from each of the artists.
As Elizabeth Chan has become our new Bing Crosby, bringing annual cheer in the form of new Yuletide music every year, our friend Robert Voogt is helping to keep another tradition alive...that of the Christmas 7" single. While we still get a handful of Christmas vinyl singles every year, it's worth remembering that that ghost had about been given up for dead when Robert started the Snowflakes Singles Club, and that the only reason there's any Christmas vinyl out there at all, these days, has more to do with the shrinking into non-existence CD market than with the growth of the vinyl market. For now, at least, we can count on Robert to keep this holiday tradition alive as Snowflakes Singles enter their sixth year. And thank goodness he isn't in it for the money; otherwise Snowflakes probably would have melted away after the first or second year.
So we just got word of the 2018 crop of Snowflakes Singles (always an exciting reveal). These are Christmas records recorded by some of the finest Indie groups and artists from around the world, all pressed to white vinyl, enclosed in a sturdy record sleeve with fantastic artwork, and limited to (this year) no more than 320 each. The "A" side features an original Christmas song and the flip features a cover. They are NOW available for pre-order and will ship the third week of November. Let's see who is coming to Christmas dinner this year. Click on the artwork to get to the purchase site (or wait til the end and buy all 3). As the audio for these is not yet available, it is our tradition here at Stubby's to give you some non-holiday audio from each of the artists.
Oh! Gunquit is a Rumble-Pop band hailing from London. A little bit Punk, a little bit Surf, a little bit Psych, and a spoonful of Exotica, and just far enough out there to remind you that you didn't know what to make of Esquivel the first time you heard him either...but you knew that you liked it. They pride themselves on being inappropriate and their interests include hissing cockroaches. I $#!% you not. They've been releasing strange yet oddly irresistible music since 2011, including a 2015 album with one of the best titles ever, "Eat Yuppies And Dance". For my head, the horns (musical, not on their heads) make all the difference and I find there's a bit of a kinship, musically, to the B-52's (only more so). And, as you explore Oh! Gunquit's musical reservoir, you'll find several tunes that would be awesome for a Halloween mix (just sayin').
For their Snowflakes Singles release, Oh! Gunquit has created the original "High On Xmas" which, given the rest of their work, promises to be on another plane of reality from any Christmas music you've ever known. If Spinal Tap is going to 11, Oh! Gunquit's gonna take it up to a 15 real quick. For their cover tune, Oh! Gunquit is doing up the Sonics' classic "Don't Believe In Christmas". That should be real fun.
I've chosen an early song from Oh! Gunquit to share with you (might even be their debut single), because the production values of this video are exceptional. Musically, I don't think they're quite as reserved as they were back then. Here's Oh! Gunquit with "Lights Out".
For their Snowflakes Singles release, Oh! Gunquit has created the original "High On Xmas" which, given the rest of their work, promises to be on another plane of reality from any Christmas music you've ever known. If Spinal Tap is going to 11, Oh! Gunquit's gonna take it up to a 15 real quick. For their cover tune, Oh! Gunquit is doing up the Sonics' classic "Don't Believe In Christmas". That should be real fun.
I've chosen an early song from Oh! Gunquit to share with you (might even be their debut single), because the production values of this video are exceptional. Musically, I don't think they're quite as reserved as they were back then. Here's Oh! Gunquit with "Lights Out".
Green Seagull, also from London, is a relatively young band having formed in 2016 when Paul Milne and Paul Nelson, formerly of other bands, decided to write together. They found that they shared a love for late 60s Baroque Psych and a band was born. And, man, do they have it down. It's like they travelled from 1967 to the present in Doctor Who's Tardis (thank you, Doctor, for once again saving the planet; Star Trek only brought whales to the future, but you brought us Green Seagull). Somewhere on the tip of my ever failing brain are a list of groups I could compare Green Seagull to. But the best I can do right now is The Byrds of "Eight Miles High" vintage. Yes, I get the Association and Left Banke references, even the bit of the Stones (the band takes its name from the misheard lyrics of "Paint It Black"). Timothy Clover maybe? Still not quite right. But I know I'm going to place them better once it's too late for this piece. So forget comparisons and just go listen to Green Seagull's body of incredible work on Soundcloud. It'll have you drooling in anticipation of their Snowflakes Single.
Green Seagull's original, "First Snow of Winter", is a Baroque Pop number, set to wrap you in a blanket of winter white and take you back to your childhood...especially if your childhood was in the 60s. As for Green Seagull's cover song, get ready for a treat...an organ drenched Psych Rock version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". I love the sound of organ-driven Psych in the morning; it sounds like...victory. It's sadly the case that, back when Psych was at the height of its popularity, Christmas music was at its nadir. So there just aren't nearly enough Christmas songs featuring those head tripping sounds, magical organs and jangly guitars. Thank you, Green Seagull (and Doctor Who) for doing your part to set right what once went wrong.
For our sample of the sounds of Green Seagull, I chose "Remember The Time", but, really, I could have picked anything; their musical output thus far is a virtual buffet of delectable goodies.
Green Seagull's original, "First Snow of Winter", is a Baroque Pop number, set to wrap you in a blanket of winter white and take you back to your childhood...especially if your childhood was in the 60s. As for Green Seagull's cover song, get ready for a treat...an organ drenched Psych Rock version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". I love the sound of organ-driven Psych in the morning; it sounds like...victory. It's sadly the case that, back when Psych was at the height of its popularity, Christmas music was at its nadir. So there just aren't nearly enough Christmas songs featuring those head tripping sounds, magical organs and jangly guitars. Thank you, Green Seagull (and Doctor Who) for doing your part to set right what once went wrong.
For our sample of the sounds of Green Seagull, I chose "Remember The Time", but, really, I could have picked anything; their musical output thus far is a virtual buffet of delectable goodies.
The third Snowflakes Single is from Art Folk artist Rachael Dadd. Rachael, who debuted in 2004, lives what is described as a semi-nomadic lifestyle, splitting her time between Bristol in the UK and Japan. Her music is no less untethered. She plays multiple instruments, is constantly trying on new sounds, working with new percussive techniques, wandering in and out of Jazz, and collaborating with a wide range of other artists including Laura Marling, Alessi's Ark, The Atlas Mountains, and ICHI (who also happens to be her husband). As reviewer Lauren Laverne says, "you never know what she's going to do next."
Ah, but, Lauren, we do. Because next up from Rachael Dadd is her Snowflakes Single. In true non-conformist fashion, Rachael forces us to mention her "B" side first, "The Holly And The Ivy". And that is because Rachel's original is the poetic, sparse, atmospheric "Spark Illuminate" which is inspired by "The Holly And The Ivy". For "Spark Illuminate", we hear just Rachael and a piano that's been specially prepared by placing objects on or between strings to alter the sound. The effect mimics the stillness of the mid-winter in a manner that's every bit as unique as is Rachael Dadd.
I'd again recommend exploring Rachael's music for yourself. But I decided I would have to find a track that featured the piano (prepared or not) and so I chose "Happiness", a song from the 2008 Japanese EP "Little Things".
Ah, but, Lauren, we do. Because next up from Rachael Dadd is her Snowflakes Single. In true non-conformist fashion, Rachael forces us to mention her "B" side first, "The Holly And The Ivy". And that is because Rachel's original is the poetic, sparse, atmospheric "Spark Illuminate" which is inspired by "The Holly And The Ivy". For "Spark Illuminate", we hear just Rachael and a piano that's been specially prepared by placing objects on or between strings to alter the sound. The effect mimics the stillness of the mid-winter in a manner that's every bit as unique as is Rachael Dadd.
I'd again recommend exploring Rachael's music for yourself. But I decided I would have to find a track that featured the piano (prepared or not) and so I chose "Happiness", a song from the 2008 Japanese EP "Little Things".
And there you have it, Snowflakes Singles, the class of 2018. I am being 100% sincere when I say that this promises to be the finest collection of Snowflakes Christmas Singles ever. Yes, even better than year one (which you'll recall featured Smoke Fairies and The Garlands). Curse you Robert Voogt, I'm going to have to buy them again (as I have every year). And bless you Robert Voogt for keeping this holiday tradition alive.
As noted before, pre-orders are now being taken for these singles, each limited to 320. Click on the artwork for the single you're interested in. Or buy the whole collection here and save a few shekels (and save on postage, too). And, if you missed any of the earlier Snowflakes Singles, some are still available in limited numbers. You'll find the remaining selections here. A little later on, the 2018 singles will also be available through Bandcamp and there will be audio available as well.
I know not what others may feel but, as for me, Snowflakes Christmas Singles are as important a part of my Christmas as "A Charlie Brown Christmas", Elizabeth Chan, and Santa Claus. There, I said it. And I mean it. Don't miss out.
As noted before, pre-orders are now being taken for these singles, each limited to 320. Click on the artwork for the single you're interested in. Or buy the whole collection here and save a few shekels (and save on postage, too). And, if you missed any of the earlier Snowflakes Singles, some are still available in limited numbers. You'll find the remaining selections here. A little later on, the 2018 singles will also be available through Bandcamp and there will be audio available as well.
I know not what others may feel but, as for me, Snowflakes Christmas Singles are as important a part of my Christmas as "A Charlie Brown Christmas", Elizabeth Chan, and Santa Claus. There, I said it. And I mean it. Don't miss out.
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