Okay, I’m a liar. I know I said I wouldn’t do a Christmas/Holidaze post when I reviewed what is now my favorite Christmas album of the year. (If you go to that review, you’ll find a few nuggets that aren’t in this post.) But I was already a liar when I posted The Raveonette’s new Xmas track. So in the spirit of lying, I decided to do some detective work and make a big ol’ Holiday post for y’all. Call me a sell-out, call me what you will.
Many of these are direct downloads. Others are links to holiday posts that I found particularly amusing or good. Still more are a few of my own collection, in Savefiles. So check the link before you right click, and have a great Holiday Recession!
p.s.: If you’ve got a favorite site or post or song or whatever, put it in the comments . . . We can make this a repository of quality indie Christmas posts! (Please don’t spam junk or album links–try to stay with the spirit of this blog. Thanks!)
But first, my own personal faves . . .
Do You?-Katjon Band. (The best holiday song of 2008.)
Santa Claus Has Got The Aids This Year-Tiny Tim
Xmas Party-Middle Distance Runner
Last Christmas Girl-Stratocruiser
And lastly, a two-fer by one of my all-time favorite artists . . .
Podsafe Christmas and Chiron Beta Prime (Merry Christmas), both by Jonathan Coulton.
And now, the biggest indie-only A to Z Xmas post in the known universe . . .
(Most entries alphabitized by Band Name or blog link.)
A is for . . .
B is for . . .
12 Days of Christmas, Hawaiian Style-Bela Fleck
Knife Fights and Xmas Lights-Black Blondie. A strange song, but oddly compelling . . .
Brooklyn Vegan’s Holiday Post!
C is for . . .
Can You See The Sunset . . . They’re doing a bunch of Christmas lists. This one I like the best.
Crystal Castles Save Christmas. (Follow link.)
D is for . . .
The New Year-Death Cab for Cutie
Mrs. Claus’ Kimono-Drive-By Truckers
E is for . . .
Ekko’s (my) favorites, which are at the top of this post, before the A to Z.
The Evangelicals’ shoegazy xmas song, The Last Christmas on Earth.
Everybody Cares, Everybody Understand’s twee post, with Rilo Kiley and (ugh) Bright Eyes.
F is for . . .
Feed the World-Far. The original, Band Aid version is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I do love the irony of the supergroup calling itself “Band Aid,” and basically that’s what it was. We put a small cover over a huge problem, that still exists today, but the little band aid made us all feel better about ourselves for just long enough to forget how bad world hunger is. And it’s getting worse, the more people eat red meat and continue to . . . But I digress.
G is for . . .
Gifts. See this interesting post on Coolfer about how hard it is to buy music this year.
A Christmas/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Chanukah/Ramadan/Boxing Day Song – Christine Lavin & The Mistletones, posted at Guilt Free Pleasures, with a couple others, like The Eels.
H is for . . .
Santa Claus is Coming to Town-Taylor Hicks. A little AI for ya holiday.
I is for . . .
It’s Hard To Find a Friend’s post on Jennifer O’Connor, complete with an Xmas mp3.
J is for . . .
The Justice Xmas mix. I am definitely not a fan of the J, but I know lots of you are. To me, it’s barely music, mostly noise. I am officially an old fart. Get the fuck off my lawn!
K is for . . .
Christmas Reindeer, by The Knife, which you can find, along with some other stuff, at Swedesplease.
L is for . . .
Christmas Tree-Lady Ga Ga and Space Cowboy. (Not sure who original uploader was . . .)
Letters For Arms’ post of covers of Merry Christmas (Please Come Home). They’re not all indie, so hurry up and git it before the RIAA shuts it down. Or just buy the songs and make the major labels cum.
Come On Christmas (Cheap Trick cover)-Local H
M is for . . .
Music Under Fire’s cool yule collection. They posted the new Frightened Rabbit a little early and beat me to it, so just go there to get it. They’ve also got Blitzen Trapper and Mason Jennings. Neat, rare stuff.
Xmas Curtain-My Morning Jacket. And go here for a whole MMJ Christmas show!
N is for . . .
How the Grinch Stole Christmas-New Monsoon. Okay, the guy’s no Boris Karloff. But still, it’s pretty neat to do this live, innit?
P is for . . .
Don’t Believe in Christmas-Pearl Jam. Follow the link to get it; it’s been posted on the best blog in the world. 😉
Santa God-Pearl Jam. (Follow link)
R is for . . .
Hey, Parker, It’s Christmas!-Ryan Adams (follow link).
S is for . . .
30 Down/The Christmas Song (Chipmunks cover)-She Blonde Sweet. Silly? Yes! Ballsy as hell to cover the Chipmunks on an acoustic guitar with natural vocals? Also yes!
Happy Xmas/War is Over (John Lennon cover)-Shi Tones. The slow, surfy instrumental version. I really dig this. More than this version by the Mermen, which generally has the same idea.
Speed of Dark’s X-cellent X-mas mix!!! (Follow link.)
Sweet Fix’s Xmas post is a little too major label for me, but I’m posting on it because it’s got Diplo.
T is for . . .
Thunderbirds are Now’s cover of Run DMC’s Xmas in Hollis! (Follow link for this and more!)
U is for . . .
U2 and C, my favorite U2 blogger for these pictures of St. Nick and St. Bono, which she posted last year.
V is for . . .
W is for . . .
Santa Claus is Coming to Town-Bob Walkenhorst
X is for . . .
All I Want To Do Is Hit a Red Dwarf-Triftshop XL (mashup)
Z is for . . .
You expect a zipfile of all this? Are you fucking kidding me?
