Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Holiday Beat Tape Drop: EVC's Cove BlackBelt - Winter Festivus Beat Tape V 2.0
buffaBLOG's 12 Days of Christmas: Day 12 - The Canal Street String Band
Christmas is finally here. Still no snow, but alas, that won't change how great the day is. For 12th and final day of buffaBLOG's 12 Days of Christmas, The Canal Street String Band have treated us to their version of "Breaking Up Christmas",a seasonal tune out of the Appalachien Mountains. The According to the Virginia Folklife Project, the tradition of “Breaking Up Christmas” is a week-long series of gatherings, where people get together in each other’s homes and jam until the wee hours of the morning. Many generations participate, and it’s a really wonderful way for the community to come together and wind down the holiday season. Enjoy and Merry Christmas.
buffaBLOG's Last Minute Gift Guide
So it's that time of year again. No,
it's not Holiday Shopping Time; that ship has sailed, buddy. It's
officially Last Minute Holiday Shopping Time, and if you're as much
of a hardened procrastinator as me (I was supposed to post this
article yesterday), then welcome to the club. But it's not too late
to hunt-and-gather gifts for your loved ones. And you don't even have
to resort to gift cards again this year. Here are a few last-minute, music-related suggestions for having a wonderfully
commercialized Christmas 2011.
Impersonal: Gift Cards
Yeah, you know what? Just do the gift
card thing. They're thoughtless, so they allow you much needed “Me”
time. Plus, they don't QUITE scream “Get Bent!” as loudly as a
stack of lottery tickets. But let's just pretend for a second that
you care about the recipient: get a gift card that incorporates the
one justification for our miserable human existence: Music.
Is your recipient a radio-head who just
wants the latest urban contemporary single like they want a new pair
of designer jeans? Get them an iTunes gift card so they can blow it
on the latest Drake track, and then forget about it two and a half
weeks later. Or if your recipient is always telling you about the
latest mediocre band they found out about on Pandora, don't be all
like, “Oh my god who cares,” be all like, “Hey, here's a subscription with no ads!” Or, if they're an underground DJ (go-o-o
mash-ups!), give them the gift of unapologetic self-importance with
an unlimited Soundcloud account! (Note: buffaBLOG prefers to embed
Soundcloud clips over almost any other music-sharing service. Pro Tip. Become a
buffaBLOG “fave” for 2012!)
"Mash-ups: More beautiful than Mozart."
Classy: Vinyl
Vinyl records sure as heck ain't dead.
But a lot of the people who once owned them are. Which means that any
record store you ever enter is going to be stuffed with a
non-rotating supply of Old-Timey (pre-1981) material.
I bet that if you make the trip to Record
Baron (3048 Delaware Ave), the Record Baron Himself will help you
figure out exactly which Sinatra Christmas Album is better than all
the other Sinatra Christmas Albums. Got a new significant other in
your life? Pick up any Marvin Gaye (pref. What's Going On), and I
promise you that your baby-mama wont be kissing Santa Claus this
year. Want to head in a more
Ironic/Slightly-Better-Than-Lottery-Tickey direction? Dig for Bruce
Willis' The Return of Bruno. Dig, and you shall succeed (at accruing
venomous hatred).
Don't watch this; just know that it exists.
DIY: Illegal Bootlegs
You don't have to open the wallet or
type out sixteen digits/security code/billing address to make the season special this year. Tell
your loved one “I love you enough to make bold presumptions about
your aesthetic tastes but not enough to blow my unemployment check on
you” with a wildly illegal bootleg. Download the utorrent client
and hit up Pirate Bay (ask your “computer friend” how), or just
Google “[insert album name] .zip” to find anything you could ever
dream of. Add a dash of personalization by recreating the album
artwork by hand, or even Sharpie the name on the CD-R in cool
handwriting.
Or you could get Super Old-Timey (pre-2010)
and scour the wasteland that is eBay for some seemingly legit
bootlegs. Suggestion: there's a 7-inch of pre-'77 Talking Heads demos
floating around under the name The Psycho Killers. Get sketchy,
friend, and Merry Christmas.
"By the way, you owe me 47 cents for that blank CD."
buffaBLOG's 12 days of Christmas: Day 2 - Wooden Waves
Its kinda insane that its already December 15th.... Christmas is only 10 days away and tomorrow is our Holiday party at Nietzsches!! We asked all the bands playing at tomorrow's event to pick a holiday song to cover to make the party truly festive. Wooden Waves took that to a whole new level and wrote their own holiday song! The band just posted the track, "I Don't Want to (Call it Christmastime)" on their bandcamp page and will be performing it at tomorrows show (their set is at 10pm so make sure you are there!). I can't wait to see them and everyone else at tomorrow's show!
buffaBLOG's 12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 - Woods
Today marks the 12 day countdown to Christmas morning so naturally, we return with buffaBLOG's 12 Days of Christmas. Like last year, we will post a song or video that has us feeling festive and merry as the big day approaches. For Day 1, I chose a recently released holiday cover by indie folk band Woods. Woods have always been one of my favorite acts of the psych folk/freak folk genre. Despite their sometimes out there tunes, they always displayed a great knack for harmonies. The Brooklyn act, as a little present to their fans, covered one of the most beloved of holiday tunes, "Christmas Time is Here", the Vince Guaraldi classic best known for it's use in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Their lo-fi, blissful take does not stray too far from the original, outside of a few loops and effects mixed in, while the band's high falsettos are a perfect substitute for the original vocals. Enjoy.
Woods, "Christmas Time is Here" (Vince Guaraldi Cover) by The FADER
Worst Covers of Holiday Classics
If you're in a band and you think it's a good idea to record a Christmas song, you're probably in a terrible band. Or are high. There are already some great renditions of our holiday favorites out there, and they're going to be ubiquitous for the next few weeks, playing out of every car radio and muzak loudspeaker you come across. And you were just going to add some distorted guitar, and lush up on the vocal delivery, weren't you? Here are a couple of the worst molestations of Christmas songs, in no particular order, because if we fail to remember the past, we are doomed to repeat it.
The Donnas - “Christmas Wrapping”
The Waitresses' 1981 version of this song was a new wave gem. The white rap verses are, to be sure, atrocious, but there's something charming about Patty Donahue that redeems not only the song, but also sort of excuses similar early era mistakes like “Wordy Rappinghood” and “Rapture.” However, The Donnas' cover strips this song of its charm, and the only thing I can empirically say about it is that, well, they added distorted guitars.
Opt instead for: The Waitresses' original
My Chemical Romance - “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
Talk about lushing up the delivery: this My Chemical Romance cover is so over the top, you're going to want to start cutting. Or, if you were already into MCR, you're going to want to stop. Also present: distorted guitars.
Opt instead for: Mariah Carey's version, but make sure your bros aren't around
Collective Soul - “Blue Christmas”
I don't really have anything against Collective Soul, and I'm probably going to rage to “Shine” as soon as I finish writing this, but I can't wrap my head around their cover of “Blue Christmas.” It's like they're going for a kinda Bow Wow Wow sound, but why? And again: distorted guitars.
Opt instead for: Elvis, hands down, or maybe even the Bright Eyes version
Cap'n Jazz - “Winter Wonderland”
When something is bad, it's not always bad, and when it comes to doing things shoddily and impetuously, the rambunctious 90s indie outfit Cap'n Jazz were kings. The cover of “Winter Wonderland” they contributed to a punk Christmas 2x7” in 1993 is sloppy and unrehearsed, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Opt instead for: No, this version is actually pretty good
Ernest P. Worrell - “Oh Christmas Tree”
Again, this cover isn't necessarily bad in the bad way. And as always, Ernest is just trying to do his best, and has such a big heart, you know? He doesn't know the actual words, so he just sings the first line over and over, but it's kinda better that way.
Opt instead for: Just do this to every Christmas song. Your life will get better immediately.
The End. PS. Here is my Christmas present for you:
Merry Christmas from My Morning Jacket
A Modern Interpretation of Holiday Classics
Naturally these classic characters wouldn't listen to just anything, they would choose tracks that might not make it on the radio, just like you and I. Here are some selections that I feel my favorite holiday characters would enjoy as the soundtrack to their day-to-day lives.
George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life), "Lucky" by Radiohead
Poor George Bailey. If only he could just look on the bright side and realize that everything around him is more than enough to find happiness. Luckily for us - and for Clarence - Mr. Bailey had to take a journey through a parallel universe in which he was never born to discover that he has everything he needs, making for one inspiring movie filled with Christmas cheer. If George's story took place today, he'd likely be brooding about to the pennultimate track off OK Computer, a haunting melody that resolves to something beautiful in its swelling, wailing sound.
Like Bailey himself, "Lucky" wallows in its sadness, changing only when it builds up to the chorus. The verses alone could serve as the montage music for George's journey through a life without him, and the chorus almost begs for you to shout, "Merry Christmas you old Building and Loan!"
Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas), "I Felt Free" by Circa Survive
Our friend Jack was a victim of the old Rolling Stones adage, "you can't always get what you want." Stuck in Halloweentown, feeling bored in prepping for the same holiday every year, he leaves the only world he's ever known in search of something more fulfilling. Natrually, he comes across Christmas Town where he, well, feels free. If Jack were to find a song today that captured his joy in "What's This?" it would be this track off Circa Survive's 2010 release, Blue Sky Noise.
Anthony Green sings, "Nothing new to say/Nothing to report 'cause the future happened yesterday," which, in my mind, exemplifies Jack's longing to return to Christmas where his spirit felt alive again. The holiday is his love interest, whose arms he "fell apart" in (think of how much he freaks out when he first discovers this new town), and his excitement peaks much like Green's vocals do at the top of his range.
Scott Calvin (The Santa Clause), "How You Like Me Now? by The Heavy
The protagonist of this story is really on a roll. He's still feeling the effects of his divorce, his kid doesn't want to spend time with him, his Christmas dinner is at Denny's (where they've run out of everything including chocolate milk) and to top it off, he's scared the cookies out of Santa causing him to fall off the roof. Lucky for Scott, resolving this issue is as simple as slipping on the suit and letting the reindeer and Christmas magic do the rest. He's more than hesitant at first, refusing to believe he's the new Santa or the fact that he's been to the real North Pole, but over time he begins to embrace it, saving Christmas - and his family - from ruin.
As a toy designer and father in his pre-Santa days, Scott is evidently sub-par. Post-Santa, he's clearly improved his skills. If you happen to venture into the sequels, he's even a bit boastful about it. "How You Like Me Now?" has a strutting beat fit for someone that's high on life, which Scott seems to be when he fully commits to this whole Santa gig, and it's easy to imagine a more modern day Scott Calvin making his Christmas deliveries with a smirk while listening to this track.
Ralphie (A Christmas Story), "Gold Guns Girls" by Metric
Back in the 1940's, things were fairly simple. The largest obstacle on your walk to school was the kid with yellow eyes (so help me God yellow eyes), the most exciting part of the week was the Little Orphan Annie radio show accompanied by a glass of Ovaltine, and asking for a Red Rider BB Gun with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time seemed like a fairly normal request. That's all Ralphie really wanted, along with a cooler message to decode on his favorite radio show, and maybe something better than socks and a bunny suit as gifts. Come to think of it, Ralphie was actually pretty needy, which is why if he were a child in today's day and age, his theme song would be from Metric's 2009 release, Fantasties.
Despite the obvious reference to a gun in the song's title, Emily Haines sings about a guy who simply can't be satisfied. Based on what I've seen in the aisles of Target and Wal-Mart in the past month, I can safely say Ralphie would be on of those kids that screamed and cried until he got what he wanted. And when he did get it, he would probably react like the Nintendo 64 kid. Bottom line: it's never gonna be enough for Ralphie.
Kevin McCallister (Home Alone 1 & 2), "They Never Got You" by Spoon
When you're five years old and watching the Home Alone movies for the first time ever, Kevin McCallister is your hero. He's the epitome of cool. This kid rarely listened to his parents (landing him on the lower bunk beneath the cousin that was notorious for wetting the bed) and knew how to booby trap a house better than any world-class spy. He even took on the city of New York - including Central Park at night - and made it out alive. That's right, the world just couldn't hold Kevin McCallister down.
This choice off Spoon's Gimme Fiction reminds me a lot of Kevin in its sound. It's light-hearted just like him. Even when he was facing the Sticky Bandits face-to-face he grimaced and pull the next trick out of his metaphorical hat. The quick beat also reminds me of Kevin seamlessly creeping around his trapped-out domains as well as his laugh that was sure to ensue once his victims were caught. And of course, they literally never got him. It might not scream, "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal," but Spoon has inadvertently created Kevin McCallister in song.
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