The Riders hail from San Francisco, but their tunes seem torn between the small pleasures of city living and the hardy lifestyle of the nearby hills. Using campfire harmonicas and winsome guitars, they sing about the Laundromat yet sound like they recorded on Neil Young's ranch.
Apart from the song "Sleigh Ride," which I've been known to whistle on cloudy days in June, I hate traditional holiday music. Part of it comes from when I worked on the floor in a bookstore for a year, and was subjected to three months of traditional holiday tunes on endless loop, eight hours a day, five days a week.
But tomorrow, we're hosting a holiday party, and you can't have a party without holiday music. The only Christmas song in my collection is John Lennon and Yoko Ono's antiwar "Happy Xmas (War … Read more
On "My Holiday," Smith turns her shimmering country-pop pipes toward the music of the season, and the style and the songs meet like old friends. Issuing gleaming guitars and wispy harmonies over both standards and originals, she homes in on what makes these songs matter.
How do you know that the Christmas season is officially underway? People are more generous, the air is a little lighter, and that evergreen tree is decorated to the hilt with ornaments and lights.
Now, how about your Windows PC? Drop that tiny tinsel and put down that computer-top angel. This flashy collection of Christmas screensavers will put you and your rig into a happier holiday mood as you count down the days to yuletide.
Nothing brings out the holiday spirit better than music. Whether it's Vince Guaraldi's "The Christmas Song," Elvis Presley's "Santa Claus Is Back In Town," or Snoop Dogg's "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto," everybody has that certain song that epitomizes the holidays. Once the holidays are over, though, it's time to pack away the decorations, hide the tacky lawn ornaments, and take your holiday music out of rotation until next December.
That last part, the part about packing away the holiday tunes, has become harder to accomplish in the digital age. Before the dawn of the MP3, you could just dump your records, tapes, or CDs in the same garage-bound box as your ornaments and wrapping paper. In the days of iTunes, however, your imported songs tend to stick around. Next thing you know, it's August, you're at the gym listening to your iPod Shuffle, and "Jingle Bell Rock" hits you like a fart in a spacesuit.
So how do you store a digital holiday music library that can play from your home computer, while keeping it quarantined from the music you want to hear the other 11 months of the year? I've rounded up a few of my favorite techniques. Feel free to add your own suggestions at the end.… Read more
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The set isn't technologically complicated, but looking at it inspires … Read more
Rock River Music Records had the genius idea to take a bunch of old Christmas records and let modern DJs, such as Dan The Automator, remix them. Amazingly, it works. This album offers the best of both worlds; traditional pop vocalists blended with dance beats.
The Brooklyn wunderkind's holiday record is a great window on his unique art. Who but the man behind "Come On, Feel the Illinoise" would rework a White Stripes song title into "Get Behind Me, Santa"? As usual, Stevens' banjo-driven indie-folk is darkly funny and spiritually deep.
We have a diverse batch of goodies for you this year. New additions include a duet with Elvis Presley and Martina McBride; a New Kids on the Block reissue; Stephen Colbert's debut Christmas album; and a Hanukkah jam from Erran Baron Cohen. And the great thing about holiday tunes is that you can recycle them every year! So, get acquainted with the new stuff, and then dig into our archive to resurrect the classic favorites.
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