Annie Moses Band - Bethlehem House Of Bread

Bethlehem House of Bread by the Annie Moses Band is an album I have been meaning to post about for a while now, but I have been trouble coming up with words to describe it.  Noisetrade lists the genre as "Pop: Chamber" and says that it is for fans of Josh Groban, Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss, and Celtic Woman.  I have Josh Groban's Christmas album, and I can kind of hear some similarities to that not-quite-classical, not-quite-pop sound.  It also delves into a country/bluegrass sound at times - "Jingle Bells/Go Tell It On The Mountain" and "Christmas On Cripple Creek" would not sound out of place on a Dixie Chicks album.

On the whole, I think the album has a very unique and beautiful sound that needs to be heard to be appreciated.  Many thanks to Chris for notifying me about it via email!

Happy listening!

URL:

http://noisetrade.com/amb

Sofia Talvik - "Santa"

For the past couple of years, one of my favourite downloads has been Sofia Talvik's annual free Christmas single.  This year's single, "Santa (can you bring me someone else this year)", was just released today, and it's every bit as good as I expected it to be (which is a relief, because I often worry when my expectations get too high for something).

Musically, "Santa" is a fun, synthesizer-based pop song that would not sound out of place on a mid-80s Madonna album.  Lyrically, as I have come to expect from Sofia, it is not so fun and lighthearted; the line "Christmas time, the hardest time, the best of times" really says it all.   It's easy to picture the narrator decorating a Christmas and trying to smile through her tears, all the while hoping for someone to come along to "make [her] laugh and spin [her] 'round and dry [her] tears."  If you're a fan of songs like "Last Christmas", this song is a must hear.

It's possible that you have to become a fan of Sofia's on Facebook to access the download; I'm already a fan of hers, so the link was active for me as soon as the page loaded.  Also, anyone who downloads the song is encouraged (but not required) to support The Body Shop and ECPAT’s world-wide campaign “Stop Sex Trafficking”; The Body Shop's website has a petition that can be signed, as well as information about a number of other ways to support the campaign.  Happy listening!

URL:

http://www.sofiatalvik.com/santa_en/

Song Spotlight: Celestial - "Saving Up Her Wishes (For Another Christmas)"

I've been trying to avoid posting about single songs this year.  I haven't actually downloaded too many single songs as there are simply far too many of them for me to keep up with; I find albums, or at least bundles of songs, much easier to keep track of, listen to, and write about.  However, earlier this morning a song popped into my head from out of nowhere and simply would not go away, so I really have no choice but to write about it.  What makes it even weirder is that it is a song I haven't heard since last year - according to my last.fm library, December 12, 2008 was the last time I listened to it before today.

 

Celestial's "Saving Up Her Wishes (for Another Christmas)" is the song, and I actually downloaded it back in 2007, but for the last two Christmases I really had no idea what to do with it as far as this blog is concerned.  It's a fairly upbeat song with a nice jangly guitar sound and lyrics that I can't quite make out in their entirety; actually, I think it is precisely that combination of catchy music and unintelligible lyrics that kept me coming back to the song again and again but never writing about it.  However, I can make out plenty of references to Christmas, snow, and "angels in the snow", so it's definitely an appropriate song for this time of year.

 

The song is listed as "saving up her wishes" on the Music Is My Girlfriend Downloads page.  If you decide to check it out, please leave a comment here and let me know what you think of it.  Happy listening!

 

URL:

http://musicismygirlfriend.com/index.php?s=downloads

Album Spotlight: The Layaways - The Christmas EP

I'd like to spotlight another EP tonight.  This time it is the work of a single band, The Layaways, an indie rock band from Chicago.  Their 2006 release, The Christmas EP, is available as a free download from last.fm.

The Christmas EP contains only three songs, but they are well worth hearing.  The first is a bouncy, light rock version of "O Christmas Tree" (which features the main melody of "Deck the Halls" being played on acoustic guitar near the end).  Next is a short but sweet instrumental version of "Joy to the World", which serves as a nice setup for the real highlight of the EP, "Silent Night".  Another instrumental, this is honestly one of the best versions of "Silent Night" I have ever heard.  The drums and bass lay down a simple backbeat which allows for the main melody to be voiced on the guitar.  The guitar tone is gorgeous and helps lend a dreamy feel to the song.

...

You know what?  I don't think my words could possibly do this song justice.  Please go download it and listen to it for yourself - this is a song that simply must be heard.  Grab the rest of the EP while you're there.  Happy listening!  I'll be back soon with more great Christmas music for you.

URLs:

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Layaways/The+Christmas+EP

Song Spotlight: "Last Christmas"

[Update: as of October 2009, the Basswood Dollies and PLAS-TICK links no longer lead to free downloads.  However, these songs can still be downloaded as part of the Electric Fantastic Christmas compilations; they are on the 2006 and 2007 compilations, respectively.]

A song that I've been digging a lot lately is Wham!'s "Last Christmas"; judging by the statistics of the Free Christmas Music custom search engine, it seems that a lot of this site's readers enjoy it as well.  Though the song is not technically about Christmas, it has endured as one of the most popular songs at this time of year for nearly a quarter century and will likely continue to enchant listeners for many more years to come.  The Last Christmas website, which aims to compile all versions of the song, currently lists some 314 versions, with more being added all the time!

I am unable to offer Wham!'s original version for free, but I have found a few cool versions that I think most fans of the song should be able to appreciate.  First up is a version by The Fire Apes, which adds a great hard rock/power pop edge to the song.  From the Electric Fantastic Sound label comes a couple of slower, electronic versions: one from Sweden's Basswood Dollies, and a dreamy, female-fronted version from PLAS-TICK.  Finally, goto80 offers a "Hot Digi Remix" of the song, which is surprisingly accurate given that it was composed on a Commodore 64 computer (from The 8bitpeoples' The 8bits of Christmas, an album I featured on this blog last year).

Those are all the versions I have for now.  If anyone has any favourite versions that aren't listed here, please post a comment and let me know.  Although if you're a serious fan of this song and just can't get enough of it, the Last Christmas website is a must-visit site.  Happy listening!

URLs:

http://www.last-christmas.com/

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Fire+Apes/_/Last+Christmas

http://www.last.fm/music/Basswood+Dollies/_/Last+Christmas

http://www.last.fm/music/PLAS-TICK/_/Last+Christmas

http://www.archive.org/details/8bp038