2017 Christmas Stories, part one.
With under three weeks to go (!!!!!!) until this year’s 30th-annual marathon, here’s the first half of the Christmas Stories recorded exclusively for the 2017 edition of my Holiday Radio Show on 103.3 fm WPRB.
Part two will appear next week!
Please click on the links provided and support these musicians, artists and talented individuals who were so kind to tape remarkable original pieces for the show. Follow them on Twitter! Like them on Facebook! Buy their records and books! Support their events!
May these works inspire you to record something for this year.
The Brixton Riot – “Winter’s Colder (When You’re Gone)”
Combining American and English influences, New Jersey’s The Brixton Riot fuses elements of 70’s power-pop and punk, 80’s jangle-rock and 90’s indie rock into a sound that is both familiar and distinct. The Replacements, Big Star and The Jam represent only a small fraction of their influences. Their full-length “Close Counts” was released on Mint 400 Records last year.
This is their third contribution to the marathon.
50 Helens – “Holiday Train to Rasa Ria”
50 Helens are members of Korean Jeans, Petrillo and OUT. All proceeds from this holiday record (which includes songs beyond what was played during the marathon) will be donated to Planned Parenthood.
King Mistletoe Jr. – “Last Xmas (for real this time)”
The fifth King Mistletoe song! Perhaps the last one? Time will tell!
Jim Lewis – vocals, drums
Steve Heise – guitars
Neil Pye – Father Christmas
Jake McKelvie & The Countertops – “Rock & Roll Saint Nicholas”
Jake McKelvie tours around the country both as a solo act and with his band, The Countertops. Having self-released numerous full-length albums and EPs over the years, he has carved himself a niche as a songwriter, combining a rapid delivery with stream-of-self-consciousness writing in a manner so singular that it is never in question whose songs are being played.
This song was penned by Jolly Old Saint Nick Votruba.
After The Fall – “Totally Tired (of Xmas)”
A remarkable reworking of The Fall’s “Totally Wired.”
T Penn- vox/bass
Mike Templar – drums
Mike Witwer – guitar / vox
The ‘Mericans – “Blue Christmas”
Returning welcomely for another marathon, The ‘Mericans are a Rhode Island band founded in 2001 by singer / guitarist Chris Daltry (Purple Ivy Shadows).
Edith Frost with James Dering – “O Come Emmanuel”
Edith Frost can be found on her website and/or Twitter.
Piano by James Dering.
This is her fifth contribution to the marathon in as many years.
Doug Gillard – “Christmas Time Is Here”
Doug Gillard’s formidable body of recordings is as impressive as it is voluminous, encompassing his work as a key member of such notable combos as Guided by Voices, Death of Samantha, Cobra Verde, Gem and Nada Surf, as well as an array of notable collaborations with the likes of Richard Buckner, My Dad Is Dead, Yuji Oniki, Bill Fox, The Mice, Mascott and Sally Crewe & the Sudden Moves. Parade On, the Ohio-bred, New York-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist’s third official solo album, was released in 2014.
David Nagler – “Regard du Pere (from Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus)”
David Nagler is a Brooklyn-based musician and songwriter. He is the founder and frontperson of NY metropolitan area pop group Nova Social, the musical director for Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders at City Winery, and the host of The Oracle Show at NYC piano bar Sid Gold’s Request Room.
“Regard du Père (“Contemplation of the Father”) is the first part of composer Olivier Messiaen’s 20-part solo piano composition Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus (“Twenty contemplations on the infant Jesus”). Though not canon, I’ve always considered it a Christmas composition, and try to listen to it every year around this time.”
Junk Miles Holiday Spectacular
Chip Chantry and Jeff Lyons braved a chilly December Sunday morning run in a desolate meadow in New Jersey while chatting with a surprise special guest Jon Solomon, who might or might not have fallen in a creek during the outing.
This is the full version of the “Junk Miles” episode that was excerpted throughout the 2017 marathon.
The following topics are discussed: gift giving, gift getting, Christmas songs, John Cougar Mellencamp, Stiff Little Fingers, Benny Goodman, Atari, CD long boxes, back injuries, Mac McCaughan, Ian Curtis, basement flooding, goths, goth runners, The Gift of The Magi, Hall & Oates, Todd Glass, and of course, old running shoes, plastic tubs with sealable tops.
SAVAK – “Relax, It’s The Holidays”
SAVAK was formed in 2015 by members of The Obits, Holy Fuck, Nation of Ulysses, and The Cops. Their third song for the marathon is a doozy. Their third album “Beg Your Pardon” is out now on Ernest Jenning.
“We’d considered “What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)” and the 1961 gem “Merry Twistmas” by The Marcels. But after scouring folders of various recordings in even more various states, we pulled a few sounds together that’d been captured in our practice space and home noodling and started fiddling around. 135 bpm felt right. As did a few samples Sohrab had left over from his days of writing soundtracks to cartoons for the world wide web. Stretch, cut, re-stretch, filter and a-zabble-dabble-doo. Music really was meant to be free! Though we all signed a non-disclosure agreement, so mum’s the word on that Leo Nocentelli lick, folks. Anyway, what’s a hodgepodge of a loop if not a bed for some fella to fall asleep in with his boots still on? Written and delivered in a single take for minimal hassle and maximum joy.”