Christmas A Go Go!

Justin Lacy says it best when he sings: "Wind up the lights Undress the tree Surround all the bulbs in paper-towel sheets Pack me some collards Keep you black-eyed peas I’ll drive up and visit When cash is low in four weeks Not for Martin Luther King, I am coming back on Groundhog Day" This One's For Tina by Justin Lacy and the Swimming Machine Happy 2014, thanks for your visits, comments and music. We're back in November!

A blog by Oscar Smit on the site of  music magazine GONZO (Circus) about the movie 'Jingle Bell Rocks!' and this years Christmas music with a mix of recent not so easy Xmas tunes,  from the likes of People Like Us, Kloot Per W, !!!, Bright Eyes. Look and listen  here .

Here's my Christmas mix, songs with a Californian/Carribean flavour, perfect for your Christmas bbq or after an intense bronzing session at the beach. Surf's up, Santa! Go HERE to listen to the mix on Spotify or Deezer.

Probably the bestest Little Drummer Boy cover in YEARS, this Cambodian funk take by Dengue Fever:

Volume 3 of Dr Rubberfunk's Christmas mix is ON! GO HERE

Twas the night before the night before Christmas, and all of a sudden a very beautiful EP by Golau Glau appeared; The Silver Tear by Golau Glau

Mariah Carey, inna Dutch waltz-y way Wat ik wil voor Kerstmis by Duo Nachtschade

One of the many highlights on Stubby's Christmas mix, this great rocking track: Santa Have Mercy by CALICO the band Check out the video . And this demo-video .

Gotta love Lots of Love:

Holland's sweetest singer Anneke van Giersbergen wishes you a merry little Christmas:

Where Dylan Thomas, Augustus Pablo and Wham! meet, you ask? Here below: Last Christmas in Wales - P-Bills Xmas Single 2013 by The Plastic Billionaires

Check out Eli "Paperboy" Reed: Don't forget to party hard for Xmas!

For the ninth year on a row The Blues Are Still Blue Presents: The 2013 Christmas Compilation (download here) 001 Allo Darlin' - Will You Please Spend New Years Eve With Me 002 The Staves - Winter Trees 003 Emiliana Torrini – Snow 004 Jim White - Christmas Day 005 Rufus Wainwright — What Are You Doing New Year's Eve 006 Tin Bird Choir - Christmas at the Wawa 007 Wilco - Jesus, Etc. 008 Camera Obscura - New Year's Resolution 009 Laura Veirs - Finster Saw The Angels 010 Summer Camp - Last Christmas 011 Tangarine - I Like Christmas (But I Can't Stand The Cold) 012 Ben Keith (Feat. Neil Young and Pegi Young) - Les Trois Cloches 013 The New Mendicants - A Very Sorry Christmas 014 First Aid Kit - New Year's Eve 015 Kate Nash - I Hate You This Christmas 016 Rodriguez – Cause 017 This Frontier Needs Heroes - Lonely Kind Of Christmas 018 Meiko - Maybe Next Year (X-mas song) 019 Paddy Roberts - Merry X-Mas You Suckers (And A Happy New Year)

I am very much in love with Indie Mae's voice. This is a cover of a traditional seasonal song: The Holly and the Ivy (Christmas Carol) by The Burning Leaves

Selections from this blog and several other Christmas music blogs come together in this Spotify playlist .

A Rock By The Sea Christmas :: Volume Four by Paul Pfau A bluesy Fender Rhodes-Christmas, from THIS compilation

You probably saw this at Stubby's , but in case you didn't....

Hands down, this is The One, by members of Pernice Brothers, Teenage Fanclub and Sadies: Into the Lime by The New Mendicants

Don't just listen to Christmas music, interact with it! with The Festive Funk Machine ! Warning: Big time waster...

The spookiest version of White Christmas you've ever heard, as recorded by the fabulous Gasoline Brothers . Christmas Songs by The Gasoline Brothers from Christmas Songs , track released 18 December 2013 Roel Jorna - vocals, guitar Mathijs Peeters - guitar André Wierenga - bass, guitar, harmony vocals Léon Geuyen - drums, harmony vocals

Or: "This Family’s Viral Christmas Card Makes Your Family Look Lame".

Ever since 2006 The Killers surprise us with a Christmas(sy) song. Details of their annual songs are allways revealed at the last moment, around december 1st. 'Christmas In LA'  marks the eighth consecutive year in which the band has released a Christmas song. As with their seven previous releases, all proceeds from this song goes to AIDS charities as part of the Product Red campaign. The video is following a disillusioned actor stuck in LA. The actor in the video is Owen Wilson, joined here by a hard drinking Harry Dean Stanton. Switching between live action and animation the  clip even manages to slip in an animated cameo by Warren Zevon. The song is written by The Killers and Taylor Goldsmith from the LA-based band Dawes.

Download this great track for free via Priscillaahn.com (thx Stubby )

Lita Ford and Cherrie Currie, two great rockchicks from the famous allgirl punk/rock band the Runaways, have reunited to record a Christmassong. "Currie and Ford didn’t speak for years after Currie quit the band in 1977, but they recently mended fences, and a phone call inspired Ford to invite her over to the studio" . It's a real heavy metal rocktune! It only lacks a proper video :-(

In 2006 The Drive-By Truckers wrote a slightly evil Christmas song in that typical alternative hillbilly style of theirs. Check out this first verse: I'm a sinister elf with a sinister plan Santa's little helper with too much time on my hands He's got a fine lookin' wife for such an old man I can see her lookin' at me when there is no one else around The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities And Rarities 2003-2008) by Drive-By Truckers

It's here again! Ronny Hammond's 9th Christmas mix! Rejoice! Have a funky funky Christmas y'all!

Our Danish friends of Surf School Drop Outs made a new, Walker Brothers-style Christmas song that we're happy to share with you: The Man in Red - EP by Surf School Dropouts

UPDATE: New direct download link HERE . Merry Christmas everyone! How is your Christmas season going? Great I hope. I feel like I really have the spirit this year. Some years Christmas comes and goes so fast that you really don't get to fully submerge yourself into this wonderful time of year. Here is my meager gift to you. It's not much. 60 minutes (give or take a few seconds) of peppy Christmas music that I hope will brighten up your spirits if only for a short time. Think of it as an hour of Check The Cool Wax radio. It has had my kids and I dancing around the living room for a few weeks now. I tried to keep this as upbeat as possible. The tempo drops a little in the middle but picks right back up at the end. It will also be good practice for your holiday party because you can practice all your dance moves - polka, pogo, western swing, robot or even just the cool head bob... I'm not sure how long this will be up. Soundcloud could take this down at anytime. If a...

Going through my old blog posts I came across something I though was interesting. It was also something that I thought others may enjoy this Christmas season. It's a radio station promo record sent out by Warner Brothers in 1988. It has Christmas songs by some of their artists at the time, radio bumpers and song intros wishing people Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. On there is a track of Lou Reed wishing you and yours a Happy Holiday Season. Might be fun for fans of his still a little sad at his passing. (Also on there are GREAT Pee-Wee Herman radio promos!). Get is now. The link won't be up long… HERE

We heart Devon Sproule. This is a great dark humoured seasonal song from a cool compilation: Scolastica Holiday Compilation by Various Artists

With cover art and a title like this, you're a surefire post on this blog. Hip hop x-mas! Martian XMAS 2013 by Moka Only

This is a very nice, leftfield take on the classic: Christmas Time Is Here by The Pauses

A very nice piece on the Ramsey Lewis Christmas albums on the Wax Poetics blog. HERE

Canadian songstress Coeur de Pirate recorded a version of the Mariah Classic on the couch:

Almost every music lover knows The Band split up somewhere in the 70's and recorded an epic live album called The Last Waltz as a goodbye present to their fans. But did you know that, after The Last Waltz, they released another studio album to fulfill the group's obligations to Capitol Records? That album was called Islands , and this absolutely beautiful christmas song is on it. 'Christmas Must Be Tonight'. Enjoy.

Every year on December 5th, us Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas (the original Santa Clause). When Bruce Springsteen played in The Netherlands a couple of years ago in December, he paid homage to his Dutch roots and surprised everybody by playing a slightly altered version of 'Santa Clause Is Coming To Town'. So yesterday, it was that time of the year again, and Sinterklaas was indeed coming to town. Here's Bruce. EDIT: Alas, the original video was taken down. So instead, here's the another (by Bruce) version:

The Geoffrey and the Livingstones Charity Christmas single debut, featuring an enormous selection of guest vocalists, among whom Elizabeth Morris and Bill Botting of Allo' Darlin A Song is For Life and Not Just For Christmas by Geoffrey and the Livingstones

Magnolia Sons treat us to a tambourine-stuffed Christmas song! My Favorite Season / The Christmas Joy by MAGNOLIA SONS

"December 24th" is Dublin's Indiecater Records Christmas release for 2013. Previous releases can be found through their Bandcamp page . December 24th by Indiecater Records

A sweet Christmas suite by the talented Bearkat. Oh la la: A Winter Suite by Bearkat

Leave it to German blog Lie in the Sound to cherrypick the bestest new Christmas releases. Like this beautiful track by Sofia Talvik: A Berlin Christmas Tale by Sofia Talvik More LitS recommendations HERE

Remember the Snowflakes 7-inch singles ? Did you actually hear 'm? Three songs are on Youtube. We LOVE 'm!

Covers of Christmas songs by the Pretenders, Darlene Love and Paul McCartney, but also this rather brilliant original alt.rock track, that's the seasonal EP by Bellwether Squares: Six Holiday Tunes by Bellwether Squares

It's out there , the 5th Winter is on my head compilation, and it contains this great Christmas truckin' song: Winter Is On My Head Vol. 5 by The Lone Bellow

Raw Rock Militia , it sounds pretty unsettling, but it's 'the official street team' of rockband Showbread . Missed it last year, but they've rounded up unknown (to me, at least) artists singing Christmas and seasonal songs for a 'name your price' downloadable compilation . Highly charmed by the soothing, husky voice of Megan Churney: Christmas Business by Megan Churney

They're from Barneveld, Holland, and as you know we have a weak spot for Dutch band playing Christmas songs. Even if they're as LOUD als Killing Goliath. God rest ye merry? Unrest, that is. God Rest Ye by Killing Goliath To compensate, here's a very sweet, easy-on-the-ears track from a seasonal EP by Bay Area-band Big Tree: December by Big Tree

Mediaeval Baebes hail from London. The six (with a.o. Katharine Blake from Miranda Sex Garden) girls' 'exquisite storybook opened its pages in 1996 when a group of friends broke into a North London cemetery and sang together, clad in flowing white gowns and crowns of Ivy.' Right. Their new, second Christmas album showcases a celestial collection of Christmas Carols, including In Dulce Jubilo, that they recorded in 2003 for their seasonal album Mistletoe & Wine. The girls are doing a special Christmas tour at the moment in the UK.

Do you know how Jèrriais sounds? And did you know they have carols in that language? Find out more on Eune Bordée d'Noué, a Christmas album sung in the language spoken on Channel Island Jersey. From the bio: 'The album contains a selection of well-known Christmas classics, as well as a few lesser-known French and Jersey carols, sung entirely in the language of Jèrriais. Badlabecques founder and lead singer Kit Ashton hopes people will really enjoy the album, which is entitled ‘ Eune Bordée d'Noué! ’ (meaning a Christmas party), and also at the same time perhaps reflect on the deeper significance of Christmas'. Eune Bordée d'Noué by Badlabecques

It's here, the 5th Christmas album by That Band from Holland. And it's marvellous. Mind your own Christmas by The Non Traditionals

I'm making a playlist, I'm checking it twice (maybe more) for updates. It features remarkable Christmas releases of this year. Some songs were featured here, others (like Kate Nash's I Hate You This Christmas) not. GO HERE

Because Stubby basically told us to link it, HERE 's a link to the free downloadable, yearly round up of Free Christmas Tracks by pr company XO.

Deep voiced alt.rock Christmas track by Brit band The Agency, who re-christened themselves The Christmas Agency for this occasion. Tinsel Tinged Christmas Dreamin' by The Christmas Agency...

We featured CFD last year ( see? ), and we're glad we can post about her again. For this year she recorded a sultry Sammy Cahn/Jimmy van Heusen song from the late 50s. Stream/download from HERE .

'The Last Christmas is Brainpool’s comeback to the pure pop format. Complete with jingling bells, glockenspiel and epic lyrics.'

If there's only one Christmas album you're gonna buy this year, make it this one : Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party 1 by Various Artists Thanks for the heads up, DJ Sole Mate

Ever heard one of the first recordings of White Christmas? The 1934 version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town? Go over HERE and download a great compilation.

Christmas surf songs! Yay! Three songs EP HERE EDIT: alas, the Bandcamp-page is gone . What's left is their clips on YT and the Soundcloud stream: The Boss Jaguars! · Santa's Bangin' Surfari EP

They sound like Gilbert O'Sullivan, they look like the sons of Robin Gibb, but these twin brothers hail from Holland. This is a cool new Christmas tune:

Silly Christmas music. We're all for it. Colourmusic has just the thing A Very Special Colourmusic Christmas, Vol. 1 by colourmusic

From the mailbox: 'I'm from the Missile Toads, a punk band from Philly. We bastardize punk and garage songs songs into Xmas Classicks, much like the Angry Snowmens. We have been doing this for 5 years now. Here is a link for our free download on Bandcamp' Missile Toads by Black Hole Records

The Rosebuds are an art-rock band originally from Raleigh, North Carolina. Its current members are Ivan Howard (vocals/guitar/drums/bass/keyboards/programming) and Kelly Crisp (vocals/keyboard/drums/guitar/accordion). Christmas Tree Island by The Rosebuds

Free download of the annual festive sampler, featuring tracks by Bright Eyes, Otis Redding, Sufjan Stevens and a whole lot more.

You might know Mark Nevin from Fairground Attraction. For this new Christmas track he lined up a whole bunch of people.

Good old Nick Lowe made his first Christmas record: 'Quality Street- A seasonal selection for all the family'. With lots of unusual covers like 'Rise up Sheperd' and this one 'Children Go Where I Send Thee'.

Last year The Polyphonic Spree released a great Christmas album, but only in America. This year 'Holiddaydream' will be available in Europe too. As a special CD on Cherry Red with extra tracks and a DVD . The album has three versions of  'Silver Bells'. There are also various clips from the song. This one is the best: Santa has a real recordpressingplant!

This week Highline Records releases Festivus 2, a sequel to last year's fun compilation of indie-fied holiday songs. Artists include Piney Gir, The Lilys, Teenage Fanclub's Francis Macdonald and Glam Chops (with Art Brut's Eddie Argos), which does a memorable ditty called Baby Jesus Was the First Glam Rocker. Stream two tracks, via Spin.com ( HERE ) and via USAToday.com ( HERE )

Ample Play is Cornershop's own label. On December 9, the label releases a great 7-inch single (and digital version) of two indie Christmas tracks. My fave is Christmas Blossom by Beat Mark.

Oi to the World! Yes, they're back! Yule punks Angry Snowmans (no, not the Angry Samoans) re-arranged some safety-pin classics for the holidays. Listen to the whole thing here . You do know what song modeled for this version, right? Black Coal For Rotten Children by Angry Snowmans

You're a Christmas music obsessed person, just like us. So you heard about this documentary. Next week, I will see it in Amsterdam.

I beg to differ. Catchy, very dubby track, tho, by Dog Ears Montana : X-Mas Is Cancelled This Year by Dog Ears Montana

Two (fairly) new Christmas music blogs you'd wanna start following: Elves Bells and Bells Will Be Ringing

This is weird.That's why we post it here

What do you think?

I have a deep love for spoken word ' trucker's songs ', and retro-hero Charles Arthur recorded a great one. His seasonal album's wonderful. Back at the Christmas Shack by Charles Arthur

Who would've thought the melodic punk rockers of Bad Religion would ever record a Christmas album? Not me. Given the arguably poor rendition of classic carols like 'Hark The Herald Angels Sing', 'Little Drummer Boy' and this 'O Come All Ye Faithful' I assume some irony is at play here, but what else can you expect from a band that has anti-religion written all over it, literally in its band name? Their Californian colleagues of Lagwagon did a considerably better job singing 'O Come All Ye Faithful' in the outro of 'Razorburn' (starting at 2:05 in the video below) off their 1995 album Hoss . Nonetheless, the fact that Bad Religion actually recorded this Christmas album is amusing enough, no matter how bad their versions sound.

The official Boss Capone Christmas Reggae Clip Directed by Justin Stoppelenburg.

The bandname's brilliant, this Tindersticks-y track is too: A Pretty Good Christmas (single) by The Disappointment Choir (via SWO )

Pic is Sylvain Picard, who leads a Montreal-based band of 'jazz amateurs' who like to jazz up French-Canadian songs by bands like Karkwa and singers like Daniel Belanger. On their recently (Bandcamp-)released album , there's a cool version of Silent Night: Jou[z]ent Noël by Pic et les Blancs de Mémoire

The Virgin Army (great band name) is Teije Venema's band, who adds Jonne, Bram and Henk to the line up when he's playing live. This dreamy seasonal song was produced by Holland's own Rick Rubin, mr Pim vd Werken

You want the odd, you're getting the odd. The Tara Experiment's analogue bubblebath of synths, adding an alien feel to the season. Christmas in the Observatory - (Single) by The Tara Experiment

Yep. Tis the season again. So here goes another round of odd and/or offbeat and/or otherwise noticeable Christmas tracks. Kicking of with Dutch 18-piece big band Licks & Brains, who will release a Christmas album featuring jazzy, soulful Christmas covers featuring a bunch of great vocal talent from the Lowlands. Living legend Rob de Nijs, for instance. Or the ultra-lovely Kris Berry. Or Brit soulsiren Laura Vane. Listen to ten pre-mastered tracks via this link.

At the end of November, the four singles of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, edition 2013, will be released. All singles come in a full colour picture sleeve on white vinyl, limited to 500 copies. On the A-side, the singles will have an original, on the B-side a cover. On the first single, London folk/blues duo Smoke Fairies, joined on violin by Neil Walsh, sing about how celebrating Christmas with friends and loved ones makes one feel at home in their 'Simple Feeling'. On the flipside they do a haunting and beautiful rendition of 'I Wonder As I Wander', a Christmas carol written by singer John Jacob Niles, based on some lines of a folk song he once heard a little girl sing in a small village in Appalachian North Carolina. Stockholm, Swedens' indie poppers The Garlands have rearranged and rerecorded their 'Christmas Song', prevously released as a download only in 2008, for the second single. This Chrismas love song has the sound of the swinging ...

From the mailbox: My name is Elizabeth Chan and I am a Christmas songwriter. I've been working on my next EP and launched a Kickstarter. I am hoping you could help post a link to my Kickstarter campaign to your readers. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1268420106/new-christmas-songs-support-everyday-holidays-ep I want to be able to share and include anyone who loves Christmas as much as I in my journey to write great Christmas music. :) My songs are all original!