Month: December 2021

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The Photocopies “Under Christmas Lights” (2021)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

There is something quite endearing about this little ramshackle indiepop Christmas song by Michigan’s The Photocopies. The fuzzy guitars, driving beat, and clever lyrics of “Under Christmas Lights” has really got me moving. The narrator is really working on winning over his ex on this song… but things aren’t going very well: “In the season of goodwill / We needn’t go downhill / if you really want to / We’ll go sled. / You can be hostile, / working on your smile / Without it I might as well be dead.” Perhaps the Christmas lights will provide the magic he needs…

Many thanks to my buddy Ned for once again hipping me to new Christmas tunes; Our Venn diagram is solidly indiepop these days.

Bottom Line: Classic indiepop upbeat music and downbeat lyrics… which is a thing I do enjoy.

LISTEN

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Christmas Aguilera – All Wrapped Up / All I Want Is You (2021)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp | Crowdfunder

I somtimes like to imagine a young music fan, who has just gotten this great idea to look for some different Christmas songs, and has found Christmas Underground. I am oddly jealous of this young person – to be able to hear these bands for the first time. They’ll look at my tag cloud, and not know what to make of the weird names on it… including this band, Christmas Aguilera, seeming more like a typo than a premier indie rock Christmas band. Christmas Aguilera are most certainly not a typo, and have returned once more with a new, double-A sided single to brighten our holiday season. Side A, “All Wrapped Up,” is a holiday gone to hell, but with a great chorus to sing along to. Side AA, “All That I Want is You,” is an extremely funny and sweet song about “only wanting you for Christmas.” The lyrics are too great to not give you a taste here:

Don’t write me any song
Don’t buy me the biography of Neil Armstrong
Don’t order me a piece of the moon
Don’t buy me a silvery spoon
And don’t knit me a sock
Don’t cut of all your hair and give me a lock
Don’t make me a strawberry milkshake
Don’t buy me a diamond, real or fake
I’ll never want a tv show
No sunflowers or any old Van Gogh
Don’t buy me any car, write it off
Don’t buy me anything that I can scoff

All I want is you
What Mariah said is true
All I want is you
Like ABBA sang you’re my Waterloo
Got me higher than Katmandu

Damn they are so f*ing clever. Christmas Aguilera are just so much fun to listen to, and I’m grateful for every year that I get a note in my inbox with more songs. Of course, all proceeds from these songs, just like all their other songs, go to benefit Shelter, a UK charity working to end homelessness. This year is a little bit extra-special, as Christmas Aguilera have created an additional Crowdfunder with some pretty great rewards. You can donate via the Crowdfunder and just buy the new songs, but throw in a little more and you can get a Christmas carol sung by Christmas Aguilera. Dig a bit deeper and they will record a Christmas song of your choice for you! Have deep pockets and live within 50 miles of London (not me!)? They will play your house! This is TOO COOL.

Man… what song should I request…

Bottom Line: Christmas Aguilera has been churning out these incredible Christmas tunes for so long that it almost makes you forget that WRITING A GOOD CHRISTMAS SONG IS HARD. This band has the spirit, and it just feels effortless.

LISTEN

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Grandaddy “It was a Silent Night at least until Jeff Lynne arrived” (2021)

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I think this song gave me way more joy than is recommended at my age. I mean… I just got over this tendonitis – my body can only take so much action. The smiling… the swaying… I might just pull something. Grandaddy’s reworking of “Silent Night” is actually a more fully-produced version of a track from earlier this year, “It was a Silent Night at least until Jeff Lynne arrived… In a Trance,” which was on the film soundtrack In a Trance and Wandering Around. Frankly, I’m ashamed that I didn’t catch it earlier. This song is truly a TON of fun… and will pair perfectly with their classic “Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland.” Jason sure does wear his influences on his sleeves 🙂

Bottom Line: Follow their journey freaking out about Jeff Lynne and you will not be disappointed.

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AWALK “O Holy Night” (2021)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I bet your Christmas music bingo didn’t have a classical guitar over a hip-hop beat on a traditional Christmas carol. Los Angeles’ AWALK has taken a song that, as a purposefully secular blog, I would not normally be looking to feature, and made it both interesting and extremely enjoyable. You would think that those qualities would always go together… but they don’t! “O Holy Night” kicks in and immediately you know you are in for something different… and 15 seconds in you’ve got a beat and a whole mess of stuff going on. Give me all the mess.

Bottom Line: Unexpected and appreciated, AWALK’s approach is just damn refreshing.

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David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels “Winter Tragedy” (2021)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

David Newton, of C86 indie popsters The Mightly Lemon Drops, has just dropped this toe-tapper of a holiday song. Plenty of hooks and handclaps infuse this joyous romp with enough energy to get you through a whole afternoon. But then you listen to the lyrics – and that is where they get ya! Indiepop has this way of having such happy music, with terribly dark or sad lyrics. “Winter Melody, winter tragedy’s here / Picturesque landscape surrounded by holiday tears / Cold and bleak December / Frozen to the bone / Stranded at the airport / December all alone.” Ahhh well, just keep dancing!

However, I must say… the video is deceiving! David Newton plays every note on this song! Thee Mighty Angels is pretty much David doing overdubs… those his friends hanging out to be video stars and drink cold beer. Which would actually work really well for me… as I don’t play anything well enough to be in a band. Starting a band but need some fake musicians to back you up? DM me!

Bottom Line: Just a bit of tragic fun – a classic indiepop bait & switch!

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Zach Malm “What Does Christmas Mean To You?” (2021)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

A few years after his much-lauded (by me!) full-length Christmas LP, The Darkest Time of the Year, Zach Malm is back in the Christmas music game with the lovely “What Does Christmas Mean to You?” I absolutely adore the instrumentation on this track, as the rhythms overlap and build throughout. The lyrics are nuanced and complex; A favorite line I’ve been turning over in my head is, “We’re on the other side of certain truth.” So f*ing dead on. This is a song that demands more than just listening – it is most certainly a thinker. You shouldn’t be surprised though, as it asks you a question in the title (and in the last line)! A question which a lot of us have VERY complicated answers for if we have an answer at all. So sit back, enjoy, and think deeply about our new world… while enjoying some wonderful music.

Bottom Line: Zach Malm returns with a wonderfully rhythmic and contemplative addition to our holiday playlists.

LISTEN