Aside from the monumental Messiah by Handel, there cannot be a classical work that is so associated with Christmas than Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. Virtually every ballet company has it in its repertoire and proudly performs it during the holiday season. Most people will recognize its use in Disney’s Fantasia with those Chinese mushrooms and Cossak celery stalks. Or were they rhubarbs? What most people do not know is that the suite was first performed before the debut of the full ballet. The suite was an instant hit but the opera didn’t fare all that well. Nowadays both are doing quite fine, thank you.

This version, which is in the public domain, is a classic in its own right. It is Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra and was recorded on November 26, 1934. Although originally released on 78rpm acetate, these MP3 files was superbly transfered by F. Reeder and sound as crisp and clear as you could possibly get from these old records. This is an outstanding recording for your holiday season.

The work is available from the Internet Archive’s 78rpm collection in MP3 format as 64kbps or VBR, also in the 64kbps range. The low bitrate is perfectly acceptable considering the age of the recording. You can also download it in Ogg Vorbis format if desired. The Archive’s 78rpm collection has added a ton of outstanding classical music performances that are now in the public domain so it is worth a look around. Of course, I’ll be searching for the best ones and will feature them in the near future.

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This is worth a giggle or two. Some eccentric person with too much time on his or her hands combined 8-bit video game themes with classic Christmas songs. What should have came out as a confused mish-mash…well, it is a confused mish-mash, but a very funny one. Hence you get titles like “Ryu The Red-Nose Ninja” and “Silent Knight Man”. Supposedly this album, titled 8-Bit Jesus, is only half of an album with the rest promised soon. But the tracks are entertaining enough to download now while the holiday season is young. Actually the nine track, 11 minute duration takes you just to the point where the novelty runs out but I’ll update this review once the rest of the album is added. For the time being, Doctor Octoroc has the monopoly on 8-bit video game christmas carols.

8-Bit Jesus is available in 192kbps MP3.

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I am going to be taking a little vacation from this blog so I’ll leave you with a big selection of seasonal cheer to keep you busy until I return after Christmas. The record label Suburban Sprawl has released a free annual compilation of Christmas music since 2002. All six albums are available to give your holiday season a decidedly indie feel.

How can you adequately describe 157 tracks by several dozen artists on six albums? The tracks include Christmas standards but most are original songs. The music, as expected from such a large compilation series, is uneven but there are some yuletide gems to be found. Let’s see if I can pick out my favorites…

Christmas 2007: Zach Curd start with a respectful and cleverly harmonic “Deck The Halls” and ends the volume with Annie Moss on “Miss Christmas”. Adam Kempa’s “Santa Claus Blew Right Through Town” is a rollicking surf rock version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” while Cale Parks’ “Drummer Boy” is reggae dub. There are lots of other good tracks by Annette Walowicz, Jacuzzi 2.0, The Paincakes, and others.

Christmas 2006: More great Zach Curd. In my opinion, he is the most consistently impressive of the many artists on these volumes. The Lickity Split’s “You Set My Christmas Tree on Fire” is totally over the top. The Next Door Neighbors teaches us “How to Make Eggnog” in a pleasantly folksy manner. But my favorite is an almost cerebral “Dear Bethlehem” by Of Young and Old. Other good choices include tracks by The Yachts, Charlie Slick, The Paincakes, and Love Axe.

Christmas 2005: Nice Christmas trip-hop by Em News. Keith Tenley’s “Gold Watch For Kringle’ is the most depressing song about Santa since Weird Al’s “The Night Santa Went Crazy”. The Canadian Dollars gives us a little tongue-in-the-cheek social relevancy on “Outsourcin’ Christmas”. If you are into the downright weird, try The Whoa Boats or The Paincakes.

Christmas 2004: The Recital’s “And That Boy Can Drum” is a good rock version of “Little Drummer Boy”. There’s more great surf rock by Adam Kempa on “Jingle Bell Surf”. Dave Lawson’s funereal cover of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” actually works for some odd reason. And oh yeah, some funny Christmas punk rock from the Paincakes.

Christmas 2003: The clear favorite here is the outrageous “I Want an Hippopotamus For Christmas” by The Paincakes.

Christmas 2002: The first album is the shortest with 17 tracks and also has the most covers. Thunderbirds Are Now does a wild cover of Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis”. Scott Allen and Caleb Deadly performs a pretty version of “Christmas Time in Here”. Did I mention that I just love The Paincakes?

All six albums are available in 128kbps MP3 from the link below. Make sure you browse the site for many of Suburban Sprawl’s artists and their CDs. Support the artists. Buy their CDs.

Happy Holidays!

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The Electric Fantastic Sound record label states they started the idea of these electronic Christmas songs as a joke. The resulting two annual collections are anything but a joke. For the most part, these two albums give us some tasty treats of electronic beats, synth-rock, and electro-pop. There’s a nice mixture of standards and original songs, all different enough to cause a double take but good enough to mix with your holiday favorites.

The first one was released in 2006 and is still freely available. The album starts with a strong entry titled “December” by New Modern Angel. It is full of spacey sounds and has a good modern vocal. Neurobash’s “Close Your Eyes” and Quelles Paroles’ “She Won’t Be Home”, like many of the tracks, has a tight 80s synth-rock sound. Soviet’s “Come Together…It’s Christmas” is one of the more mainstream sounding Christmas songs but it’s a doozy. Libra’s Eurythmic influenced groove is quite addictive on “All I want For Christmas is You”. However my favorite is “Santa Baby” by Iceland’s Bloodgroup. It is a clever cover of a usually cheesy Christmas song. My fondness for this version is only surpassed by Sheila E’s sexy cover from a few years back.

Also free is Electric Fantastic Christmas 2007. Centrum’s “Staffan var en Stalledräng” is a luscious mix of Trip-hop and Celtic. PLAS-TICK’s “Last Christmas” and Romantic’s “Home For Christmas” are splendid techno ballads that remind us that “good commercial pop” is not necessarily an oxymoron. Thought Criminals “Party Til The Police Come” is a wild romp that hovers between Depeche Mode and George Clinton. Diskodiktator wraps it up with a snappy “Christmas Groove”. My favorites? I’ve heard Hyperbubble’s cover of “Away in a Manger” many times before and it still blows me away. Neurobash takes the prize for weirdest song with “Mistress for Christmas”. Both albums will be nice additions to your holiday music collection.

The albums are available in 128kbps MP3. When you have your fill of Christmas vibes, check out Fantastic Electric Sounds’ web site for music to purchase and enjoy. If you enjoy these Christmas albums you can support the label and the artists by buying the 2007 Christmas collection in 320kbps MP3.

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Electric Fantastic Christmas 2006 (No longer available)
Electric Fantastic Christmas 2007

Russian pianist Pavel Dombrovsky gives a live performance of the 16 minute composition A Little Suite For Christmas by iconclastic American composer George Crumb. This 1980 work may not sound all that Christmasy but it is an excellent example of the composer’s interaction with sound and silence. Emotional eruptions pair with long pauses and hesitating phrases to make a very involving and beautiful work. While being very modern and often dissonant, it still manages to be one of Crumb’s most accessible pieces and well deserving of a listen. Dombrovsky gives a very empathic rendering.

The album is available from the Top-40 netlabel as one 16 minute track in 192kbps MP3.

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Here is a short EP with four delightful christmas songs to play while decorating the tree.

Festivities start with a cover of The Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas Darling” by someone called Fudge. The best thing I can say about it is that it must be some kind of lounge gag a la Richard Cheese. It does have a bit of gin soaked bar charm. Fortunately the next three tracks are better. Lee Rosevere contributes two instrumentals. “Christmas Eve at Midnight” is a quiet but joyful soundscape while “Shovelin’” is a jazzy bit of seasonal boogie featuring keyboard and shovel. However the crowning (or is it crowing?) achievement is Chester The Chicken clucking and squawking his way through “Egg-White Christmas”. This isn’t the first chicken song I ever heard but it is one of the cutest.

The tracks are in 64kbps, 192kbps, and VBR MP3. They are also available in Ogg Vorbis. The EP is only about 12 minutes long which is shorter than the usual EP on Free Albums Galore, but hey! It’s almost Christmas!

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If you think you’ve heard every yuletide story in existance then you are probably ready for Snaildartha: Jerry The Christmas Snail. Matt Fugate and Chris Strouth created this oddball tale. As Chris writes, “It started as a silly little idea: Make the Life of Buddha into a Christmas story oh yeah and make it a snail. ”

Yes, it’s strange. It is also funny, clever, and has more than a little wisdom. Chris directed and produced while Matt narrates the story in a perfected combination of droll wit and sharp timing over the musical score. And what a score! Organist Scott ”Pink Slippers” LeGere, Drummer Terry “Poker Face” Haanen, and saxophonist George Cartwright laids a hip jazzy groove that is supportive when needed and is independently listenable during the several musical interludes. The great musical backing stays complementary to the imaginative telling.

Some may find the pairing of Buddha and Christmas to be uncomfortable. I say, listen to the story! It’s amazing how well the two traditions merge in this retelling. And I can truthfully say you may never look at Santa Claus in the same way again.

The album is available as a full album zip in 128kbps MP3.

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German producer Simon V has been releasing a free MP3 music track on the 24th of each month for the last year as a year long Christmas gift to his web site visitors. You can now download and listen to all of these musical treats on his new online album, Digital Christmas.

These are well produced tracks with lot of drum N’ bass and pounding techno. If that is not enough, Simon called in the service of Shoot The Kitten to add some sweaty and sensual soul to a few tunes. The last track “Rukous” features Finnish vocalist Laura Ryhänen in a beautiful finale to an deliciously grooving session.

The album is available from Knobtweakers as separate tracks or full album zip from the link below or you can download the album zip directly from Simon V’s web site. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying some of his other CDs.

No longer available

Unfortunately, my call for decent free and legal Christmas albums went unheeded. So instead of decent Christmas music, I give to you Have Yourself A Filthy Little Christmas.

Actually, it is not all that bad. In fact, it is quite enjoyable. The netlabel Filthy Little Angels specializes in campy punk and hardcore from bands who know how to pour it out. Add on the fact that few of these tracks are really Christmas songs and you will have an inkling of the label’s.. and the artists’.. in-your-face attitude.

Of the Christmas songs, The title track by And What Will Be Left of Them is a smart punk moment with lyrics like “Have yourself a filthy little christmas. Hope you choke on cheer.” The Swear cover more common ground with “All I Want For Christmas” as they pine for their loved ones. Captain Polaroid’s “If You Came On Christmas Day” has a bittersweet indie quality somewheres between emo and grunge. The Vichy Government is one of the most intriquing bands on the album. They offer two tracks, an instrumental “One Less White Christmas” and the best track of the album, “Christmas Is Cancelled”.

Of the other artists, I was impressed by The International Karate Plus, Mynx, and The Ape Drape Escape. The effect on most tracks is sort of John Waters meets The Sex Pistols. Overall, this is a very interesting album that may make you laugh or offend you but will definitely not bore you.

The album is available in separate MP3 tracks of varying bitrate. If you like the music, check out what else Filthy Little Angels has and show your support by buying their CDs.

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