Month: July 2025

Xmas Instruments: Violin

Gitch’er fiddle and screech out a carol or two!

Niboyeang, Atsadakorn Kapookkham bring the mood way down with their bummer of a “Christmas Violin Elegy.” This AI crankyfest isn’t just somber and reverent, it’s a pop crying jag.

Nancy Williams is sick for “Home,” especially when her alt pop wends her past a street busker on violin for the holidays. Better music. More seasonal depression.

More AI from Harmonix Synthesis applies a klezmer-like aura over the folk pop of “Shine This Christmas.” Nearly a waltz, who can resist?

Melanie Anne Padernal & Sheena Santamaria play with rap at their “Filipino Christmas Party.” One of the standout traditions is… Talent Show for the whole ding dong group (someone’s gonna play a violin! you just know it!)! That was fun.

“Processional: ‘A Christmas Roundelay’” is a hoe down in chorale coating. Alternating verses honor the angels and tune the violin–for dancin’! Baptist College of Ministry Concert Chorale makes a mountain out of this morsel.

Rock returns with “Winter of Our Discontent,” Sanford’s poison penned plaintive to the pain and pestilence of Papa Noel’s perturbations. (…carols are screeched out on that old violin.)

“I Want A Violin For Christmas” is Steven John Tillotson (feat. Isabelle Glenn) mashing country and pop into disharmony and headache inducing high notes. Enjoy!

Xmas Instruments: Ukulele (pt. 2)

The toy stringed thing madness continues!

“I Want a Ukulele for Christmas” whistles out Steven Curtis Chapman, spawning a dozen tutorials on line with his showtune folk.

Jumping on the bandwagon John Meola Lindhorst strums out easy listening Island “I Want a Ukulele for Christmas.” He wants it the whole alphabet!

Carly Jamison ladles Island over blues when she declares “I’m Getting a Ukulele for Christmas.” Dixieland bridge!

Flying Tadpole recounts being saved from a life of ‘geetar’ playing woes when his wife bestows upon him “My Christmas Ukulele.” Island folk of the vaudeville kind.

Johnny Setlist (feat. Mcmilk) wrestles with his Xmas list… peace or power? Then his fast-talking jazz lounge patter reveals He Really WANTS A “Christmas Ukulele.” On repeat. It’s like a car alarm on Santa’s lap.

Tyrone and Lesely definitely want a “Ukulele Christmas.” You can tell because they say it over and over in their music hall folk beggary. Hah!

AZ McInnis posts his hit song “All I Want for Christmas is Another Ukulele” from outdoors. But his folk jazz is damn upbeat. I feel the power.

Creamed Corn mash up Elvis and bluegrass washboard with jazz and a wisp of pirate pop for the stunning “Hoping to Find a Ukulele Underneath the Christmas Tree.” Help me, i’ve caught the tiny bubbles!

Xmas Instruments: Ukulele (pt. 1)

Uses are so handy and portable they’ll infect your holiday party before you can furrow your brow. Look out, he’s got one over there!

Jeremy Lister combines poinsettias, wassail, cookie dough, and ukuleles for the ultimate strummer “Holiday Party.” A bit of the ol’ ragtime in that jug band, you ask me.

Owl City has the shopping stress of the holidays and kicks pop down the street of choices (a bike, or like a ukulele?). This indecisiveness sends him over the edge and into a “Humbug” frame of mind. Cute.

Is it racist to cast the Hawaiian Islands’ holidays in the key of uke? “Christmas in Texas, Aloha in my Heart” from Nova Sly (feat. The Flores Sisters, Sky Flores & Waipuilani) is slow country two step with only a tiny dab of S.Pacific. Different.

The Radish Friends revive “Ukulele (Christmas) Anthem” as a folk manifesto, poorly written but serious as fruitcake.

No, we still soundly disapprove of 12s around the blog, but Hawaiianfreak’s “12 Days Of Christmas” not only includes ukes (8), it gets metal on your asses. Wha–?

Well, that opened the door, di’ntit? “A Ukulele in a Pear Tree” by Emma and Charlie’s Radio Podcast combines all our instruments (‘Tubular Bells’ style!), but landing back on that first stringed box each round.

“All I Want for Chanukah Is a Ukulele” pits Alison Faith (feat. Karla Kane)’s light folk against the juggernaut of Chanukah music. And, the uke wins.

Parody break: “Ukulele Xmas” from Joel Kopischke is gentle and merry. Ahhh.

Ukulele Lee raises the bar with the namedropping little girl who–through folk pop–asks Santa for “A Ukulele for Christmas.” Awesome sauce.

Xmast Instruments: Trumpet (pt. 2)

Toot your own horn. For the holidays.

Winter Sage takes a break from referencing saxophones to remember that plastic trumpet you got in ’82. “Midnight’s Apology” puts a somber spin onto this alt-folk nostalgia. [In their “Whiskey & Mistletoe” the trumpet from old records sounds like memories of Dad’s absence. Damn. Syncopated jazz.]

Brandon Diaz likes to point out “This Year Sucks (At Least We Got Christmas)” with some chiming indie pop. Let the trumpets sing he invokes when he’s really into it.

The Wiggles’ “Wiggly Wiggly Christmas” is a kidsong swing from Santa and his reindeer band (Rudolph on trumpet–cool, daddio). Not Safe for Work.

In the party of The Snowfall Swing, Chris Waits highlights “Frosty Jive” bringing the whole town to its feet for his thumping pop. The trumpets glow, dear.

Frosty learned the trumpet in “Once a Snowflake” from the musical ‘Searching for the Spirit of Christmas’ and sung by Noah Flores & Alisha Nordquist. Showtune merriment.

The Wailers (w/Bob Marley) want you up and at ’em as they “Sound the Trumpet” for Christmas. Reggae with a side of jazz.

The Action! swing with more jazzy reggae wanting “A Trumpet for Christmas.” Apparently it will bring them cheer. Boss.

Xmas Instruments: Trumpet (pt.1)

Make like Al Hirt (or The Angels) and play the ol’ brasshole. Wakey wakey ears are achy.

Heaven so decrees: “Sound the Trumpet (Christmas Is Here)“–so you’ll know and not ignore. Here the Vancouver Children’s Choir use more harmony and blatting to make their point.

On the other lamb, Eagleman Band point out that no trumpet sounded “That First Christmas Day.” Plodding folk makes it seriously so.

Lauren Anderson doesn’t even care when that old trumpet starts to blow, because it “Feels Like Christmas” when you are by her side. Torch song with all the jazzy accoutrements.

“Christmas in Hollywood” is so noisy it’s rolled out with bells and trumpets, so say Starring Vanya. It’s pop. It’s noisy. It’s Christmas.

Bayou bound, AI swings out “A Holiday Journey” supposedly created by Nicola Maurantonio. As least the trumpets blast.

Cheesy pop from LimaVii “The Sound Of X-Mas” includes thundering trumpets. Not much else to recommend it.

Gramps Morgan confuses bells and choirs and trumpets and laughter as all making the sound “Fa La La La La.” Gospel inspired pop.

You might want a translator who speaks plaid when you unravel the pop march “Grandad And His Christmas Trumpet” by way of The Brothers Fife. Sadly, Grandad is a bit flatulent on the brass kicker.

Xmas Instruments: Trombone

Whether you think of your Tbone as a large trumpet or a paper clip, you must be one sliding cat to handle that sackbut.

AI calls out to us how Trombones swing and trumpets shout in the pretend jazz band of “Swingin’ Christmas Bells” by Hadrian Virtual Ensemble. There’s also glocks, but not the shooting kind.

In Corey Lynn Fayma’s “Gumbo Ya Ya Christmas” features jazz, funk, and blues–including Trombone Shorty! Clear the decks!

Channeling Elvis Josh Dower breathally intones “I’ll Trombone For Christmas.” This is not the parody you are looking for.

Splodgenessabounds calls it an ultraphone in his takedown of UK politics “you’ve got to have a dream”You’ve Got to Have a Dream.” Wacky music hall bit–Have a Banana!

Saving our musical acuities Poppa John Gordy and his Dixielanders jazz out “Santa Plays The Trombone (In the North Pole Band)” from 1954. Dixieland, i never thought i’d be so happy to see you back.

Xmas Instruments: Triangle

(Are you kidding me?) Whether or not this bent metal is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian sistrum, or merely its cousin, a couple songs mention its reverberative tonality.

[Rumors persist of a rare album “A Very Merry Percussionistmas” by the Percussionistas, so i beg you to share the possibility of obtaining this as it would fit in here. If not, please make such an album.]

Cleo and Cuquin get baby-sized with their ‘Happy and You Know It’ adaptation for Christmas. But, the “Gift Song” includes a xylophone, tambourine, maracas and finally a triangle. So this house will be shaking up a storm come Advent.

Mr & Mrs Smooth note the bells in “Another Christmas Song,” but down the street the kids are singing one more… with a triangle of all things! Symphonic easy listening.

Xmas Instruments: Tambourine

Shake those zills on your timbrel, baby!

Zach Rocks wants this so bad. His “Christmas Tambourine Song” will make that clear. Rocking, ostensibly. But it’s kidsong through and through.

Mr. Aaron wants you to know about his “Christmas Tambourine” with his gospel influenced pop. Oh, you’ll know.

Despite bongos backing him up Hank Valencia asks us to “Wake Up, It’s Christmas” with the shaking of tambourines. For Christ. Doggerel describes this better than easy listening pop.

Cross Canadian Ragweed sings about a homeless family busking for Christmas. Daddy’s on guitar, Mama’s on tambourine, “Lawrence” is missing Christmas. Weepy folk.

LAPêCHE has happier boho family folk memories with Daddy playing guitar and her hitting the “Red Tambourine.” Still depressing.

The Bosshoss slightly lifts the mood with “It’s Christmas Again,” a country pop ode to celebrating with the tambourine jing-a-ling-a-linging (jing-a-ling-a-linging). Nutty fluff.

This time it’s a synthesizer and a tambourine (and a metal drummer) for Herod the Fink’s Christmas show. “Jimmy & Robert” is a RnR showstopper, give you that. (BTW, that’s Stewart and Goulet–for the title.)

“Rock´n´roll X-Mas” at least as retold by The Refreshments features a tambourine. Dad rock, but really slow. Pretty good sax.

Some mighty good Xmas songs about instruments have long before come and gone on this blog and i’ve done my best to repeat nary a one this theme. Until now. Red State Update’s “Christmas Tambourine” was wasted on my month of Songs about Songs. Now it revives to rock us into the proper celebratory mood. Respect!

Xmas Instruments: Synthesizer

A child of ’60s, a star in the ’80s, the synth made science fiction of music.

While synthesizers hum a cold and distant tune, “December Static” empties life of meaning for Leon Mondschein. Buzzy pop.

“I Remember Old Computer (Christmas 1989)” from Additional Moog (James Leighton Williams) remembers the young joy of that new sound with electronic pop.

Chris Pace is startled to see “Jason Lytle’s Old Synthesizer (Is Underneath My Christmas Tree).” The Grandaddy frontman is nowhere to be found, but this indie tells the tale of his leavings.

Ex-Rental mourns the passing of real music when he hears “Christmas in a Synthesizer Age.” Rock/pop that writes history.

So, everyone wants one now, eh? Anna Jeter monotones the pop “Synthesizer For Christmas” expressing want, not need.

“My Baby Bought me a Synth for Christmas” crows Luke Neptune with VERY electronic pop. Plenty of garbage presents, but never mind that. Now he rocks.

Phantom Planet Films brings us “Everyone Gets a Synthesizer for Christmas.” Repetitive pop, which works.

“All I Want for Christmas Is a Synthesizer” from Evripidis and His Tragedies, Eliza Ariadne Kalfa is all i want from Xmas novelty. It puts its money where its Moog is.

Xmas Instruments: Saxophone

It’s a woodwind! It’s brass! It’s John Coltrane’s piece!

It can create a moody mood, too. Over the Rhine’s “All I Ever Get for Christmas is Blue” cites an old song on the radio wailing on the sax. That’s all it takes… blue. This one is bluesy jazz.

The elegy of “December’s Quiet” by Winter Sage angrily jazzes the emptiness left behind of your unattended sax. You, you’re gone. [Their “Fireplace Letters” is more epistolary, a reading that taps the horn as ghostly. Quite the reputation.] [Finally, their “Homecoming Static” pits rap against the missing Daddy’s dusty saxophizzle.]

The mellow sound of the saxophone echoes the brokenhearted of Binary Beats’ “Christmas in Blue.” It is allowed that all music has changed in mood once you have gone away.

Winter bound, an old man questions “Have I Done any Good.” He then picks up a saxophone in his hospital bed and serenades his daughters. It’s a Herod the Fink world, you guys.

Swinging into an upbeat, Dr. Kok adds trumpets to the saxophone for “This Jazzy Surprise.” It’s big band-ish, but elevator bound musically.

Ersatz Roaring ’20s from AI, or at least PerBEATlity, “Welcome to the Christmas Party” also kicks up a heel or two. Trumpets and saxophones again add to the ambience.

Amateur jazz band strikes back with “Santa Played The Bari Saxophone” by The Original Skazz Band (Feat. Joe Crumrine). Cooler solo.

Who to watch out for, however, would be the “Creepy Ol’ Saxman.” The Withers warn you with this ragtime pop, but fear less–the saxophone part is a cappella’d.

Jazzy rock that speaks to me, Chris August’s “Tell Me What You Want” goes behind the scenes for a mall Santa and what he gets asked for (saxophone). That’s a party in my ears.