Believe it or not, we are still discovering holiday singles out there that deserve a mention. Even though the video for "Wally Bronner (Christmas Always)" has been around for a month or so, the single doesn't ship until Wednesday. Wally Bronner's, by the way, is a legendary Michigan Christmas Store--the world's largest, if they are to be believed. The Bellyache 7" from the Michigan rock band Hard Lessons comes on white vinyl (with an accompanying CD copy) and features "Oh Holy Night" on the flip. Order direct from the Bellyache Candy Shoppe.
Next up, the Hurdy Gurdy Man himself, Donovan Leach, has recorded a Christmas single with 'is dear ol' mum-in-law, Violetta Lawrence. It's really impossible to tell anything from the song sample on Donovan's site, especially since Violetta is doing all the singing on the clip. Violetta also penned the lyric for "Christmas Time Is Here Again", so maybe she should get top billing on this one. Oh, look at that, she did. All proceeds from sale of the single will go to Barnardos children's charity of Ireland and the World. At least in the iTunes sample, you get to hear the children of the Ballyhass School choir. Oh, yeah, the song is available on iTunes.
I don't know the band Valencia from a hole in the wall, but they do a kick-ass version of the old Kinks classic. The single should be officially released this week through Amazon MP3 and all the usual digital outlets. In the meantime, you can stream "Father Christmas" and watch the video at PureVolume. Remember. Kick. Ass.
I didn't know what to expect from this one. Wasn't really expecting anything. But, wow, what a great grunge rock tune. Well, grunge was my immediate thought. Officially, Jesu has been labeled "drone metal", "ambient", and "shoegaze". OK, I can see that, I guess. The Welsh band has been kicking out experimental rock jams since 2003. Where have I been? "Christmas" was released on December 9 and the full digital EP includes a pair of remixes. At present, this is the band's first-ever digital-only release, though they suggest that there may be a very limited run of vinyl early in the new year. Watch their blog if that interests you, or buy the single through Amazon MP3. My cat really hated it, by the way, but she hates everything. Not the kind of thing you'll be playing at the office Christmas party, though.
REM's annual holiday single is out and it's one of their best yet. This year, the Georgia boys have gone all Phil Spector on us with a full-on Wall of Sound rendition of Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". We don't have artwork for this one yet. To the right, you see an image of the 2000 7", the only one I own a copy of (though I've got the boots, of course). We get the audio courtesy of the marvelous Cover Me blog. Stop by some time and say "hello" and "thank you". They're having quite a Christmas party over there this year I hear. Still waiting on Pearl Jam's annual gift.
I'm always on the lookout for something in what I call the off genres, the ones that don't get the mass media attention. So I'm thrilled to find a very nice authentic Bluegrass Christmas single from the group Jett's Creek. Jett's Creek features Adam McIntosh who was, at one time, with the Dry Branch Fire Squad. So folks who follow bluegrass know there's a bit of a pedigree here. "From My Broken Heart To You" is a beautiful song about heartbreak at Christmas time. If you like Alison Krauss and artists in that vein, you should definitely check this one out. You can listen to the song at ReverbNation and buy the download through CD Baby.
Don't know how many of you can remember all the way back to October or thereabouts, but one of the absolute stars of the 2010 political season was Basil Marceaux, a GOP candidate for Governor in Tennessee. Marceaux got wide exposure on television's The Colbert Report, as well as elsewhere. Well, Basil, sadly, lost his political bid, but there's no moss growing under his feet. Basil has released a festive festoon called "Come Christmas" and it has all the charm and media savvy of Marceaux's failed campaign. Definitely one for the novelty collectors, you can find Basil's record on iTunes and Amazon MP3, and a big 'ol cover shot here. What's that? Oh, we've even got a video!
RSS Feed
