O Come All Ye Rockers – A 30 Days Out Christmas

And so this is Christmas.  We’re going to sign off for the week with 30 holiday tunes; we’ll see you on the flip side of the holiday to help you get ready for New Year’s.  Thanks for sharing holiday music to Randy Fuller, Jeff Ash at AM Then FM, Heather Browne at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, Any Major Dude With Half A Heart, Deborah Harry, Bill Baird, Dan Dyer, WFMU and Satan.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Keep On Rockin’.

MP3: “Run Rudolph Run” by Creedence Clearwater Revisited

MP3: “We Three Kings” by Blondie

MP3: “Jingle Bells” by Wilson Pickett

MP3: “Party This Christmas” by Rockin’ Sidney

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Surfin’ To Town” by Soupy Sales

MP3: “The Lord Of The Dance” by Arthur Brown

MP3: “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by Twisted Sister with Lita Ford

MP3: “Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS” by Tiny Tim

MP3: “All I Want For Christmas” by Gerry & the Pacemakers

MP3: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by the Border Brass

MP3: Christmas Public Service Announcement by Pee Wee Herman

MP3: “Christmas In Jail” by Bill Baird

MP3: “Christmas In Southgate” by Ry Cooder

MP3: “White Christmas” by Otis Redding

MP3: “Christmas Cake” by Rilo Kiley

MP3: “2000 Miles” by Coldplay

MP3: “Christmas Time Blues” by Roy Milton & His Solid Senders

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Freaking Me Out” by Lord Weatherby

MP3: 1968 Christmas Fan Club Record by the Beatles

MP3: “Murder By Mistletoe” by the Felice Brothers

MP3: “This eXmas” by Dan Dyer

MP3: “O Holy Night” by Martha Reeves

MP3: “Joy To The World” by Bad Religion

MP3: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Lou Rawls

MP3: “Santa Claus, The Original Hippie” by Homer & Jethro

MP3: “On Christmas Day” by Brian Wilson

MP3: ” ‘Zat You Santa Claus?” by Smash Mouth

MP3: “Rock and Roll Christmas” by George Thorogood & the Destroyers

MP3: “Father Christmas” by the Kinks

MP3: “Christmas Message From Elvis/Silent Night” by Elvis Presley

Review: “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” The Duke & The King

The Felice Brothers are a rollicking roots-rock outfit from the Hudson Valley of New York state, and we’ve featured their music here in the past – Yonder Is The Clock was their highly acclaimed release from earlier this year.  Simone Felice, one of the three brothers in the group, has now started his own band – the Duke and the King, with Robert “Chicken” Burke (a George Clinton sideman).  Nothing Gold Can Stay, Duke & King’s first effort, is a shimmering gem of an album with beautiful, personal songs born of pain and rebirth.

Felice lost his baby girl last winter, and his loss is reflected first in the album’s title (from a classic Robert Frost poem) then in the songs, which look back on good times past with loss, regret and a slight smirk of wizened knowledge.  By the time you reach the brilliant “One More American Song,” which closes the album, you know you have been on a unique, cathartic journey.  The album is short, with only 10 tracks, but its organic feel and rich attention to detail make you feel as though you’ve dipped into an epic novel.  “Union Street” has an unassuming start but builds into a drama with the singer courting a pretty girl while New York City burns in the background.  We then go straight to “Lose My Self,” an airy piece of psychedelia that wouldn’t sound out of place in the Pink Floyd catalog.

Nothing Gold Can Stay is an impressive calling card for Simone Felice – he certainly makes it known that he is one of the best songwriters working today, and a worthy successor to the fading old lions of rock songwriting (Dylan, Springsteen, Van Morrison).  All hail the Duke – and the King.

MP3: “Union Street”

Simone Felice’s MySpace page

The Duke & the King MySpace page

Diggin’ Up Some New Roots & Blues

         

The most interesting music coming out right now could be classified as roots music – country-rock, Americana, folk-rock, blues, etc.  These artists may appear mainly on indie labels, or are big names trying to figure out a new hook but for the most part they are making some pretty good music.

Ryan Bingham, coming out of the wild west (New Mexico) and using Texas as his base, rocks on Roadhouse Sun, his third album.  Like on Mescalito, his breakthrough album from 2007, Bingham infuses his music with heavy doses of Rolling Stones/Black Crowes sensibility (Crowes guitarist Marc Ford produced this), and on “Change Is,” mixes in a dollop of Led Zeppelin. 

MP3: “Dylan’s Hard Rain” by Ryan Bingham

The Flatlanders may be a legend, but they’re also a band – and Hills and Valleys, their fourth official release, may be their best yet.  Kicking off with the brilliant “Homeland Refugee” and the voice of Joe Ely, this Texas trio kicks the Lone Star dust off their boots and range far afield with selections like “Cry For Freedom” but their words hit home and sound just right for today.  Highly recommended.

MP3: “No Way I’ll Never Need You” by the Flatlanders

Sampling the SXSW Promo Platters

Gaslight Anthem, from New Jersey, under the tent

Going to SXSW in Austin is all about hearing new music, of course.  Certainly one doesn’t have to be an official attendee with a badge or even a wristband – in fact, I’ve had neither the past four years and managed to pack in a lot of music anyway.

 

One way to hear good stuff is by picking up one of the armloads of free CDs supplied by record labels and artists.  I’ve just managed to go through all of it from this year, and here is a small sampler of the best:

 

Big Blue Ball is a multi-artist project that began back in 1991.  Over the years, the project has been scrapped and readopted and finally late last year, the finishing touches were put on an album which is scheduled to be released this June.  Here you have “Whole Thing,” featuring artists such as Andy White and Karl Wallinger, and singing lead is Peter Gabriel, who is one of the spark plugs behind this project.   As a bonus, we’ve also enclosed “Burn You Up, Burn You Down,” a shifty instrumental.