A quick reminder that my computer is dying and I could go silent at any time. Shouldn't be out of commission more than a week (I hope). I'd just prefer it not be this week. But that's not up to me.
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Hopefully, you check the Free List and Previews regularly, because I don't really have time to alert you to new content on the front page much. And that time grows shorter every day closer to Christmas.
But, in case you haven't been (you will from now on, though, right?), wanted you to know that all the details on the coming albums from The Monkees and David Archuleta are up on Previews now. And a bunch of other stuff. We cool? 'K. I woke up this morning to a very strange sound. Silence. OMG, the rain stopped! It was a glorious 11 minutes. Then it started up again and hasn't stopped since. *sigh* Anyway, just a few things to tell you about, with perhaps the most interesting bit coming at the end. But, first, some music. Here's the lead single from the new LeAnn Rimes Christmas-slash-Soundtrack album, "It's Christmas, Eve". As we've mentioned, "It's Christmas, Eve" officially drops on October 12, but "The Gift of Your Love" is available now at online retailers, for all those who just can't wait until Christmas...or Columbus Day or whatever.  Also coming October 12 is a new Christmas album from Country star Tracy Lawrence. I was surprised to see the listing as Tracy's first Christmas set, 2007's "All Wrapped Up In Christmas", was released with great fanfare and anticipation and this one just kinda snuck out there. (Keep in mind that my late father was the Country fan in the family). "Frozen In Time" will be available on both CD and vinyl. Checking out the samples, I was experiencing a bit of deja vu. Finally, I realized that "Frozen In Time" is "All Wrapped Up In Christmas" with the tracks reshuffled and two new songs. One of the new songs is "Please Come Home For Christmas", which is fine and all. But the title track is a real Western Swing gem. As with the Rimes set, "Frozen In Time", the single, is available now. Have a listen.  Hey, Hey, the Monkees are releasing a Christmas album this year. No, I'm not talking about "The Monkees Christmas Album", which was really Davy Jones solo holiday effort with a bunch of odds and ends from the 70s and 80s tacked on (not that that wasn't a useful addition to the library), but I am talking about The Monkees. Seems 2016's "Good Times" was such a hit that the boys decided to follow it up with a Christmas album featuring newly recorded songs. The news was dropped by Mike Nesmith in an interview with the Boston Globe this week. Nesmith, currently touring with a reconstituted First National Band, expressed his reluctance but ultimately signed on to the project. He'll handle lead vocals on "The Christmas Song" and Claude Thornhill's sentimental if quirky "Snowfall" (a perfect choice for Mike). No word on the rest of the set from Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork (Davy having passed away in 2012), but word has it that Fountains of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter will be in on the fun and there may be a new song or two written specifically for this project by Glenn Tillbrook of Squeeze. All just rumors at this point, though. An official official announcement and some more details are expected soon. "Good Times" really was a surprisingly good record. I mean really good...actually worthy of the best of the group in their heyday. So I've got my fingers crossed for another quality effort. We'll always have "Riu Chiu", of course.  Just to get it mentioned on the front page, here (some stuff gets lost in the sea of "TBAs" on The List), keyboard wizard Bob Malone will have a Christmas album later this year. Malone is a master of Blues and Rock. Bob burst onto the scene in the early 90s and, as a fan, I will tell you that he's one of those artists who seems to get better and better with each release. And that's why I'm not going to include the video for his 2004 holiday single "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" in this piece. Because he's soooo much better than that, now. You can find it on YouTube, if you're interested. But just remember. Bob Malone. Christmas album. November. Look for it. It should be pretty awesome.  Helix, the Canadian Metal band, released "Heavy Mental Christmas" in 2015. It was a pretty fun headbanging romp through the Yuletide. But that album did not include the band's 2012 limited edition 7" single "All I Want For Christmas (Is The Leafs To Win The Cup)"--a classic of the sports holiday sub-genre. So, for 2018, Helix is issuing "A Helix Christmas". The new limited edition album includes everything from their 2015 album, plus "All I Want For Christmas", AND an entirely brand new cover of "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer", which Helix has given a Metal makeover. "A Helix Christmas" arrives October 5. The CD is limited to 500 copies and there will be both red and green vinyl versions (limited to 250 copies each). Pre-orders are being taken now at No Life Til Metal Records. We have the track list for Arturo Sandoval's "Christmas At Notre Dame", coming October 5. Oddly, no cover art yet. Lately, we get the cover art and have to wait weeks for the track list. Well, even though it'll probably pop up as soon as I post this, I'm not waitin'. So here's the track list for this holiday Jazz set from trumpet master Sandoval. 1. The Christmas Song 2. I'll Be Home For Christmas 3. Ave Maria 4. Joy To The World 5. O Come All Ye Faithful 6. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 7. All I Want For Christmas Is You 8. Frosty The Snowman 9. Fantasy on Fum Fum Fum 10. O Holy Night 11. Silent Night 12. Let It Snine  Now here's the one that most intrigues me. There's a distributor/label in the UK devoted to unsigned bands all around the globe, with a particular focus on Hard Rock and Metal. And Dr johns Surgery Records has it in their heads to do a Christmas album this year. So they put out a call to their friends and the friends of their friends (and, of course, to their own stable of artists) that they want to do this thing. Basically, "send us whatever you got". It's all still very much in flux, but their hope is to issue a double-CD (one record of originals and one of covers) and they're shooting for a release in November. It may or may not be a charity CD--details are all kinda sketchy as yet. Now, given everything--the nature of the call, the short time window and all--it's likely that some of the tracks will be ones that the bands have previously recorded. And, to me, that's tremendous. We're talking about unsigned bands, so its likely that none of this stuff has ever seen any kind of physical release, and some may never have been issued in any format beyond, perhaps, a YouTube video. I can't tell you how many times I've come across a YouTube video with no corresponding download or release and grit my teeth in frustration. I'm a collector, dammit. And you can't collect YouTube videos. Among the artists who have agreed to participate are guitar master Joe Feloni, Southern Rockers The Southern Raiders Band, Stillroom (see the 2014 video above), Strawkites (Art Rock/Ambient), and Four Skulls (Hard Rock/Metal). And then there's this little ditty from 2010 which is likely to be on the album and which deserves to be out there somewhere in physical form, from the genius mind of Dean Farnell ("Simon Cowell"), "Why Don't Christmas Go Away?". If we hear more about the Yuletide CD from Dr johns Surgery Records (like where and when to get it), we'll be sure to let you know. And....it sounds like....nope, it's still raining. Tomorrow is another day, I guess. Peace.  Not that it ever went anywhere. It's just been badly neglected. But I figured, what the heck, it looks like I'm back in the game for 2018 and I remembered why I had all of these different pages to begin with...helps keep things straight and maybe a little better organized...or something. I dunno. Whatever.
So I guess we will use the Previews page and the Free page this year, though (as I'm out of my "unlimited" pages on the platform) they'll be continuations of the pages from 2016. How much we'll use them remains to be seen. At the moment, we've got two 2018 entries on the Previews page and, today, our first 2018 entry on the Free page. Today's Free page entry is "For Christmas", a 5-song set from the Canadian Jazz duo Le Duo Pichenotte (and friends). So head on over and check it out. Independent labels tend to have a "sound", an "identity", and Green Hill is no exception. I've always had trouble verbalizing just what Green Hill's identity is. It's not really New Age, not really MOR or AC, not really Smooth Jazz. But you know it when you hear it. Ranging from the old time craftsmanship of a Craig Duncan to the lightly swinging Jazz vocals of Jaimee Paul, one thing you can count on from Green Hill is an annual care package of Christmas albums suitable for background music for an elegant Christmas dinner or soothing foreground music as you snuggle in front of the fireplace. And Green Hill's 2018 Christmas package is ready to be unwrapped. The 2002 collaboration between Jim Wilson and Stephen Bishop on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" has appeared already on a couple of Jim Wilson's Christmas albums. And why not? It's timeless. And it's back again on the new Green Hill compilation "Songbird: Voices of Christmas". Although it appears that all of the tracks have been previously released, I like compilations like this one because they fill gaps...delivering music you really should already have but don't while also introducing you to music you didn't know you wanted until you had it. In addition to Stephen "Save It For A Rainy Day" Bishop, "Songbird: Voices of Christmas" also contains selections featuring Dan Fogelberg, Olivia Newton-John, and Orla Fallon. Then there are the sweet Jazz sounds of Matt Belsante and Jaimee Paul (two tracks each), a track from former NFL player and current CCM artist Ben Utecht, Classical Crossover from Mark Masri, and the title track of David Arkenstone's "Winter Fantasy" (Charlee Brooks on the vocals). Surely your holiday library is missing a few of these. I confess that mine is.
There's little doubt that the superstar of the Green Hill roster is Beegie Adair. The 80 year old Jazz pianist is so prolific, it's almost annoying. Part of me wants to ignore her and dismiss her music off-hand. But the problem with that is that she's just so damn good. Beegie's style of Jazz is a softer kind of Jazz, but it's definitely Jazz--the kind that can appeal to people whose tastes range from Beautiful Music all the way up to Fusion. And since communicating through music was one of the whole reasons I became obsessed with Christmas music, she's an essential artist of the genre. For Christmas 2018, Beegie is joined by vocalist Monica Ramey on "Some Enchanted Christmas" (something of a Yuletide follow-up to the pair's "Some Enchanted Evening" CD). No religious tunes on this one, just all your secular winter and holiday favorites (plus one Beegie original). Part of me wishes Beegie had brought along her trio for the outing (I luvz me some stand up bass and some gentle brush play on the skins), but its just piano and vocals, here. And the result is a very warm and intimate album to which no one should object (save maybe that Death Metal kid that your teenage daughter wants to date just to tick you off; so, as to that, think of this album as mosquito repellant). "Some Enchanted Christmas" is quintessential Green Hill. Can't find a Christmas tune with both Beegie Adair and Monica Ramey on YouTube, so how about Halloween....ish? Here's "Witchcraft".
Jack Jezzro is a bit of a musical chameleon. His guitar has led the way on numerous Christmas albums, but it's hard to find any two that sound remotely alike. As Jack's Christmas guitar work has ranged from Old Timey mountain music ("Smokey Mountain Christmas Memories") to Bossa Nova ("Bossa Nova Christmas"), finding a representative video is a bit of a challenge. This one came the closest (IMO) to the sound of the new album. Jack Jezzro's 2018 holiday set is "Christmas Jazz Guitar" and, from the samples provided by Green Hill, it's a straight ahead Jazz album with Jack's electric guitar right up front...just the way I like 'em. Jezzro uses whatever accompaniment will enhance the song--a sax here, some keys there--but never loses the overall focus on his guitar or the intimacy of the recording. I enjoyed "Bossa Nova Christmas" very much, but "Christmas Jazz Guitar" has the potential of becoming my favorite Jack Jezzro Christmas album. We do get a bit of a Latin rhythm on "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas". There are echoes of Guaraldi elsewhere. A few of the tunes (notably "The Christmas Song" and "Silent Night") are Yule Log worthy. And who could argue with a gently Jazz-full "Mr. Grinch"? All in all, superbly conceived and executed.
While Green Hill has their instrumental and vocal identity down to a science, their dabblings into Chill Out are a bit more hit and miss (and, not to be too critical, more miss than hit). Chill Out is a constantly evolving genre most readily explained as "Modern Easy Listening", often characterized by the use of electronic beats and effects. There's been some very good Christmas Chill Out music--I'm quite fond of "The Reindeer Room" series--but Chill Out tends to work best as a mix and less so in individual bites. Green Hill's current Chill Out project is Deep Wave, under the direction of Luke McMaster. They've done a couple of albums re-imagining 80s hits and have now turned their attention to Christmas music. The 30 second samples Green Hill provides for "Chillout Christmas" are insufficient for me to fairly render a thumbs up/thumbs down conclusion. But Chill Out is about creating a mood or ambience, and Deep Wave's covers of the 80s hits seem more process than mood to me; I'm just not feelin' it. "Wrapped Up In My Sheets" sounds promising. And it's nice to have a Chill Out version of Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again". (And I swear I've heard this Chill Out "Wonderful Christmastime" before, though I can't locate any evidence of it's prior existence.) But I'll likely pass on this one. Your mileage, of course, may vary. Since the Christmas music isn't up on YouTube, yet. We'll give a listen to Deep Wave's Chill Out version of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", featuring SHASTA.
One thing about Green Hill is that they do recycle. And they don't usually advertise the fact. So, who knows, its always possible that, somewhere down the road, I'll discover that one of the above records was actually recorded and released in the 1990s. It's happened before. I'd prefer they'd say something but, no, they just randomly slap a new title and cover on some albums to give them that new car smell and you're on your own to figure that out. It means a lot more research for me, but it isn't really good for them, either, as it kinda contributes to the false but existing impression that "all Green Hill music sounds the same". Fortunately, it's not at all difficult to recognize Mark Masri's 2018 Green Hill release as a re-issue of one from 2010. Masri is a Pop vocalist who walks that balance beam between AC and Classical Crossover. In 2009, he released a holiday album called "Christmas Is...". A year later, he released an expanded version, then titled "Christmas Time With You". Green Hill re-issued "Christmas Is..." a few years back and are now re-issuing the latter disc as "Christmas Is... (Deluxe Expanded Edition)". Masri's style isn't exactly in my wheelhouse, but highlights include "Ave Maria", "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day", and the duet with Olivia Newton-John, "Every Time It Snows" (which also appears on the "Songbird" collection up top). Green Hill's 2018 crop also includes Craig Duncan's "Colonial Christmas" and Jaime Conway's "20 Piano Christmas Classics", both of which sound exactly like you'd think they would based upon their titles. All of these Green Hill releases are expected to hit the online retailers like Amazon on October 19, but there's a good chance you'll get them sooner if you order through Green Hill or the individual artists. And Green Hill has song samples for all of them available now at their web site (just click on any of the order links, cover art, or new album titles to get there). A couple of quick site updates. I got tired of waiting to hear from GoDaddy about my broken web mail, so we've got a new one -- [email protected]. Hopefully, this one works. And one thing I always liked about our other pages was the ability to search by genre. I always left that off the front page (with a couple of exceptions) to keep the clutter down. But, now that pretty much everything is likely to be front page, I'm adding genres as of this post. I'm not going back in time but, at least for this year (beginning now), you'll be able to search by genre (if I remember to do it). It'll be a pain in the butt, too. I mean, I think I had to add 9 new tags for this post alone (and probably left some off). But, what the heck. To quote someone from somewhere at sometime, let's make this the best Christmas ever!
 TINA KAROL I'm really sorry for letting all of our pages, other than the home page and The List, go to seed. I really am. And since I've apparently reached the limit of the "unlimited" pages for a free site, anything that would have gone on the Free Page is going to be on the home page this year...I think. But I always enjoyed that we had an International Page (even if I've only posted anything there about every other year, lately). You know I dig the foreign stuff. So, the other day, after discovering Ukrainian superstar Tina Karol and listening to her Christmas album, I not only wrote up a spot about her for the International Page, I "cleaned up" the rest of that "page" (which basically means I replaced all the videos that no longer worked--even threw in a couple where there hadn't been any before). And I mention it on the front page, here, because it gives me the chance to use another Tina Karol Christmas video. More vids and words about Tina here, but this track is the only one on the album to reference Santa Claus (rough translation: "Oh, Who Loves St. Nicholas").  First off, The List is back. Looking a bit bare right now. Might even stay that way. But it's back, such as it currently is. And you might be wondering why I'm posting at all when I had so adamantly claimed we were closed for business. Well, I had kinda thought the domain was expiring this October. But, no, seems it runs to next October. That kinda makes me feel like I should do something, here. I'm also facing bankruptcy from medical bills, so I might not even have a computer come the fall. We'll just have to take this one day at a time, ya dig? This is actually a fun time of year for me in that, as hard as it is to uncover Christmas projects in the spring and early summer, that almost makes it easier to find the waaaayyyy off the beaten path holiday projects. You know, the ones that are really different. And y'all know how much we love different around here. Today's nugget of different....ness is Papagena. Now I know that that may sound like a pizza establishment, but its actually an a cappella group from the UK. I know. I know. You're thinking, "Oh, Lordy, not another a cappella group." I was, too. But Papagena is different. Papagena isn't one of those mashup or beatbox groups; much as we love those, we've got plenty of them already. Instead, Papagena is all about the vocal harmonies....no gimmicks or pyrotechnics...just beautiful voices coming together in a totally transcendent fashion. The label loving people have tagged the group as Folk, but Classical Crossover might also apply. I've even seen their genre given as "Cathedral". It's easier to demonstrate than explain. Listen to Papagena's version of Katy Perry's "Firework" from their debut album, "Nuns & Roses".  The five women who make up Papagena are Lizzie Drury, Suzie Purkis, Abbi Temple, Sarah Tenant-Flowers & Suzzie Vango. As the poster image above suggests, the group's repertoire ranges from medieval to contemporary and from sacred to profane. They even write their own original songs from time to time. Papagena clearly enjoy exploring music of all eras and genres, to which they bring both reverence and irreverence (i.e. "a sense of fun"). Following the release of "Nuns & Roses" in 2017, the group did a series of Advent performances which they named after an ancient Irish carol, "The Darkest Midnight". The performances were so well received that Papagena decided to record a Christmas album. While we don't know which songs will ultimately make the cut, we do know what songs were performed in the Advent outings. While much of the set list dates to centuries long gone (including "Carol Of The Bells," "Gaudete," "The Wexford Carol," and "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel"), it also included Joni Mitchell's "River", Winnie Bruckner's "The Snow It Melts The Soonest", "My Winter Coat" from the Roches, and Suzzie Vango's original "Balulalow". While it's connection to the holidays is tenuous, Papagena also sang "God Says Yes" at their Advent concerts. The song is derived from a poem of women's empowerment written by Kaylin Haught and was put to music by composer Paul Carey. Musically, it has a bit of the feel of an old time Spiritual number. I'm including the poem following the video so you can thoroughly enjoy the wit and whimsy of the piece. I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes I asked her if it was okay to be short and she said it sure is I asked her if I could wear nail polish or not wear nail polish and she said honey she calls me that sometimes she said you can do just exactly what you want to Thanks God I said what if I cavort with squawking saints forage with a crowd of long legged water angels sail with a regatta of white pelicans sing glory hallelujah with the cormorants drying their wings over the water and she said Baby I made you for this cavort as you wish And is it even okay if I don't paragraph my letters Sweetcakes God said who knows where she picked that up what I'm telling you is Yes Yes Yes  Reminders are good. Especially reminders that also lead to new stuff. Back in 2015, we were quite taken with a Jazzy Christmas single from Kathy Ingraham, "We Three Kings of Cool". At the time, we summed it up like this: "It's Pop enough to be Pop, Jazzy enough to be Jazz, Soulful enough to be Soul, and different enough to be different (and I like different)." Kathy dropped us a line this week to let us know that she recently released an album which includes a remixed remastered version of the track (now called "Three Kings of Cool"). The new version features drums, which gives the song a bit more kick and might also make it more Pop Rock (though I think I still have a slight preference for the after hours feel of the earlier go and it's the flute that slays me every time).  The new album, "Cool Night", is available digitally or on CD. And, for those looking to lock in their Christmas shopping early, there's also a package that includes the CD AND a hard cover Art Book. Mind you, it's not a Christmas album. But, for fans of Miles Davis era Cool Jazz (and I am), it's a tasty treat. "Prelude To Your Kiss" is lovely and "Ordinary Life" could be a really nice track to include in a mixtape of love songs for your significant other or intended. The title track Swings the Blues and, of course, having "Three Kings of Cool" on hard copy CD is incentive enough for the Christmas music huntin', hard copy lovin' collector in my soul.
Kathy has quite the All Star backing group on "Cool Night". I have to admit I found it sorta cute that she listed some of the credits for these players, most of whom are far more familiar to me than Kathy, herself. But I really should keep that in check; just because I'm well acquainted doesn't mean everyone is. Start with Pete Levin on the keyboards. It might be useful for you to know that Pete has played with everyone from Miles to Jaco to Carly Simon. My head slips immediately to the pair of holiday albums Pete recorded with Danny Gottlieb. Then there's bassist Will Lee. Never mind his work with Sinatra, Sanborn, Benson and Barbieri, the dude was (aside from Paul Shaffer) the longest tenured member of David Letterman's band. The others are equally impressive...Joel Rosenblatt (drummer for Spyro Gyra), John Tropea (guitar with and for Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, etc.), Bob Telson (Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer Award nominated composer/singer/songwriter/piano man), and Clifford Carter (keyboards for James Taylor, Michael Franks and Herbie Mann). I'm admittedly unfamiliar with Rick Palley (who has played bass for Garrison Keillor and Buster Poindexter...that's what we call "range"). And I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention the equally accomplished horn section and backing vocalists (with a special nod to Erik Lawrence, who provides the flute solo on "Three Kings of Cool"). Apologies for not listing all y'all. Let's just say that Kathy knows people. The album was mastered by six time Grammy winner Tom Coyne (Adele, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Mighty Sparrow, and, wow, look at all those Blues albums) who, sadly, passed away in April. Learn more at Kathy Ingraham's Facebook page and her website.
OK, here's the scoop as we hang on the edge of June. I seem to be developing a case of "graduation goggles". All of a sudden, I'm feeling wistful about Christmas music (still can't make out the letters on the damn keyboard). I've had readers of the blog and some bands, too, offer to pay to keep the domain active, even if I never post another word. Man, I can't take your money. That ain't right. So I'd already decided to keep the domain paid up myself--at least for a year. And, much as I hate to keep closing and then staying open, there will almost certainly be some music I get excited about. Do not expect anything approaching my usual presence. My posts are likely to be few and far between. I'll do a half-assed job of a list and I'm not going to go out of my way to find the free stuff. I don't plan on buying much of anything and I don't plan on doing any thorough reviews. The P.O. Box is closed, so you can't send me anything and that, at least, is final. I suppose I'll get some digital tracks, but that doesn't mean I'll do anything with them. We'll just see how it goes. If I find myself drowning again, I'll quit...again. Just sayin'. Merry effing Christmas, ya filthy animals. I know I'm going to regret this.
Ah, there's big news tonight.... I forget where that sentence comes from. It was a comedy bit on an LP...possibly Bill Cosby. Anyway...
Some bad news that doesn't affect me in the least and some good news that might. Rodney Bingenheimer is out at KROQ. His last show will be June 5. Rodney's been holding down the fort of far out music on the Modern Rock L.A. outlet for 41 years...all the way back to 1976. Once upon a time, free form radio ruled the FM airwaves. Tough to find so much as a college station doing it anymore. But a few individuals have had such established cred that stations have given them the freedom to play what they will. Rodney was one of the last of these. He launched more rock acts than you can count. Never mind focus groups and market research, if Rodney liked a record, he'd play it. And while some of these acts might have broken through regardless, its worth noting that Rodney always seems to pop up in their lists of thank you's when they're inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. The Ramones, Blondie, No Doubt, the Bangles, Dramarama, the Regrettes, Barb Wire Dolls, the Atomics--New Wave, Punk, Club, English Disco, Glitter, Glam, Psych, Surf. And Rodney was one of the few, anywhere in the country, who would play a small regional release record, whether the group was local or thousands of miles away. It's sad that Rodney on the ROQ is coming to an end. But I don't live in California so my life ain't changing in the least. 
BUT.... we obsessive Christmas music collectors know Rodney mostly from the late 90s collection, "Santa's Got A GTO". Truthfully, I bought the CD exclusively because it included Wednesday Week's "Christmas Here", one of my all time favorite Christmas tunes I first heard on the original Midnight collection. I'd worn through the grooves of the record on that one and was happy to find it on a CD. A lot of the rest of that CD I also already owned (in one format or another). But, for other's who started a bit later than I did, "Santa's Got A GTO" became a staple of their Alt Rock holiday library. Even a couple of great Hanukkah tunes on that CD...like Velouria's "Til Next Hanukkah". Jigsaw Seen's indispensable version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" is on there. So are the Ramonas, Redd Kross, the Boss Martians and the wonderful Wondermints.
And, now that Rodney is out at ROQ, he's got lots of pots cooking on the stove, most of which he can't or won't talk about yet. But one that he does feel free to mention is "Santa's Got A GTO, Vol. 2"! Let me say that again, but bigger...
"SANTA'S GOT A GTO: RODNEY ON THE ROQ'S FAV X-MAS SONGS, VOL. 2"
I mean, it's been 20 years. I think we were about due. It's early, so we don't have a lot of details. We don't know for sure that it will drop this year, at this point, but I'd think it likely since he brought it up. And, so far, we only know for sure that the album will include The Donnas and The Dolly Rots (ooh, lots of good potential picks, there, though I hereby put in my vote for "Because I'm Santa". Love that tune.). But you cruise the Rodney on the ROQ playlists at the KROQ website and get an idea of what he's been playing at Christmas lately. I've tossed up a few tunes for a taste, here, if you don't want to click through, though you shouldn't presume that I would know what's going to be on the CD. Gotta say, though, if you were trying to shoehorn your way on there, it probably doesn't hurt to include the dude in the song title, as the Barbarellatones did...
UPDATE (6/1/17): A more recent interview with Rodney confirms that the Woolly Bandits (above) will be on the record. He also mentions C.J. Ramone and Franky & The Studs. The album will be released on Gearhead Records.
Have you ever seen a chart of traffic at a Christmas music website? I ask because it's as funny as it is predictable. More and more people come to the website more and more often leading up to Christmas. It builds and builds and builds. And then, Christmas day, it's like the balloon pops and the number of people visiting just drops off a cliff. I think it's funny. But to be expected. Point is that I should have said this sooner, when folks were actually here. But I didn't want to spoil Christmas, nor do I want to be the first bad thing in the new year. I'll move this back to the top after New Years and you'd have to assume it'll get read eventually. I know I've said this before, but I'm closing up shop here at Stubbys. This time, it's for real. I mentioned yesterday that I was clearly running on fumes much of the season and those fumes ran out before Christmas day. I'm old, I'm tired, my health is not great, and I honestly believe another year of this would put me in the ground. I don't sleep right and I don't eat right. I've been living the last month and a half on frozen pizza and 5-hour energy. People say, "Well, just do less. You don't have to feed the beast every day." I only know one way to do things and that's to dive in with both feet and drown before I cry uncle. Aside from that, my eyesight has gotten really bad. I can't hardly see the letters on the keyboard anymore (you may have noticed the many many typos that I miss even after extensive proof-reading. The technology has passed me by. It's all tablets and smart phones now. And the music industry, including the way it operates on-line, has changed completely in just the few years we've been doing this. As one example, I had all the distributors bookmarked because I'd get early notice of releases that way, but they're all gone now (well, pretty much all); they went belly-up. Forum web sites--same thing for different reasons. I used to get a lot of leads from Absolute Punk, for example, but it's been dead since they became Chorus.fm. I'm an old dog who can neither learn nor afford new tricks. Although the site never became what I wanted it to be, I think we managed to do some good work along the way. I hope that we've done some good for both artists and collectors. Maybe we've even done some good for the general category of "Christmas music". Made some friends along the way and discovered some artists I will continue to follow until I cantz foller them no more. And I'm not the only one hanging them up. The Alternative Julekalandar announced that they are done, after a decade. And Kissing Party, our friends from Colorado, are also moving on from the Christmas music. The site, as incompatible as it may be with the new media, will likely stay up. It's a free host afterall. The first thing that goes will be the PO Box, which expires in April. The domain is paid up through October, I believe. I'll try to post the non-domain URL before the domain expires. You know, not that it matters, really. And, who knows, there might be a thing or two I might still do. Maybe I'll feel like doing The List or that Hanukkah page I was always threatening. But don't hold your breath and, as a going and timely source of information, I'm toast. Hopefully, our Festive Friends will continue onward. Christmas A-Go-Go, Christmas Underground, Lie In The Sound and Mistletunes (to name a few) all do a hell of a job. And I'm sure that new Christmas music sites will appear. I want to thank you for spending some time with us over the years, for your support and your very very kind words. It's been an interesting journey. Still gotta finish up the 8 Nights of Hanukkah and New Year's. And the Stubby's House collection stays up through January 6. But, after that, it's peace out, and.... |
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