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Strange Names: Sufjan Stevens, Japandroids, and Camper Van Beethoven

Read More Sufjan Stevens Singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens just released his 50+ Christmas five-disc album, Silver & Gold, collecting Songs for Christmas, Vol 6-10. Stevens is currently on tour, I am assuming he'll be doing at least one or two xmas songs? .....

SUFJAN STEVENS
sufjan.com

I'm hoping that things will work out tonight for Audrey. I have sent her out to see Sufjan Stevens' sold out show at the Mill City Nights tonight (12/12/12). Stevens is currently on tour this winter to promote the massive Christmas five-disc album Silver & Gold.

If you want a free xmas gift from Stevens, Pitchfork just offered a free download of remixes of Silver & Gold, courtesy of his record label, Asthmatic Kitty. You can download it at pitchfork.com, or directly on Soundcloud.



The rapper-delight Christmas mixtape is called Chopped and Scrooged and features talents from Heems, Kitty Pryde, Busdriver, & more…

Here's the rest of Stevens' tour itinerary:

12/12/12 Minneapolis, MN Mill City Nights
12/13/12 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
12/14/12 Indianapolis, IN Deluxe
12/15/12 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
12/16/12 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
12/18/12 Buffalo, NY Asbury Hall @ Babeville
12/19/12 Providence, RI Fete
12/20/12 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
12/21/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
12/22/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

JAPANDROIDS
japandroids.com

Remember how we were going to cover DIIV with Japandroids at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis? I got a last-minute cancellation from DIIV.

Japandroids are still set to play. This Canadian band is incredibly popular in Minneapolis, apparently, selling out both their shows (why not do a 'triple' Triple Rock show?)

Anyway, Emily is still covering their show, special thanks to PolyVinyl. Japandroids are currently on tour in support of their Celebration Rock album.

12/13/12 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
12/14/12 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
12/15/12 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
12/17/12 Winnipeg, MB Pyramid Cabaret
12/18/12 Saskatoon, SK Louis'
12/19/12 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
12/20/12 Calgary, AB Republik Nightclub
12/22/12 Vancouver, BC The Rickshaw Theatre
01/26/13 Singapore, Singapore Gardens By The Bay
01/28/13 Auckland, New Zealand Silo Park
02/01/13 Brisbane, Australia Alexandria Street
02/02/13 Sydney, Australia St. Jerome's Laneway Festival
02/03/13 Melbourne, Australia St. Jerome's Laneway Festival
02/08/13 Adelaide, Australia St. Jerome's Laneway Festival
02/09/13 Perth, Australia Cultural Centre
02/18/13 Tokyo, Japan Shibuya WWW
02/19/13 Osaka, Japan Conpass

PS, if you want to hear about St. Jerome's Laneway Festival - go here.

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN
campervanbeethoven.com

Camper Van Beethoven is celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2013 with a new album called La Costa Perdida. Set for release in January 2013. The only thing I have is a "Lyric Video" to Northern California Girls.

If you're a CVB fan, check it out - they are heading out on tour! Personally, all I really want is to hear them play "Take the Skinheads Bowling."

12/27 San Diego, CA - Belly Up Tavern
12/28 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
12/29 Petaluma, CA - Mystic Theatre
01/18 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
01/19 New York, NY - Stage 48
01/20 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs
01/23 Augusta, GA - Sky City
01/24 Athens, GA - 40-Watt Club
01/25 Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle
01/26 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
01/27 Charleston, WV - Mountain Stage *
02/23 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios

* = w/ Calexico & Bonnie "Prince" Billy

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Christmas 2012

Read More Mariah Carey Part three of We♥Christmas, the hits keeps on coming. Lara picks her least favorite Christmas song, as well as thrown in some of her favorites: Mariah Carey's "O Holy Night". .....

Christmas time is almost here, so I've been getting a lot of xmas emails lately. If you recall, I started writing about Christmas releases in November (that's because they have to get the product in stores for Black Friday).

Anyway, as usual, I get so much Christmas-related music that I can't really mention them all.

MARIAH CAREY
mariahcarey.com/

Lara previously mentioned how her favorite Christmas album was from Mariah Carey.

So, Carey's Christmas album, Merry Christmas II You, the follow-up to her 1994 Merry Christmas, was released in 2010. Carey decided to re-release Merry Christmas II You this year - as far as I can see, the track listing is the same as the 2010 version. There doesn't seem to be anything new/different in this new version.

The only thing I can think of the re-issue is for the benefit of the Australian audience… where she is playing a few dates.

01/01/13 Gold Coast, Australia Convention & Expo Centre
01/03/13 Sydney, Australia Allphones Arena

Read More Glee With Season 4 just kicked off last month, here are some of the covers: Adele's "Chasing Pavements", Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe", Imagine Dragons' "It's Time", The Fray's "Never Say Never", mashup of Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga's .....

GLEE
fox.com/glee

Fans of "Glee" should pick up the new Christmas album, hitting stores today (December 11th). The incredibly popular musical television series selling strong - both on the physical CD and digital downloads.

The new album is entitled, Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 3 and should be in most retail stores (including a massive Target section). The album will contain four new songs, recorded exclusively for this album: "Joy To The World", "Silent Night", "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Happy Xmas."

The full track listing for Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Vol. 3 is as follows:

1. Feliz Navidad
2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
3. Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah
4. White Christmas
5. Jingle Bell Rock
6. The First Noel
7. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
8. Silent Night
9. Joy To The World
10. Happy Xmas

Still can't get enough of Glee? You should pick up Glee: The Music - Season 4 Vol 1, released in November. The thirteen track includes a cover of the popular Psy's "Gangnam Style" song. You can read more about Psy here.

CHRISTMAS IN THE SMOKIES
bluegrasschristmasinsmokies.com

Kicking off tomorrow and continues to December 15th is "Christmas In The Smokies: Bluegrass Festival Announces 2012 Festival."

Bluegrass is not my scene, so looking over their flyer, I didn't really know any of the bands involved. It seems like it's targeted to families and good times.

The Annual Christmas in the Smokies will feature 15 talented artist including: Carolina Road, Your Host Band; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Marty Raybon, Goldwing Express, Ralph Stanley II, Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press, Gary Waldrep Band, Jerry Butler & The Blu-J's, Remington, Ryde, Bluegrass Mountaineers, The Larkins, Reno Tradition, Mountain Faith, Hart Brothers and Bluegrass Gentleman.

General admission is as little $23 for one day. Children under 12 are free. See their website for full price breakdowns.

Event will take place at:

Ramada Inn & Smokey Mountain Convention Center 4010 Parkway
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee 37863

INVISIBLE CHILDREN HOLIDAY BENEFIT SHOW
invisiblechildren.com

Invisible Children announced their Holiday Benefit show at Los Angeles' Troubadour with help from 89.9 KCRW and Chop Shop Music. The show will take place December 15th.

The main band on the bill is DeVotchKa (with a 7-Piece String Ensemble) with White Arrows, The Colourist, Whispertown and more. Not all the guests have been announced.

The proceeds from this year's show go to Invisible Children's holiday campaign, Come Home For the Holidays, an effort to increase HF radio coverage and defection fliers that will encourage LRA combatants to lay down their weapons and return home.

The first 50 people through the door will receive a limited edition show poster designed by Jon Contino (if you are a later arriver, the posters will also be available for purchase at the show.)

Tickets for the show are $25 and can be purchased at the Troubadour's website.

LEFTOVER CUTIES
leftovercuties.com

Christmas Time Is Here is the new holiday EP from Los Angeles' Leftover Cuties.

The band is currently in the studios recording new music for an upcoming album with producer/engineer Dave Way (Fiona Apple, Macy Gray, SherylCrow) - set to be released in Spring 2013.

You can listen to Christmas Time Is Here on Soundcloud.

Catch Leftover Cuties Live:

12/19 – The Mint – Los Angeles, CA
01/14 – City Winery (with Shelby Lynne) – NY
01/15 – Rockwood Music Hall – New York, NY

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

It came from Luaka Bop

Read More Cornershop IBack in 1993, I first heard about Cornershop doing some sort of protest against Morrissey for his song "Asian Rut". This was really uncall for, because if you listen to the lyrics carefully, Morrissey is singing about an Asian ....

CORNERSHOP
cornershop.com

Luaka Pop alumni Cornershop recently announced their new Singhles Club series: six tracks for £6. I did listen to the preview song, it's a Christmas song.

"Every Year So Different" is the first 'Singhles' single, as Ben & Tjinder (the two main band members in Cornershop) explained, "Forget Santa, we will personally deliver the tracks direct to your inbox at regular fortnightly intervals … Actually, let’s not forget Santa.....Cornershop have collaborated with the much favoured, up and coming Trwbador, to create the first Singhle 'Every Year So Different' - set yourself up with all the wholesome goodness you need for the year ahead: please listen & share."

Cornershop with Ample Play's Singhles Club launches next week, December 3rd. Use code AMPLA7 to get 10% some stuff. You're welcome.

PS, We last saw Cornershop with their cleverly titled Urban Turban on this year's free downloads.

-- Vu  

Read More Delicate Steve It’s taken a little while but Delicate Steve is back with a brand new album set for release on the 15th May on the “Luaka Bop” record label which is run by Talking Head’s front man extraordinaire David Byrne. ....

DELICATE STEVE
delicatesteve.com

Guitar legends Delicate Steve are wrapping up the final leg of their US tour. In support of their summer release "Positive Force", these guys have been touring with the likes of Yeasayer and Tune-Yards. The most interesting part of their story is how they streamed their album. Different bands from the label released a individual song off the release and just posted the stream link on their Facebook page. I think that's a brilliant idea for label mates to work together and share other music. The bands that released Delicate Steve tracks were Ra Ra Riot, Givers, Yellow Ostrich, Yeasayer, Fang Island, Akron/Family, Javelin, Tune-Yards, and Wild Belle.

I was lucky enough to catch Delicate Steve in San Antonio back in 2010 open for Ra Ra Riot. Love the guitar instrumentals morphed into a "Local Natives" type set. If you haven't heard Delicate Steve's current release "Positive Force", it will blow you away like Tame Impala did to our very own writer Jess and many rabid fans.

I can't wait to see these guys play in New Orleans at the tiny Circle Bar, which reminds me of Batman's cave. Last time I was there the band Exitmusic walked out displeased with the sound quality.

Delicate Steve up coming tour dates:

11/25/12 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
11/26/12 Tucson, AZ - Plush
11/28/12 Austin, TX - The Mohawk
11/29/12 New Orleans, LA - Circle Bar
12/01/12 Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
12/02/12 Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Mausoleum Of Contemporary Art
12/08/12 New York, NY - The Gramercy Theatre

-- Brody  

brody + vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Girls, Women, and Ladies

Read More Celtic Woman Every day through Christmas, we're unveiling a new holiday song available to download free for a limited time…Dec. 1 - "Ave Maria" by Celtic Woman …

CELTIC WOMAN
celticwoman.com

You know how these things works: Christmas albums will starting dropping from the sky from now until Black Friday (in November.) I suspect, like previous years, that I will be reporting and reviewing my fair share of xmas music.

The first one I have for you is Celtic Woman's Home for Christmas, released last week, October 9th. This is their second holiday album, their first was called A Christmas Celebration from 2006.

If you didn't know, this is an all-female Irish ensemble. As far as I know on Máiréad Nesbitt sings and plays the Celtic violin, everyone else are vocalists.

With Home for Christmas, they sing the standards: "I'll Be Home For Christmas", "Joy To The World", "We Three Kings", "Silent Night", "Winter Wonderland", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", etc.

Many of these songs are traditional Christmas choirs, so it's really perfect for the angelic vocal harmonies of Celtic Woman.

Expect to catch Celtic Woman (Touring Members: Chloë Agnew, Lisa Lambe, Susan McFadden, Máiréad Nesbitt) on tour under their critically-acclaimed 2012 Christmas Celebration Symphony Tour this December in North America. I am in hibernation for the winter, but Celtic Woman would be the one act that I will brave the snow to see.

Christmas Celebration Symphony Tour dates are as follows:

12/01 Foxwoods, CT MGM Grand at Foxwoods 12/03 Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Hall 12/04 Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Hall 12/06 Detroit, MI The Fox Theatre 12/07 Minneapolis, MN Convention Center Aud 12/08 Naperville, IL Pfeiffer Hall 12/09 Naperville, IL Pfeiffer Hall 12/11 Costa Mesa, CA Segerstrom Center

12/13 Temecula, CA Pechanga Resort and Casino 12/14 Temecula, CA Pechanga Resort and Casino 12/15 Indio, CA Fantasy Springs 12/16 Tucson, AZ Centennial Hall 12/18 College Station, TX Rudder Auditorium 12/20 Atlanta, GA Symphony Hall 12/21 Anniston, AL Anniston PAC 12/22 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center

U.S. GIRLS
truthandsoulrecords.com

GEM is the fourth album from singer/songwriter Meghan Remy aka U.S. Girls. The new glam rock-influenced album will be coming out October 23rd on FatCat Records.

U.S. Girls also unveiled a new music video for "North on 45", directed by Remy. The video stars Lulu Hazel Turnbull and was edited by Ross Turnbull.

It's kind of weird; a woman is running in the dark on a gravel road with headlines from the car. It looks like she's chasing the car, even at different angles. I didn't think it had anything to do with creating an "open narrative about a struggle for power", but it's up to you to decide.

Watch video:

LADY
truthandsoulrecords.com

Impossible to find on Google, Lady is a soul sister duo (Nicole Wray and Terri Walker), that recently signed to Truth and Soul Records. They are currently on tour in Europe with Lee Fields (who I previously wrote about).

What makes Lady unique is that they mix soul classics with modern hip-hop and R&B.

October 20th - Bruges, Belgium - Cactus Club
October 22nd - Amsterdam, Holland - MC Theatre
October 23rd - Dordrecht, Holland - Dorhuis
October 24th - Groningen, Holland - De Oosterpoot
October 25th - Nijmegen, Holland - Doornroosje
October 26th - Evreux, France - L'Abordage
October 27th - Paris, France - le Trabendo

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Christmas 2011: Baby, Please Come Home

Christmas is almost here. This is part seven of Christmas 2011.

NPR
npr.org

NPR (National Public Radio) compiled their new Holiday Music Special on the "All Songs Considered" program. Download the entire hour program at npr.org

They self-described this year's compilation into a "delightfully offbeat seasonal anthem":

All Songs Holiday Special 2011

1. Paul Simon - Getting Ready For Christmas Day
2. Natalie Merchant - Children Go Where I Send Thee
3. Adam Arcuragi - Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
4. Prince - Another Lonely Christmas
5. The King's Singers - The Boar's Head Carol
6. The Polyphonic Spree - It's Christmas!
7. The Walkmen - The Christmas Party
8. Darlene Love - Christmas for the Jews
9. The Leevees- Kugel
10. The Maccabeats - Candlelight
11. Merle Haggard - If We Make It Through December
12. Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Spotlight on Christmas
13. Julian Koster and the Music Tapes - Zat You, Santa Claus?

There were a few artists on the list that I didn't recognized (Kate & Anna McGarrigle, The Leevees, King's Singers, etc). One of those name I didn't know was Adam Arcuragi. Apparently he has an album, Like a fire that consumes all before it..., coming out January 31st, 2012, via Thirty Tigers. You can download a sneak peak song at adamarcuragi.com.

He will also be doing a tour in early 2012 to support the album - see tour dates for more details.

January 18 /// Bootleg Theater /// Los Angeles, CA January 19 /// Hotel Utah /// San Francisco, CA January 21 /// Ella Street Social /// Portland, OR January 22 /// Hi Fidelity /// Bremerton, WA January 23 /// Sunset Tavern /// Seattle, WA January 24 /// Belltower /// Pullman, WA January 25 /// Flying M /// Boise, ID January 26 /// Kilby Court /// Salt Lake City, UT January 27 /// Hi Dive /// Denver, CO January 28 /// TBD /// Lawrence, KS January 29 /// Cicero’s /// St. Louis, MO January 30 /// Empty Bottle /// Chicago, IL

January 31 /// Café Bourbon Street /// Columbus, OH February 1 /// Garfield Artworks /// Pittsburgh, PA February 2 /// Union Pool /// Brooklyn, NY February 3 /// PA’s Lounge /// Boston, MA February 4 /// Café Nine /// New Haven, CT February 6 /// Kung Fu Necktie /// Philadelphia, PA February 7 /// IOTA /// Washington, DC February 9 /// Green Lantern /// Lexington, KY February 11 /// MOTR Pub /// Cincinnati, OH February 12 /// The End /// Nashville, TN February 14 /// The Earl /// Atlanta, GA

MN MUSIC 4 MN KIDS
childrensmn.org

This isn't a Christmas album, but proceeds from the album will go to giving children a happier Christmas. You can consider also gifting the album to music lovers (and also benefiting Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota), 'tis the season to be giving.

Anyway, I recognized (and personally know) a lot of these artists, they are staple Minneapolis bands. You would have to be a real jerk to turn down the opportunity to help children, so, of course, all these great bands are compiled here. Details on the album can be found at childrensmn.org/music (you're given options on buying the CD or downloading it from Amazon or iTunes).

Track listing:

1. Roma di Luna - Red Walls
2. Farewell Milwaukee - You're the Cure
3. Mayde - The Panthers
4. Mason Jennings - Table Hockey
5. Bunny Clogs - Peaches & Frankie
6. The Twilight Hours - Winter Blue
7. Phantom Tails - Orangutan
8. Gabriel Douglas of 4ONTHEFLOOR - Shake for the Wolfman
9. Cloud Cult - I'll Be Nearby
10. Sleep Study - Be Calm
11. Lucy Michelle - Cold Water
12. The Okee Dokee Brothers - Lucy and Tighty
13. Dessa - Into the Spin
14. Toki Wright - Memories
15. Rogue Valley - Hummingbird
16. Koo Koo Kanga Roo - Bestest Friend
17. Dan Israel - Never Go Away

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Christmas 2011: We wish you a merry Christmas

I don't know if this applies to other countries, but as far as I know, if you live in the US and have an amazon.com account, they are giving away 25 free Christmas songs.

It's actually such a good deal, considering that you don't have to shell out any money and, also, if you have a Kindle, you can access your files on their cloud player.

We still don't know what's offered for December 23rd to the 25th, but here are the free songs so far:

Every day through Christmas, we're unveiling a new holiday song available to download free for a limited time. Check back daily to see what's next. (Find more Holiday music, $5 Holiday albums, new 2011 Holiday releases and more in our Holiday MP3 Store.)

Dec. 1 - "Ave Maria" by Celtic Woman
Dec. 2 - "Peace on Earth" by Brian Wilson
Dec. 3 - "Adeste Fideles" by Bing Crosby
Dec. 4 - "My Dear Acquaintance [A Happy New Year]" by Regina Spektor
Dec. 5 - "Greensleeves" by Mannheim Steamroller
Dec. 6 - "Angels We Have Heard on High" by Bayside
Dec. 7 - "O Holy Night" by Leigh Nash
Dec. 8 - "Deck the Halls" by Twisted Sister
Dec. 9 - "Jingle Bells (Robbie Hardkiss Remix)" by Duke Ellington
Dec. 10 - "The Lights and Buzz" by Jack's Mannequin
Dec. 11 - "Wexford Carol" by Michael McDonald
Dec. 12 - "Emmanuel" by Laura Story
Dec. 13 - "Deck the Halls" by 11 Acorn Lane
Dec. 14 - "A Change at Christmas (Say it Isn't So)" by Flaming Lips
Dec. 15 - "Fruitcake" by the Superions
Dec. 16 - "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" by RTV Moscow Large Symphony Orchestra
Dec. 17 - "The First Noel" by Neil Sedaka
Dec. 18 - "Xmas Lights" by Radar Brothers
Dec. 19 - "Santa Stole My Lady" by Fitz and the Tantrums
Dec. 20 - "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" by Shonen Knife
Dec. 21 - "This I Have Done for My True Love" by Chanticleer
Dec. 22 - "Hark the Herald" by Irish Tenors

I was rather happy to see that Shonen Knife has a new 2011 holiday album, Sweet Christmas. If I hadn't downloaded their free song, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", I wouldn't have known otherwise.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Christmas 2011: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

This one is for the huge blizzard in Kansas! Here in Minneapolis, it's been pretty mild, doesn't really feel like Christmas to be honest. This is part 5 of Christmas 2011.

LELIA BROUSSARD
leliabroussard.com

Lelia Broussard's Holiday EP is available digitally for $5, she'll be playing at the Mercury Lounge in New York, tomorrow (December 21st). The flyer reads $12 and doors are at 6:30pm.

Details about Broussard:

Hot off the heels of an incredibly successful run of West Coast shows, the soulful indie/pop songstress Lelia Broussard is about to hit it big after claiming her spot in the top two of Rolling Stone’s So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star contest. Hand-picked as one of the best unsigned artists in the nation by the editors of Rolling Stone and Atlantic Records, Lelia performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN on June 12th as well as LIVE on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 15th.

Also on the bill: Alyson Greenfield, Allison's Invention, and Stephanie Carlin.

ASH REITER
myspace.com/drunkenboat

Ash Reiter's Christmas in California is available for FREE at soundcloud.com.

Songs on the EP are traditional covers, including "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" (which originally "The Christmas Song" by Mel Tormé; yes we love Night Court), "White Christmas" (and "Blue Christmas"!) and Lara's favorite "Jingle Bell Rock". Uncommon cover includes Joni Mitchell's "River".

Can't beat free, so I downloaded all the files - they are in WAV format, but you can easily convert these files to MP3 or whatever format you choose.

Here are some 2012 dates:

Jan 11 - Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco, CA
Jan 13 - Hopmonk Tavern, Sonoma, CA
Jan 14 - Fox and Goose, Sacramento, CA

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Christmas 2011: I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

This is Christmas 2011 part 4. Christmas time is almost here, so I just wanted to quickly throw up these items before the holiday is over:

KISSES & KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS
blowkisses.info ♥ keepshellyinathens.blogspot

Kisses & Keep Shelly in Athens made a Holiday Mixtape, you can download it on soundcloud.com. Songs compiled here aren't the typical standards, so check it out.

Both bands (Kisses and Keep Shelly in Athens) became friends through a recent tour of the West Coast. I'm pleased to see that Keep Shelly in Athens won't be staying in Athens by stopping Minneapolis at the beautiful Varsity Theater in April of next year:

April 02, 2012 - Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands Gallery
April 04, 2012 - Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
April 05, 2012 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
April 06, 2012 - Grinnell, IA @ Grinnell College
April 09, 2012 - Dallas, TX @ Prophet Bar
April 10, 2012 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's
April 11, 2012 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk

Quickies (these don't have cover artwork):

BRENT AMAKER & THE RODEO facebook.com/BrentAmakerandtheRodeo My Old Kentucky Blog unveiled an egotistically titled song called "A Very Brent Amaker Christmas" by Brent Amaker (who else?) Download it at myoldkentuckyblog.com

SKYPE skype.com Over at Skype's Blog, they detail how you can send friends and families Christmas messages - with the help of famous musicians like Alice Cooper, Autumn in Disguise, Boyz II Men, The Chakras, The Cuban Brothers and Scala & Kolacny Brothers, etc.

PS: I'm actually a big fan of Skype, I'm currently using a Skype telephone and pay about $60 a year for my home phone - that is a huge savings compared to what I used to pay for telephone ($360 a year). Outside of the money-saving deal, we also use Skype to record our Podcast shows. I don't work for Skype, but I'll sell people on this great service.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Christmas 2011: Maybe Next Year

Continuing the happy holidays, this is Christmas 2011 part 3! Be sure to check out this week for three more Christmas songs/albums/free downloads. I'm starting to see a ramp-up in submissions, so send them in.

Meiko: Maybe Next Year

PASTE MAGAZINE
pastemagazine.com

Paste Magazine's annual Christmas sampler is bigger than ever! This year they have compiled forty holiday tracks. You can either stream or download for free.

Excerpt:

We’ve compiled the best of both for you to listen to this Christmas season in our 2011 Paste Christmas Sampler, featuring 40 free Christmas tracks from Deer Tick, She & Him, The Polyphonic Spree, Damien Jurado, Nicole Atkins and more. Listen to our entire sampler in the streaming playlist below or download the entire compilation in two parts here (tracks 1-20, tracks 21-40).

Can be bothered to do two downloads? You can grab one single download via Noisetrade - any donation you make goes directly to charity.

DENIS LEARY
www.denisleary.com

Miserable chain smoker Denis Leary wishes you a "Merry F#%$ng Christmas." The promo video is pretty funny, it's obviously an homage to the classic Rudolph stop-motion holiday movie.... only it's not for kids.

The album actually came out in 2004, according to Amazon.com, but I just found out about it just now. Merry f'n xmas.

Track listing:

1. Merry F#%$in' Christmas (Studio)
2. Fat Guy on the Plane
3. Deaf Mute Cocktail Party
4. WWWW
5. Jack Goes to School
6. Insane Cowboy (In Africa)
7. Coffin Rap
8. The Theme from Jesus & The Gang
9. Dogsledding
10. Merry F#%$in' Christmas (Live)

TWO PARADES
facebook.com/twoparades

Although, according to the bandcamp website, the entirely free download was released around Christmas of 2007, if you haven't heard it, head over to download.

Based on the song titles, with the exception of the traditional standards like "What Child is This" and "Silent Night", it looks like these are original songs (although it would not surprise me if I get a correction email stating that they are original songs).

1. Holiday Home 03:34
2. Crashing into Christmas 03:11
3. Call Me Home 05:06
4. Children, Children 04:23
5. What Child is This 02:21
6. Love Someone for Christmas 05:39
7. December Winds 04:24
8. Silent Night 05:53
9. That Christmas Thing 05:28
10. Holiday Home 1987 04:13

Tipster Bob also mention that the band (Two Parades) has recorded a new Christmas song every year. They are compiling a second album of all original Christmas songs. This year, the new song is called A Holy Night

MUSIC CITY UNSIGNED
musiccityunsigned.bigcartel.com

If you live in Nashville and missed their Christmas show, you can still make it up by buying a copy of their Music City Unsigned Family Christmas, Volume 2. By that title, yes, that means there was a volume one. Volume one is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD for a limited time.

Digital download is $5.99, one CD is $10. If you're purchasing for gifts, there is the $70 option, which will get you 10 CDs.

Track listing:

1. Winter Dress - Humming House 2:36
2. Home - Marie Hines 3:37
3. Jingle Bells - Andrew Ripp 4:08
4. Once In Royal David's City - The Vespers 3:09
5. I'm Coming Home - Robert Kelly 3:51
6. Silent Night - The CO 2:29
7. Ain't No Christmas Blues - Jeffrey James 3:30
8. Away In a Manger - Carolina Story 2:56
9. If I Can't Have You - Emily De Loach 2:34
10. O Holy Night - Jessica Breanne And The Electric Hearts 4:03

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Christmas 2011: Deck the Halls

Continuing the very, merry Christmas season is part two of Christmas 2011. Come back on Monday for three more Christmas items!

Zorch - Last Christmas FREE DOWNLOAD

HOMETAPES
home-tapes.com

Hometapes Records has compiled an impressive 21 tracks of Christmas songs! I naturally went to hear Wham's cover "Last Christmas" just to see what Zorch would do to the song. The result is a weird video-gamey version.

You can download the entire album at bandcamp.com.

Track listing:

1. Collections of Colonies of Bees "Jolly Olde St. Nicholas"
2. Doug Paisley "Winter Days"
3. Matt White "Mary Had A Baby"
4. Zorch "Last Christmas"
5. Ormonde "Angels We Have Heard On High"
6. Ape School "Cold, Cold Christmas"
7. Andrew Fitzpatrick "Toyland"
8. CYNE "Boxing Day"
9. Breathe Owl Breathe "Snow Blow"
10. Roberto C. Lange "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence"
11. Jon Mueller "Hallelujah"
12. Slaraffenland "Feliz Navidad"
13. The Caribbean "What Child Is This"
14. Brad Laner & Lauren Kinney "Numen Lumen"
15. Sunless "Here Come Those Bells"
16. Oh! Pears "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"
17. Jon Minor & Jim Schoenecker "Happy Xmas (War Is Not Over)"
18. Leverage Models "Celebrant"
19. All Tiny Creatures "Deck The Halls (Mannheim Steamroller Cover)"
20. Shedding "There's Always Tomorrow"
21. Keith Sunset "Star Shepherds"

SPECTRALS
spectrals.co.uk

Louis Jones is Spectrals. His album, Bad Penny is described as a mixture of "soul, doo wop, and a garage rock" yet maintaining a pop sensibility.

For the holidays, Spectrals released "It's Christmas and I've Got Everything I Want" on Pitchfork.

The special 8-minute version "featuring some damaged dub at the end" is exclusive on the Pitchy website. I haven't heard of the radio version myself.

JOBERG & GURNER
jobergandgurner.com

Comedians/music duo Joberg & Gurner is re-releasing their album Manhood on December 13th via Comedy Central. To promote it, check out their brand new video for "Christmas Lovin' Jew". It's everything you would expect from a song called "Christmas Lovin' Jew". Sucks to be jew!

Looking of their track listing ("The Dirty Sanchez", "Anniversary (Kiss Me Where I Pee)", "Manhood") it looks quite naughty and isn't necessary an xmas album.

I was happy to hear that they have toured with Stephen Lynch, who is quite the funnyman/singer (I have a few of his albums!)

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