It’s been another great week for music. Plenty of new releases worth checking.
This week I’m adding a new aspect to the reaping. While I would love to be able to give you a rating for each album listed, that just wouldn’t be possible, because I rarely have time to listen to all of the albums I will post. But what I am going to do instead is highlight one of the albums in red to signify my most loved ♥ release of the week.
Lead singer Ryan O’Neil and bassist Dan Perdue of Sleeping At Last have started a new blog that I think is worth checking out. So far it has just been some ramblings on their time on tour and random bits of whatever that they find interesting.
Paste Magazine has teamed up with the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival to bring us a free music sampler with songs from several artists that will be performing at this year’s festival, including She & Him, Dr. Dog, Blitzen Trapper and many more. Click here to download your free sampler: 2010 Paste Magazine Bonnaroo Sampler.
I need to preface this post with four simple words.
I HATE CHRISTMAS MUSIC
Why do I hate it? Well, in recent years it has just become a platform for crappy pop stars to keep re-covering the same christmas songs over and over. I don’t need to hear Carrie Underwood sing White Christmas, or Wynonna singing Silent Night, or any big shot artist covering a christmas classic to get me into the spirit.
I think I should stop being such a grinch, and just let the infographic do that talking. So here are some of my favorite original Christmas songs:
Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland by Grandaddy
Another Christmas Song by Stephen Colbert
Christmas Time Is Here by Vince Guaraldi Trio
Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day (Well, You Deserved It!) by Sufjan Stevens
Don’t Shoot Me Santa by The Killers
I Hate Christmas Parties – by Relient K
Love Came Down At Christmas by Jars of Clay
When I Get Home for Christmas by Snow Patrol
Xmas Party by Middle Distance Runner
I love Grandaddy‘s rendition of “Walking In a Winter Wonderland,” but that may also be because I’m a fan of The Alan Parson Project. The song features some subtle humor about Parsons, but knowing a thing about him is not required to enjoy the track. Stephen Colbert is getting exactly what he wants with the next song, he has become part of my holiday listening tradition, and it is hilarious. Fans of Arrested Development, Peanuts Cartoons, and The Royal Tennenbaums will recognize the next little gem by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Sufjan Stevensput out his giant box set of Christmas music a few years ago, and song #4 is probably my favorite from that whole collection. The Killers’s song about a guy potentially getting murdered by Santa is interesting to say the least, watching the music video is a must. If Christmas time just gets you down, then be sure to listen to the track by Relient K. I love the next song by Jars of Clay, who took an awesome beat and made an enjoyable new Christmas classic. Snow Patrol fans should not be without song #8. I’m a huge fan, and that song is just awesome. And finally, song #9 is by Middle Distance Runner. If you’ve never checked them out, I hope this song drives you to do so.
Okay. I was a bit of a Grinch earlier, but if you examine the chart you will see that there does exist a small sliver of well done covers. So here’s three Christmas covers I do enjoy, and are part of my holiday canon:
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Death Cab for Cutie
Holly Jolly Christmas covered by The Format
O Come, O Come Emmanuel covered by Belle & Sebastian
These songs may not be original compositions, but I much prefer these to the originals. Death Cab’s version of “Baby Please Come Home” is just great. And a classic from Belle & Sebastian.
I hope you’ve found some new additions to your holiday listening list, and we here at IHYEB wish you a very Merry Christmas!
So as you can tell I was kind of rushed putting together my post about this week’s notable releases and failed to mention two very big ones that came out this week. The first one was the foxtail sportin’ Kanye West with his new album 808s & Heartbreak. Never been a huge Kanye fan, in fact most of my feelings toward him stem from my annoyance at the stupid things he has done and said. But musically I’ve been pretty impartial. He’s definitely gotten me to move with the beat more than once, but I’ve never been impressed with any album as a whole. But I’ve been more impressed so far upon the first listen to Hearbreak than I have so far. Maybe that is because it isn’t your typical hip-hop record, nor is it typical Kanye. In no way can you refer to this as a rap album. West sings throughout the entire album using the Auto-Tune effect and a TR-808 drum machine on every track. It sounds much more like an 80′s post punk album than a hip-hop or R&B record, which may be why I am able to enjoy it more than his previous works. But I still hesitate to give the most egotistical artist of our time any sort of props. I seriously don’t understand how this guy has been able to consistently capture the attention of both the main-stream radio listeners and the indie music snobs.
Now with this other release that I foolishly overlooked, I am baffled at how more people have not fallen in love with this guy. For those of you who are not avid watchers of the Colbert Report, this past Tuesday night Stephen Colbert, the current host of the Colbert Report teamed up with an all-star cast of musicians to bring to us a A Colbert Christmas. With the help of Willie Nelson, John Legend, Feist, Toby Keith, and Elvis Costello, Colbert is in search of a Christmas miracle. And a miracle is what he brings to us, with the release of this absolutely hysterical that came out on Thanksgiving Day. I don’t want to say to much in fear of spoiling what was one of the best and funniest Christmas musicals I have ever seen. Beyond just creating something for us to sing along and laugh to this holiday season, Colbert is also bringing joy with to those who can’t even afford a tv with which to watch his Christmas special, by donating a large portion of the proceeds to Feeding America. I just can’t say enough about how awesome I think this guy is. Here is a little glimpse into the humor and talent that is filled throughout this Christmas special, with John Legend and Stephen Colbert performing Nutmeg…
Here is a tracklist of the soundtrack to let you more of what you can expect.
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
01 Stephen Colbert: “Another Christmas Song”
02 Toby Keith: “Have I Got a Present for You”
03 Feist: “Please Be Patient”
04 Stephen Colbert and Willie Nelson: “Little Dealer Boy”
05 Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart: “Can I Interest You in Hannukah?”
06 Stephen Colbert and John Legend: “Nutmeg”
07 Stephen Colbert, Elvis Costello, Feist, Toby Keith, John Legend, and Willie Nelson: “(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”
08 Stephen Colbert, Elvis Costello, Feist, Toby Keith, John Legend, and Willie Nelson: “There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In”
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
