"And so it begins..." That's right, Mitchell. Look! Another American Idol contestant with a Christmas record.
I actually didn't give Maddie Poppe the credit she deserves. No mere contestant she, Maddie was the winner of the whole Idol shootin' match earlier this year (season 16). And she didn't even want to win. She was hoping to get dropped well before they got to the finals. Which is weird, because she also auditioned on The Voice (oddly not turning a single chair). Listen, do you want to be famous or not? Well, too late, now; we've all gotten use to hearing your name.
Be that as it may, Maddie dropped "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" on Friday and hasn't ruled out a Christmas EP or album just yet. And, fwiw, I like what she's done, here. She's not re-inventing sliced bread or anything. But she bumped the tempo up a notch and combined modern Indie with a bit of 60s Girl Group without going the full Spector. It's really nice. And her voice is singular and very easy on the ears. What's wrong with you guys at The Voice? You let a good one get away. Grab yourself a "Merry Little Christmas" at Amazon, Apple Music/iTunes, Google Play, etc., etc.
Be that as it may, Maddie dropped "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" on Friday and hasn't ruled out a Christmas EP or album just yet. And, fwiw, I like what she's done, here. She's not re-inventing sliced bread or anything. But she bumped the tempo up a notch and combined modern Indie with a bit of 60s Girl Group without going the full Spector. It's really nice. And her voice is singular and very easy on the ears. What's wrong with you guys at The Voice? You let a good one get away. Grab yourself a "Merry Little Christmas" at Amazon, Apple Music/iTunes, Google Play, etc., etc.
Christmas instrumentals fascinate me. Not instrumentals of the songs everybody knows because everybody knows those. But, if you're creating an original soundscape to reflect or honor the holiday season, especially in the "off" genres, how ya gonna make it sound like Christmas without the availability of all those familiar Christmas words? Sure, you could toss in some sleighbells or a random Ho Ho Ho, and it'll even work, but it's kind of a cheap out, doncha think? Of course, there are lots of examples of artists who succeed at this, even without sleighbells and Ho Ho Ho's. Even though I remember from my days in radio advertising (a brief and unhappy period in my much longer radio career) that sound can be far more stimulating to the mind than mere words, when I come across a good Christmas instrumental, I'm always wondering how they did it? What told an artist that that note, or that rhythm, or that sound, would evoke feelings of Christmas.
Majime, from Australia, is the nom-de-internet of a...what are we calling them these days? DJ? Mixtaper? Producer? He's a guy who plays with and mixes records, beats and sounds to create something original. He's not one of the well known established names in the genre, but he did drop a Mixtape earlier this year, "Curious George", which was enthusiastically received by people who are really into that sort of thing. "OG Christmas Swing" is included in some versions of that Mixtape and not in others, fwiw. But, as a stand alone single, I think it's outstanding.
"OG Christmas Swing" is Chill Hop (a cross between Chill and Hip Hop). I'm not gonna gauge the beat--that's above my pay grade or beyond my expertise or whatever. But the base of the song, unless Im mistaken, is a harp performance of "Moonlight Serenade". Brilliant! If you came to me and said, "I'm going to make a Christmas instrumental out of 'Moonlight Serenade'", I would have thought you were a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Really? What, you're going to add sleighbells or something? No, not at all. Everybody knows "Moonlight Serenade", nobody is going to think of Christmas when they hear "Moonlight Serenade". What really sells it--what really brings a Christmas feel to the thing--are the "ooh-ooh-ooh" vocalists buried deep in the mix, haunting the tune like the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Your mileage may vary, but my vote is yes, "OG Christmas Swing" by Majime makes me feel like Christmas. If the spirit of the season moves you, you'll find "OG Christmas Swing" on Amazon.
Majime, from Australia, is the nom-de-internet of a...what are we calling them these days? DJ? Mixtaper? Producer? He's a guy who plays with and mixes records, beats and sounds to create something original. He's not one of the well known established names in the genre, but he did drop a Mixtape earlier this year, "Curious George", which was enthusiastically received by people who are really into that sort of thing. "OG Christmas Swing" is included in some versions of that Mixtape and not in others, fwiw. But, as a stand alone single, I think it's outstanding.
"OG Christmas Swing" is Chill Hop (a cross between Chill and Hip Hop). I'm not gonna gauge the beat--that's above my pay grade or beyond my expertise or whatever. But the base of the song, unless Im mistaken, is a harp performance of "Moonlight Serenade". Brilliant! If you came to me and said, "I'm going to make a Christmas instrumental out of 'Moonlight Serenade'", I would have thought you were a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Really? What, you're going to add sleighbells or something? No, not at all. Everybody knows "Moonlight Serenade", nobody is going to think of Christmas when they hear "Moonlight Serenade". What really sells it--what really brings a Christmas feel to the thing--are the "ooh-ooh-ooh" vocalists buried deep in the mix, haunting the tune like the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Your mileage may vary, but my vote is yes, "OG Christmas Swing" by Majime makes me feel like Christmas. If the spirit of the season moves you, you'll find "OG Christmas Swing" on Amazon.
Here's someone new. Josefin Admin is an acoustic singer/songwriter from Sweden. She's all of 18 years old and this year has been an eventful one for her as she's been competing all year in the Imagine Sweden contest, an annual nationwide competition restricted to young artists (no older than 21) of any genre. As of Monday, she was still alive in the competition, but I haven't found an update that I can decipher since. Josefin specializes in what she calls "surprising" covers and original songs. "Waiting For Snow" is one of her originals, one that helped her advance in the competition back in April.
"Waiting For Snow" is not a Christmas song, but it is a winter song, in spite of one verse that's all about summer. To understand the song, you sort of have to have an understanding of where Sweden sits in the world. It's right up there by the Arctic Circle. As a result, in the northern most parts of the country, the sun never sets for part of the summer and never rises for part of the winter. In spite of it's northern latitude, being surrounded (for the most part) by the North Sea and Baltic Sea means the climate is a lot more temperate than you might imagine and the seasons are not that different from ours. Josefin's song doesn't say so directly, but the lyrics imply that she lives in central Sweden where summer days are 18 hours long while December days last just 6. This is why she sings the verse about summer. In summer, the days last many hours and there is time for everything. But, in the winter, the days provide little time for anything (if your parents tell you you've got to be home by the time it gets dark well, shoot, you'd be spending 18 hours in a box every day...or...night...or whatever). And so she sings, "I spend my days waiting for snow, but it only falls in the dark. I wake up to a world that is white and papers full of ink from my heart." I'm guessing the last bit, there, refers to writing songs and letters to a summer love. In any case, "Waiting For Snow" is a very affecting song.
For me, Christmas and Christmas mixtapes are all about moods. Yeah, I've done the tapes that are non-stop fun and energy and I find them exhausting to listen to. And, at my age, exhausting is not a good thing. My favorite mixes are the ones that contain many moods and many genres. Trust me, there's a place on your mixtape for "Waiting For Snow". Or, maybe not. But I promise you there's a place on mine.
As noted, Josefin Admin is still pretty new at this. In fact, I think "Waiting For Snow" is her first official single. Nonetheless, she seems to have oodles of poise and buckets of talent. I look forward to what she'll create in the many years ahead. Go give the lady some love and support and "Like" her Facebook page. Tell her Stubby sent you. You can purchase "Waiting For Snow" from Amazon.
"Waiting For Snow" is not a Christmas song, but it is a winter song, in spite of one verse that's all about summer. To understand the song, you sort of have to have an understanding of where Sweden sits in the world. It's right up there by the Arctic Circle. As a result, in the northern most parts of the country, the sun never sets for part of the summer and never rises for part of the winter. In spite of it's northern latitude, being surrounded (for the most part) by the North Sea and Baltic Sea means the climate is a lot more temperate than you might imagine and the seasons are not that different from ours. Josefin's song doesn't say so directly, but the lyrics imply that she lives in central Sweden where summer days are 18 hours long while December days last just 6. This is why she sings the verse about summer. In summer, the days last many hours and there is time for everything. But, in the winter, the days provide little time for anything (if your parents tell you you've got to be home by the time it gets dark well, shoot, you'd be spending 18 hours in a box every day...or...night...or whatever). And so she sings, "I spend my days waiting for snow, but it only falls in the dark. I wake up to a world that is white and papers full of ink from my heart." I'm guessing the last bit, there, refers to writing songs and letters to a summer love. In any case, "Waiting For Snow" is a very affecting song.
For me, Christmas and Christmas mixtapes are all about moods. Yeah, I've done the tapes that are non-stop fun and energy and I find them exhausting to listen to. And, at my age, exhausting is not a good thing. My favorite mixes are the ones that contain many moods and many genres. Trust me, there's a place on your mixtape for "Waiting For Snow". Or, maybe not. But I promise you there's a place on mine.
As noted, Josefin Admin is still pretty new at this. In fact, I think "Waiting For Snow" is her first official single. Nonetheless, she seems to have oodles of poise and buckets of talent. I look forward to what she'll create in the many years ahead. Go give the lady some love and support and "Like" her Facebook page. Tell her Stubby sent you. You can purchase "Waiting For Snow" from Amazon.
Alt Country/Americana artist Brian Lambert has been playing juke joints and honky tonks for over a decade. He's a skilled songwriter who has been described by his hometown paper as "the love child of Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams." His music ranges from gritty Roots Rock to Country tearjerkers, with frequent wry humorous tales sung with tongue firmly in cheek (some will point to "Country Music Jesus" for the latter, but I rather dug "Halloween" from the same album).
"Not Built To Break" is Brian's new digital single, with "All I Want For Christmas Is A Brand New Start" being the virtual flip. I started out anticipating a song about unemployment or social injustice but, no, it's a post-breakup song. Not that there's anything wrong with that. To the contrary, the song's got the feel of old time Country. Hank Williams/George Jones Country. And Brian delivers it with heartfelt sincerity. Yeah, I'd drop a quarter in the jukebox for that (or whatever a song costs these days).
Interestingly, Amazon has "Not Built To Break", but you have to go to Bandcamp to get both sides of the single. So that's two songs for the price of one. And, since you're hanging around anyway, you might as well grab "Christmas Stuff", a pair of free Christmas covers from last year. So that's four songs for the price of one. And if you really want to go crazy, there's an entire EP dedicated to Brian's beloved San Antonio Spurs that's also free. Cool beans. But, mostly, we're here to recommend Brian Lambert's "All I Want For Christmas Is A Brand New Start". And we do. Recommend it that is.
"Not Built To Break" is Brian's new digital single, with "All I Want For Christmas Is A Brand New Start" being the virtual flip. I started out anticipating a song about unemployment or social injustice but, no, it's a post-breakup song. Not that there's anything wrong with that. To the contrary, the song's got the feel of old time Country. Hank Williams/George Jones Country. And Brian delivers it with heartfelt sincerity. Yeah, I'd drop a quarter in the jukebox for that (or whatever a song costs these days).
Interestingly, Amazon has "Not Built To Break", but you have to go to Bandcamp to get both sides of the single. So that's two songs for the price of one. And, since you're hanging around anyway, you might as well grab "Christmas Stuff", a pair of free Christmas covers from last year. So that's four songs for the price of one. And if you really want to go crazy, there's an entire EP dedicated to Brian's beloved San Antonio Spurs that's also free. Cool beans. But, mostly, we're here to recommend Brian Lambert's "All I Want For Christmas Is A Brand New Start". And we do. Recommend it that is.
Nothing much out there in the way of Jazz or Blues singles as yet, but there is this one from Martin Behnke's Timberline Express Big Band. Two songs that Jazz groups always seem to do well with, "We Three Kings" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", this being an example of the latter.
The first thing I can tell you about Martin Behnke's Timberline Express Big Band is that that's a long ass name. So we'll just refer to them as TEBB from now on. As the name might suggest, the band is from southern Oregon and features some of the best Jazz musicians in that area. TEBB has only been together since 2016 and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is their Christmas single follow-up to their debut album, "Departures". Best part of the song, to me, is the guitar solo. That really swings. Since he's mentioned as being featured, I'm guessing that's Mark Hamersly, who is an accomplished player of both guitar and stand up bass.
In any case, TEBB's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is available from Amazon.
The first thing I can tell you about Martin Behnke's Timberline Express Big Band is that that's a long ass name. So we'll just refer to them as TEBB from now on. As the name might suggest, the band is from southern Oregon and features some of the best Jazz musicians in that area. TEBB has only been together since 2016 and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is their Christmas single follow-up to their debut album, "Departures". Best part of the song, to me, is the guitar solo. That really swings. Since he's mentioned as being featured, I'm guessing that's Mark Hamersly, who is an accomplished player of both guitar and stand up bass.
In any case, TEBB's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is available from Amazon.
Sometimes a Christmas song doesn't click the first time around. Nothing wrong with giving it another shot.
The Hungarian Brit Pop group Long Play 33 1/3 originally released "Christmas Time Brings" in 2011. The band's frontman appears to be guitarist Békei István. Annnnd that's about all I can tell you about that. They have a web site with essays that don't always have to do with music and don't translate well to English, apparently, and it hasn't been updated since 2015. They have a Facebook page, but that hasn't been updated since 2016 (January). They have a Soundcloud page (and their stuff sounds great, by the way), but same story...no activity in the last three years. So it's a bit weird to see their 2011 holiday single as a new entry over at Amazon (though the band now goes by Long Play--losing the 33 1/3). I have no idea where they've been hiding since January 2016. Maybe they're doing fine and selling out stadiums all over Hungary and just haven't had time to update their social media. Could be family or business has taken up all of their free time. Or maybe they gave it up and Békei István was kicking around the attic one day and came across the old Christmas single and said, "Hey, what the hell" (in Hungarian, probably).
But does it really matter? "Christmas Time Brings" is a real good song with British Invasion sound about our favorite holiday. And, if you haven't heard it before, it's new to you. Don't let the fact that it's 7 years old and I can't find anything current on Long Play keep you from enjoying it. Pick it up from Amazon.
The Hungarian Brit Pop group Long Play 33 1/3 originally released "Christmas Time Brings" in 2011. The band's frontman appears to be guitarist Békei István. Annnnd that's about all I can tell you about that. They have a web site with essays that don't always have to do with music and don't translate well to English, apparently, and it hasn't been updated since 2015. They have a Facebook page, but that hasn't been updated since 2016 (January). They have a Soundcloud page (and their stuff sounds great, by the way), but same story...no activity in the last three years. So it's a bit weird to see their 2011 holiday single as a new entry over at Amazon (though the band now goes by Long Play--losing the 33 1/3). I have no idea where they've been hiding since January 2016. Maybe they're doing fine and selling out stadiums all over Hungary and just haven't had time to update their social media. Could be family or business has taken up all of their free time. Or maybe they gave it up and Békei István was kicking around the attic one day and came across the old Christmas single and said, "Hey, what the hell" (in Hungarian, probably).
But does it really matter? "Christmas Time Brings" is a real good song with British Invasion sound about our favorite holiday. And, if you haven't heard it before, it's new to you. Don't let the fact that it's 7 years old and I can't find anything current on Long Play keep you from enjoying it. Pick it up from Amazon.
Speaking of everything old being new again, there's a vinyl single being released later this year by Sub Pop records. It won't be released until November 22, in fact, but you know how these underground vinyl singles are, so, if you're into it, you might want to consider pre-ordering now.
It's a split single of two Seattle bands. The B-side is the U-Men's 1984 recording of "Blue Christmas", which I believe has only ever been available on the "Christmas '84" cassette. You know I'm not going to close with "Blue Christmas", right? So here's the A-side, Green River's "Away In A Manger", originally from the 1989 C/Z album "Another Pyrrhic Victory" (an album that featured only defunct Seattle bands). Vocalist Mark Arm went on to form Mudhoney. Oh, sure, now you're interested.
It's a split single of two Seattle bands. The B-side is the U-Men's 1984 recording of "Blue Christmas", which I believe has only ever been available on the "Christmas '84" cassette. You know I'm not going to close with "Blue Christmas", right? So here's the A-side, Green River's "Away In A Manger", originally from the 1989 C/Z album "Another Pyrrhic Victory" (an album that featured only defunct Seattle bands). Vocalist Mark Arm went on to form Mudhoney. Oh, sure, now you're interested.
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