Christmastime is here....
...and so the blog returns from the dead once more.
Sorry for the updates being virtually nonexistient on this thing, but I figure most of my devoted readers either have this on LJ or RSS feed, so they get the updates when they come.... hopefully the new semester will find more time for pointless pursuits such as this.
In any case, with the holiday season upon us, I did what any good blogger would do and put together a Christmas mixtape compilation. Its pretty eclectic, and I couldn't even fit everything on there I wanted (hint hint... look for bonus tracks coming soon), but its a pretty good sampling of the best Christmas originals and covers of old favorites you've probably never heard of.
Enjoy!
ETA: Apologies to anyone that has this feeding to LJ and got spammed with my last dozen or so entries.... I switched over to the new Blogger engine, and I guess it republished all my old posts.
NGS Presents: A Very Indie X-Mas [MegaUpload]
Track Listing/Liner Notes:
1. Sufjan Stevens- Come On! Let’s Boogie to the Elf Dance!: This may be my all-time favorite “new” Christmas song. In classic Sufjan fashion, it manages to capture so many of the little details that make the holiday special while growing up, all against a terrifically busy musical backdrop, with a refrain of “Santa Claus is coming, hear the banjo strumming” thrown in for good measure.
2. Eels- Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas: A cautiously upbeat Christmas rocker by E (actually, I’m not sure if he gets any happier than this), made priceless by the random declaration of “Baby Jesus… born to rock” in the middle of the song.
3. The Kinks- Father Christmas: Possibly the original “anti-Christmas” song, it manages to be comical in telling of a department store Santa being mugged while still keeping a reminder in there that Christmas isn’t always happy for everyone
4. They Might Be Giants- Santa’s Beard: Think of it as “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” but from the father’s perspective… and sung by two nerdy white guys from New York.
5. Sufjan Stevens- Get Behind Me, Santa!: Closing out the Santa trifecta is another hyperactive bit of pure Christmas joy from Sufjan, this time with a subtle jab at commercialism as he tries to figure out the true meaning of the guy in the red suit.
6. The Flaming Lips- Christmas at the Zoo: Leave it to Wayne Coyne to come up with something this completely tripped out…I have to wonder if he ever actually tried this himself while high once.
7. Gomez- God Send: I’m on the fence about Gomez as a whole, but this one has everything that I love about them- pleasant vocals and guitar work with just a hint of irreverence.
8. The Pogues- Fairytale of New York: Ah, nothing like a good old fashioned Christmas-themed Irish drinking song. There’s a decent cover of this by Canadian indie popsters Stars out there, but nothing can really match the original.
9. Barenaked Ladies- Christmastime (Oh Yeah)- Kevin Hearn doesn’t step up to the mike very often in BNL, but when he does, he usually makes it count… another one of those songs that feels like the Christmas memories you never actually had.
10. Ron Sexsmith- Maybe This Christmas: Ron Sexsmith is such a cool guy, we can forgive him for this being included on The OC holiday compilation
11. Erlend Oye- Last Christmas: Wow, who knew Wham! Could sound so heartbreaking? (Head to http://www.last-christmas.com for a couple hundred other covers of this song… I kids you not).
12. Vince Guaraldi Trio- Christmastime is Here: Despite the iconic dominance of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, I can’t help but think a little bit of “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Arrested Development” in the back of my mind whenever I hear this.
13. Belle and Sebastian- O Come O Come Emmanuel: It goes without saying that twee pop and traditional carols go hand and hand together.
14. Barenaked Ladies- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: A modern classic, with Sarah McLachlan providing guest vocals… I challenge anyone to still think of them as a novelty act after hearing this one.
15. David Bowie and Bing Crosby- Little Drummer Boy: Yeah, you read that correctly… recorded for a Christmas special a few weeks before Crosby died, its truly one of the more bizarre pairings in music history, and yet somehow it works (the clip is worth checking out too, if only for its sheer cheesiness)
16. Bright Eyes- Blue Christmas: He’s got a whole album of the stuff, folks… seriously, do emo kids even LIKE Christmas?
17. The Pipettes- White Christmas: Congrats to the reigning girl group champs from the UK for bumping the Flaming Lips decidedly more bizarre rendition of the granddaddy of all Christmas songs from the playlist
18. Badly Drawn Boy- Donna and Blitzen: Possibly the most romantic Christmas song ever written, and definitely the best thing to ever come out of a film starring Hugh Grant (you heard me, “Love, Actually” groupies).
Sorry for the updates being virtually nonexistient on this thing, but I figure most of my devoted readers either have this on LJ or RSS feed, so they get the updates when they come.... hopefully the new semester will find more time for pointless pursuits such as this.
In any case, with the holiday season upon us, I did what any good blogger would do and put together a Christmas mixtape compilation. Its pretty eclectic, and I couldn't even fit everything on there I wanted (hint hint... look for bonus tracks coming soon), but its a pretty good sampling of the best Christmas originals and covers of old favorites you've probably never heard of.
Enjoy!
ETA: Apologies to anyone that has this feeding to LJ and got spammed with my last dozen or so entries.... I switched over to the new Blogger engine, and I guess it republished all my old posts.
NGS Presents: A Very Indie X-Mas [MegaUpload]
Track Listing/Liner Notes:
1. Sufjan Stevens- Come On! Let’s Boogie to the Elf Dance!: This may be my all-time favorite “new” Christmas song. In classic Sufjan fashion, it manages to capture so many of the little details that make the holiday special while growing up, all against a terrifically busy musical backdrop, with a refrain of “Santa Claus is coming, hear the banjo strumming” thrown in for good measure.
2. Eels- Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas: A cautiously upbeat Christmas rocker by E (actually, I’m not sure if he gets any happier than this), made priceless by the random declaration of “Baby Jesus… born to rock” in the middle of the song.
3. The Kinks- Father Christmas: Possibly the original “anti-Christmas” song, it manages to be comical in telling of a department store Santa being mugged while still keeping a reminder in there that Christmas isn’t always happy for everyone
4. They Might Be Giants- Santa’s Beard: Think of it as “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” but from the father’s perspective… and sung by two nerdy white guys from New York.
5. Sufjan Stevens- Get Behind Me, Santa!: Closing out the Santa trifecta is another hyperactive bit of pure Christmas joy from Sufjan, this time with a subtle jab at commercialism as he tries to figure out the true meaning of the guy in the red suit.
6. The Flaming Lips- Christmas at the Zoo: Leave it to Wayne Coyne to come up with something this completely tripped out…I have to wonder if he ever actually tried this himself while high once.
7. Gomez- God Send: I’m on the fence about Gomez as a whole, but this one has everything that I love about them- pleasant vocals and guitar work with just a hint of irreverence.
8. The Pogues- Fairytale of New York: Ah, nothing like a good old fashioned Christmas-themed Irish drinking song. There’s a decent cover of this by Canadian indie popsters Stars out there, but nothing can really match the original.
9. Barenaked Ladies- Christmastime (Oh Yeah)- Kevin Hearn doesn’t step up to the mike very often in BNL, but when he does, he usually makes it count… another one of those songs that feels like the Christmas memories you never actually had.
10. Ron Sexsmith- Maybe This Christmas: Ron Sexsmith is such a cool guy, we can forgive him for this being included on The OC holiday compilation
11. Erlend Oye- Last Christmas: Wow, who knew Wham! Could sound so heartbreaking? (Head to http://www.last-christmas.com for a couple hundred other covers of this song… I kids you not).
12. Vince Guaraldi Trio- Christmastime is Here: Despite the iconic dominance of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, I can’t help but think a little bit of “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Arrested Development” in the back of my mind whenever I hear this.
13. Belle and Sebastian- O Come O Come Emmanuel: It goes without saying that twee pop and traditional carols go hand and hand together.
14. Barenaked Ladies- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: A modern classic, with Sarah McLachlan providing guest vocals… I challenge anyone to still think of them as a novelty act after hearing this one.
15. David Bowie and Bing Crosby- Little Drummer Boy: Yeah, you read that correctly… recorded for a Christmas special a few weeks before Crosby died, its truly one of the more bizarre pairings in music history, and yet somehow it works (the clip is worth checking out too, if only for its sheer cheesiness)
16. Bright Eyes- Blue Christmas: He’s got a whole album of the stuff, folks… seriously, do emo kids even LIKE Christmas?
17. The Pipettes- White Christmas: Congrats to the reigning girl group champs from the UK for bumping the Flaming Lips decidedly more bizarre rendition of the granddaddy of all Christmas songs from the playlist
18. Badly Drawn Boy- Donna and Blitzen: Possibly the most romantic Christmas song ever written, and definitely the best thing to ever come out of a film starring Hugh Grant (you heard me, “Love, Actually” groupies).
posted by Jeff Lakin at 4:03 PM
1 comments
