Yes ... this one is a groaner to many, but it truly is my all-time favourite random song that reminds me of Christmas ... and I'm sure – once it's stuck in your head for the rest of the day – it'll be yours too. Just glad it comes to mind once a year.
Right before I went home for Christmas during my first year of university, I "discovered" Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young). When I returned, I dug up their old records in my parents' dusty collection and made a bunch of mix-tapes. This song, with it's multiple sub-songs and smooth transitions, stood out then, and it still does.
More to the point, after living through my first fall/winter on the coast (i.e. without buckets of snow and blistering cold that would freeze your hair and eye-lashes if you raced out of the house too quick after showering), this song reminds me of coming home at Christmas time, and driving on cold, wintery Alberta roads in my friends' rusty beaters, listening to oldies on AM radio, and talking about our Christmas party plans as well as life plans and dreams and goals.
In Gr. 12 everything is epic. The girls are epic (or boys). The parties are epic. And the music is epic.
That epicness lasts a lifetime, and some people cling to it for an entire lifetime (i.e. the success of Al Bundi's character in Married With Children).
This track – All Apologies, by Nirvana – was the epic song off the epic album that everyone in my school was talking about during winter break when I was in Gr. 12. Released in November '93 (ouch, totally dating myself), I still think it stands as maybe the song that captures both the anger, discordance, and heart that was the grunge movement. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas.
I have no idea why – maybe my parents took us kids to a bunch of Christmas parties where this was playing, or subconscious memories of watching American Band Stand's Greatest Hits of the Year over the holidays at my Grandparents – but this song makes me want to drink spiced eggnog and decorate the Christmas tree.
Brazilian Girls are not from Brazil, and only one is a girl. They released a couple of albums, and a few singles in support of the Red + Hot Compilations, which raise money for AIDS/HIV research and prevention. They are on permanent hiatus, following the birth of lead singer Sabina Sciubba's child in 2008.
This is hands down my favorite Christmas song. The originality, and the exuberance, put me in the Christmas mood! This song was recorded by Paul McCartney on his own in 1979, although the members of Wings do make an appearance in the video, which is worth a look, but doesn't add to the song IMO. It reached #6 on the UK Pop Chart, and still nets McCartney $400K in royalties annually! Not bad!
De La Soul sampled "Wonderful Christmastime" on their 2001 album AOI:Bionix, for their tune "Simply", making fantastic use of the melody, and expanding it's good vibe beyond Christmas into a fun summer jam.
The Greenhornes were formed in 1996 by vocalist/guitarist Craig Fox, bass guitarist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lawrence and Keeler went on to form The Raconteurs with Jack White.
I found these guys by using www.gnoostic.com, a music suggestion site, where you put in three bands, and it makes recommendations. I put in some random picks that were in iTunes: Destroyer, Soledad Brothers, and The Plump DJs. These guys were probably recommended from Soledad Brothers as they have the closest garage-rock sound. Anyways, it seems like a neat thing to fool around with.
DJ CFCF is a 22-year-old DJ/Producer from Montreal. Born as Mike Silver (which is a great name already!) he got the name CFCF from a Montreal's CTV affiliate CFCF . He has remixed the likes of Holy Ghost!, Crystal Castles, Sally Shapiro, Health, and Owen Pallett.He released an album 'Continent' on Paper Bag Records, my fave house music label from back in the day. This tune 'Big Love' was the biggest single from that album.
Benji Hughes is a singer-songwriter/slacker from Charlotte NC. He's released one album called 'A Love Extreme' back in 2008. This little ditty is an ode to a girl in a tight t-shirt.
Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quitero are an acoustic guitar duo from Mexico City. The duo met in Mexico City while playing in a thrash metal band called "Tierra Ácida." Growing frustrated with the limited scope of the domestic music scene, they moved to Dublin Ireland, where they heard that travelling musicians were well received. They gained a large following in Ireland, and started playing festivals and touring Europe.
Their sixth studio (2009) album is titled 11:11, and this is the lead track "Hanuman":
I love the lush instrumentation on the beat of this track. Ski Beats is a producer who has worked with Jay-Z, and other hip-hop artists since 1996. He has recently released an album called 24-Hour Karate School, featuring a bunch of different MCs rapping over his beats, including Mos Def.
Mos is a wordsmith premiere. Unfortunately he's spent the last few years focusing on his acting career (Be Kind Rewind, Dexter, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), and not focused on his music. Nice to hear him featured on this track "Cream of the Planet"
