(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.
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!
“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.
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.
Tickling the ebony and ivory is a privilege, at least it costs more than any other starter instrument. But there’s always some ruint upright nobody can get rid of.
The Oak Ridge Boys slather their barbershop country all over “Uncle Luther Made The Stuffin.’” All the family members have their chores, including Anna on the pie-anna. Hoe down fun. [Their gospelly “Family Piano” is more sobering.]
Weepy easy listening describes “The Piano” by Liz Callaway. It takes her back, see?
Well, if you prefer cheesy pop, “That One Christmas Song” by Jess LaPradd is vapid beats about singing piano songs. Like, Billy Joel?
AI swings and sways in “Christmas Piano Waltz” provided by Niboyeang, Atsadakorn Kapookkham. Not sure how well pianos waltz, but it’s got… something.
Moody symphonic pop from Ralph McTell dourly relates how “All Things Change” for Renne, the landlady, and big Eddie on the piano for Xmas. And by that we mean they have no future in this existential hole. Holy moldy.
Making the most of it, Crayon Jones wants to gather us ‘round the piano and have a “Merry Christmas Everyone I Mean It.” Slow, gentle Britrock.
<i could go on, hundreds of songs reference the piano in the back, but we’ll chop it off here so other instruments can get some time>
More focused on the instrument “Joseph Just Keep On Playing” is the amateurish backroom light pop story from All Together Now. Trust me, it works.
Hammers on strings? Is it percussive? Is it stringy? Play me a song, piano mass.
DG Solaris improvs “Christmas No.2” with a jaunty keyboard beat and a weird AF gratitude for what matters at Xmas. ‘Sworth a jazz minute.
D/troit’s “Motown X-Mas Song” namedrops like on a mission (incl. Marvin on the piano) to imagine the party to end all parties. More pop than R+B.
Brett Eldredge knows “It Must Be Christmas” when all his friends are in town and Tommy plays piano. Sassy easy listening with a skosh of jazz.
Boys in Shorts narrate their music making in “Christmas Lights,” a winsome reflection of light emotionality. Quite quite indie.
More shyly, UFO Race downplays the lights AND the party small talk in favor of commandeering the piano and creating a “Christmas Chime.” Frothy fun indie.
“Crazy 4 Christmas” is Mike Fish getting Dada with Xmas imagery in front of a rocking backdrop. Just my cup of shoe.
Lori (of Lori & David) promises that if you Sit by my white piano, I’ll sing you Christmas carols in the bouncy folk pop of “Ribbon on Top.” Adorable.
Den Dery gets nearly atonal with his jazzy euphoria–SHE’s here for Christmas! Puts him in a “Christmas Piano Mood.” I’m in a groovin’ kinda mood listening.
Keyboard organs deliver notes by many means: electric, bellows, book, pipes, barrels, and more.
Loretta Lynn’s “Country Christmas” is made musical with her dad on the organ. Corny pop country, what else?
C.W. McCall narrates the memory of another country time when Mama played the organ and we all were to “Sing Silent Night.” Sadly sad.
A couple sentimentalists have prefaced their “Silent Night” rendition with the 19th C. tale of the broken organ and the minister who penned a carol oh the fly without the need for one. Like J. Denver and the Muppets here. Sorry.
Comedy break from Hot Buttered Elves tells the story of “The Old Church Organ.” Dunt dun duhhhhh.
That old chestnut, “The Holly and the Ivy” invokes the playing of the merry organ for Christmas singing, so let us allow Silent Knight Riot’s punk posings.
As olden, “Christmas Bells (A Poem Read by Edward Ian Chappe)” brought to life by Carlos Fandango Music documents many symptoms of the season such as the merrymaking music of the organ grinder. Recitative pop.
Hokey easy listening from Ken Bascue, “Ave Maria On Christmas Day” sets the scene of the organ playing for his mother singing in church. Teardrops follow this memory.
MCS Singers try a more upbeat easy listening recounting that long time ago gift under (?) the tree: the organ! After which she tried to sing of a “Beautiful Christmas to All of Them” responsible for such generosity. Cheers!
More of a party easy listening, “California Christmas Remaster” by Bye Bye Mars features an announced organ solo as a gift to you. Check out the final refrain, though. Meta.
In personification, an electric organ celebrates “N8153A’s First Christmas.” This party pop by Party The Hut and Friends is basement friendly. BYOB.
I tried to master the sweet potato at one time, even serenaded Jimmy Hollister on his KEX radio show back in the day. But i was terrible. It only had five holes in its ceramic body, still it was beyond me.
So let’s get goofy! 2 Dudes and a NES folk ballad us with “Link and Zelda’s Loving Christmas Love,” a young man’s early lessons in dealing with the opposite sex. And how to portal through these video games.
Three Sock Nonsense plays le jazz hot to overwhelm my senses with “Soap on a Rope.” The contents of the Xmas stocking we sneak a naughty peek into includes a blue ocarina… but there’s OH so much more. Mercy.
Caribbean beats are all the more danceable with these chac-chacs.
It’s about time we discovered The Annual Christmas Album Band, even if it’s only with the distant parody “Little Maraca Boy.”
Finally parang arrive care of Afeisha Brown (ft. Kiegs). With d’ box bass, d’ toc toc and d’ maracas in dey hands they jump around for “Jam D’ Parang.” It’s family friendly, though, so no over drinking.
The Ragged Flags would care to lure you down south where the dolphins play. You may enjoy “Crackers and Caracas” but this is New Age Island, so it’s a head trip of enlightenment.
A lute, this is the soprano member of a family that uses picks and includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass. Usually somber. Can be merry.
Jingle Bots goes with the latter in the hoe down party “Cheer So True.” Proper bluegrass with the mandolin strumming.
Lunavare’s “Fresh Air” posed the simple life where mandolins play and christmases are white. New Age folk.
Jingle Bots’re back with a hyper jig “Jingle All Around.” Fiddle and a mandolin, now. Speedy grass.
