Category: folk

The children wake up excited for their toys making the scene Red Queen Hypothesis’s “Crockpot Barbecue.” Clanking indie celebrating chaos.

The “Christmas Morning” of Three Day Threshold & Summer Villains is no less messy, but more giggly glee is interwoven in this folk pop. All is good. Weee!

Superior ‘grass folk from Trout Fishing in America works over the refrain “You Gotta Get Up” from the overexcited child’s point of view. New bike, Bethlehem, bargaining are all worked in. Wonderful.

“Awakened” is Rob Lord’s salute to crucified Jesus just in time for Christmas. Folk so full or regret as to be soulful.

Placeholder Confidential bends their garage folk to spirituality with “Put My Soul to Bed and Wake Me up on New Year’s Day.” It’s the bargaining stage.

Shad Weathersby rings one tiny bell “One Christmas Morning.” Guess why! Lovely folk pop that rolls into almost a Celtic round.

Mumbletron ZK12 slur out the command to Mom/Dad: “Outta Bed.” This indie piano rock harps on the needs of the few outweighing the needs of the homeowners. But, hella fun.

VERY brief comical piece from Mighty Magic Pants tracks Becky “Waking Mom and Dad.” It’s not subtle (balloons are instrumental). Spoken word.

The Ornaments of Bowling Green riddle us about Christ to get us to “Wake Up, It’s Christmas.” Slow rolling folk pop that underlines every phrase. Lemme check my Cliff Notes on this topic.

I lost my place… WHO is supposed to wake up for Xmas?

Krista Detor does that whiskey-voiced seduction with “Awake the Voice” in which her indie jazz has angels whisper in order to bring out our good. Layers.

“Awake Ye Scary Great Olde Ones” refers to Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian horrors. Set to ‘God Rest Ye’ by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society, this parody proffers dotty followers to invoke endtimes for Xmas. (My sister gave me a whole other collection of ‘Horrifying Holiday Hymns’ for last Christmas, so it’s officially a thing.)

“Shepherds Arise” is an earthy ancient folk harmony round about how those guys lying about in the fields might wanna grab a spectator spot for the whole birth thing bing in 0 A.D. It’s usually a caterwaul of annunciation, as with The Young Tradition, But i find Voice Squad adds a bit of tonality to the product thus imbuing it with more soul. (Thomas Schippers · Gian Carlo Menotti · Chet Allen · Leon Lishner · David Aiken spookify it to unrecognizability.)

“F (x) = X^2 + 84, X = 44” is Foster Gray and the JJ’s garage-splaining their childhood to adulthood quandary. Only tangentially about the holidays, so solve for the inverse.

Blinded is back and this time (after a spoken intro in which Santa wakes the narrator) it’s piano-paced easy listening about waking those adults in a timely fashion. Pay it forward, or rather “Spread the Message.” The message is: It’s Great!

Carlene Hall also has to wake the old fogies, this time to get them to sing the Jesus songs so we can see “Christmas Through His Eyes.” Erm, wait. Turns out that’s only a metaphor for organ donation. Gentle OHMYGOD folk.

The “Santa Trap” as told by M.O.S.C.O.W. does not go as well as expected. In fact, this garage rock gets down right grisly. Eww.

Awesome Paul Simon parody from KinGGeeK “50 Ways to Catch​-​A​-​Santa” never gets to the refrain, but it delivers wit and bitchy comedy for all.

Aggressive folk from Kier Byrnes outlines “7 Ways to Catch Santa Claus,” it would seem just to snatch more presents. Yet the rollicking breathless fun of the presentation, plus the addendum of what to do when you fail, redeem this party. And all 7 steps are explained.

KidCrusher raps BLUE BLUE ALERT with “The Christmas Nightmare (Grinch Rap 2013).” No fun for anyone.

“A Nightmare after Christmas” by way of Crazy Toads is a metal rap of inconsequential proportions. Some BLUE ALERT fun.

DoomFolk StarterKit gives us a folk tour of “Christmas in Nightmare City.” Not so bad, really. (I prefer this to Advance Base’s uncertain original.)

Daniel Worth lets his freak flag fly in “Stay in Bed for Christmas.” See, he doesn’t like family, and can’t afford presents, and–i suspect–is just tired of it all. So, Why Get Up? It’s that simple. Unplugged folk.

“Mother, what is Santa doing in your bed?” asks Tony Green Orchestra with a hard backbeat and an insouciant pop air. Pass.

BW Johnson reveals the most sexy bedtime activity… acceptance of all peccadilloes! “Socks in Bed” is what he wants, especially during the holidays. Folk get used to it.

Can i get another holiday in here? The Jewish Wedding Band advises you to close your eyes and gently drift away–so you won’t be sad the eight nights are over! Ritualistic “Low She Lies.”

Perhaps Ryan Miscilak’s more plaintive “Hanukkah Lullaby” suits your mood more for this Jewish observation. The candles are supposed to dispel the darkness, you know.

Not to get all Wiccan on you, but “Winter Solstice Lullaby” might leave out Christ. Jan Garrett + JD Martin unspool Celtic balm to remind us Heathens need sleep, too.

Jackie Oates brings us to the frigid North with “Wexford Carol.” Loolays and bare hollow sounds create an environment that needs soothing.

Claiming to use a music box as backbeat, Grandma Mikie heps the folk harmonies with her “Christmas Lullaby.” A better sing-along than a calming influence.

We’ve tipped the hat to the old hymn “The Silver Stars are in the Sky” to honor stars. But it IS a lullaby. So let’s see how Janet Seidel hits the jazz club diva target for this Big Choir Number.

Skirting the topic, the rather well known lullaby “All Through the Night” (NOT the Cyndi Lauper hit) is tangentially X-mas, though it is 18th Century Welsh harp music. It sneaks into plenty of X-mas albums, however, so let’s allow the modern soul adaptation from Chevon and Flagstone. They can barely keep up, so overwhelmed with reverence are they. Love it.

Another lesser known ‘standard’ of Christmas carols is “Still Still Still,” the 19th Century Austrian folk tune. Usually a Big Number with the church choir, it prefer the low down and dirty honkytonk routine from The Lower Lights (or the jazz club bit from Shay Estes).

Ruben & Marlaina Garcia wield monotony and panpipe to slumberific effect in the loving and weaving “Christmas Lullaby.” Good stuff.