'Tis the Season

I love everything about Christmas. I love the good company, the good food, the good moods and of course the good music. From hymns to carols to special Christmas time releases, Christmas music is just awesome.

One of my favorite types of Christmas music is when an artist decides to write a special Christmas themed song and release it a month or two before Christmas. These songs tend to be awesome for two reasons
Reason #1: Because they have to do with Christmas and they help to get you in the Christmas spirit.
Reason #2: Usually these songs aren't overly profitable. The only people who usually know about these songs are the more avid fans and they either pirate the songs (Quick side note- Pirating is bad, pay a few dollars and support the artists you love), or buy them on iTunes for $1. The artists know these songs aren't going to make them a ton of money but they decide to make them anyways. Why? Because they love Christmas. This means that these songs are a labor of love and everyone knows you get a better product when the maker loves what they're doing. Although there are numerous examples of these types of Christmas themed songs I've chosen two of my favorites to show you today. The first is by Sufjan Stevens. I'm not very familiar with all his work but I heard this song on another music blog I follow.



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gKzXlqsOeE

My second song is from Julian Casablancas. I realize I've already blogged about him but this is probably my favorite Christmas time release. 

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wS-k66MKgs

Last but definitely not least is an album released by Ella Fitzgerald. It's called "Ella Wishes You a Swingin' Christmas". Ella Fitzgerald is no small name in the world of Classic Jazz and her Christmas album has no problem living up to her legendary name. It's basically a compilation of all your favorite Christmas carols with an extremely classy Jazz twist to them. It's the kind of music that gets you right into the Christmas spirit whether you want to or not. I highly recommend the entire album but just to give you a taste I've chosen one song for today.

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0dfa2_11YQ

I'm throwing in one last awesome Christmas-ish song. It's got Zooey Deschanel which is all you really need to know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPYN0T7DBtw 

Congratulations

Whoa it's been a while. Today I've decided to blog about a few bands with a little less information than usual on each.

My first band has been a long time favorite of mine: Coconut Records. I'm sure most of you reading this are familiar with the work of Coconut Records but lately I've fallen in love with their laid back, nonchalant style all over again. Coconut Records is a solo indie rock project by Jason Schwartzman. In a few specific songs Schartzman collaborates with several different artists, my favorite being Zooey Deschanel. It's surprising how little information the internet has on Coconut Records. Basically all you need to know is that listening to Coconut Records will make you want to drop everything and go do something like longboard down the west coast for a month.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugx9r_bgl2Y

Artist #2 - Julian Casablancas
Julian Casablancas specializes in Alternative/Indie rock. He is best known for his work in in the popular alternative rock band The Strokes. His most recent release came early this year in the form of a solo album entitled "Phrazes for the Youth". This album is arguably his best work to date. Casablancas composed and wrote everything you hear in the album. Julian Casablancas is a perfectionist and it shows in his music. The effortless feel and sound of his music are the result of much attention given to the most minute of details. My favorite thing about Julian Casablancas is his passion for music which translates into the quality of his songs. In interviews Julian explains the major impact that different groups have had on shaping the type of person he is today and he explains that he writes his music with the hopes that he might have a similar impact on somebody someday. I could write paragraphs about why Julian is awesome but I think it's best that I just let his music speak for him.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_h5DMHh5_M

Artist #3 - MGMT
Everyone has heard a few of MGMT's catchy smash hit songs that made their first album both a critical as well as commercial success, but most people you talk to don't even know MGMT released a new album this past spring. The few people I've talked to that have listened to the new album seem to have quickly dismissed it as a failed attempt at MGMT's sophomore album. To end today's post I'd like to give MGMT  a little more credit than most people have afforded them. Before I get started I should probably admit that upon first listening to the new album I was somewhat disappointed. It wasn't at all the MGMT I fell in love with and so I set it aside and didn't give it another try for at least a few months. Eventually I got around to listening to it again and found a few songs I began to like. After several listens I was hooked. But why was I so pessimistic after the first listen? I think the problem was that I was expecting the same catchy radio hits that the first few songs of the debut album offered. What I didn't realize was that the second half of the debut album that I so often skipped over was the real MGMT. I realized that songs like "Weekend Wars" and "Electric Feel" (the songs that got MGMT so popular) were more of the exception than the rule. In their second album MGMT seems to be showing us what they're really like. If viewed with no expectations based on the first album, MGMT's second album is a masterpiece. I find their new style refreshing and inventive as well as fantastically original. I can't guarantee that even if viewed from the right perspective you'll love the album the first time, but I can say that after several fair listens you'll begin to enjoy their second album and may even find that you like it more than it's predecessor. I guess all I'm saying is MGMT's new album is awesome and deserves more props than it's been given. Oh by the way, their new album is called "Congratulations"



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_GvVnPsUeg