Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Holiday Update for 9.7.11

 
Christmas @ Kickstarter

Kyle Dillingham's First Christmas Album


Christmas Album of the Day

Merry Christmas by Mariah Carey

Listen @ Spotify

Preview / Buy Merry Christmas at Amazon

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Kringle's Capsule Reviews: Streaming Roundup

Here's a quick review of Christmas music recently added to the streaming services Spotify and/or MOG. Stars are out of 5 and merely a result of snap judgements and my odd taste in music - Your mileage almost certainly will vary.

Albums

**** South American Christmas: Es sol claro y luciente | Choral Baroque Orch.
Energetic collection of South American Christmas Music from The Baroque Era
(Spotify) (Amazon)

** Christmas - Our Favourite Time of Year | Proverbs
Inspirational lite vocal jazz. Meh.
(MOG)

NR Christmas Heart to Heart | Mila DeCosta
Solo piano / operatic vocals. I couldn't make it more than a few seconds into any of the songs I sampled. Your mileage may vary so check it out if you'd like..
(Spotify) (MOG)

**1/2 A Christmas Tapestry | Medwyn Goodall
First of a pair of longtime favorites from the astonishingly prolific Medwyn Goodall. Fans of new age lite will find hese albums pleasent aural wallpaper for the holidays.
(Spotify) (MOG)

*** Gifts of Comfort and Joy | Medwyn Goodall
See Above
(Spotify) (MOG) 

** Christmas Trombones | Tenn.Tech Trombone Choir
A Litle trombone magic goes a long way but if your a band geek you might dig this more than I did. 
(Spotify) 

** Those Days of Christmas | Various Artists
Collection of needle drops and/or old time radio broadcasts I'm guessing. Good stuff though not presented in particularly high quality. Features Glenn Miller, The Fontaine Sisters, Claude Thornhill, Les Elgart among others.
(Spotify)

Singles

 **1/2 Baby It's Cold Outside (Single) | Joe Sabolick
Perfectly acceptable version of the holiday standard.
(Spotify) (MOG)

* Christmas Get Down (Single) | Moword
Or not.
(Spotify) (MOG) 

** Don't Mess with Santa (Single) | Too Much Money
Countified novelty single involving striking reindeer, flying pigs, and a Santa who plays hardball.
(Spotify) (MOG) 

*1/2 Making Christmas Ours (Single) | Barry L. Chaplin
Again, or not.
(Spotify) (MOG) 

*1/2 Lollipops and Candycanes (Single) | Barry L. Chaplin
See above
(Spotify) 

Holiday Update for 9.6.11



"Genre in the Mainstream: Time Travel Yes. Spaceship? No." @ Tor.com
"With this in mind, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol represents two kinds of time travel as it features ghosts who drag a person into the past and into the future. Though Scrooge can’t actually effect the past Marty McFly style, the act of time traveling in his own timestream does alter his present, and in turn, create an alternate reality from the one depicted by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. (One of the reasons why the Doctor Who episode “A Christmas Carol” works so well is because writer Steven Moffat essentially kept this thematic constraint the same.)"

Christmas Album of the Day
The Silent Stars by Alli Rogers
*One of my favorite holiday releases from 2009, lovely stuff.

Support this blog by shopping at  Santas Working Overtime's Amazon Store

Christmas Video of the Day

Monday, September 5, 2011

Kringle's Capsule Reviews: Starshine Singers

Starshine Singers "Not Such a Silent Night", "The Match Girl's Christmas", and "A Little Nativity"

These three, rather short, albums are slightly different from your usual run of kid's holiday fare. Though they feature the expected assortment of cherubic youngsters singing simple tunes to even simpler arrangements these albums are actually little Christmas musical productions meant to be put on by schools and church groups. The discs themselves are essentially rehearsal aides. "Not Such a Silent Night" and "The Match Girl's Christmas" are new for 2011 and feature most of the more memorable songs.

*I found out about these albums (and a lovely collection from Norway's Kirsti Sæter & Jo Ryen that is sure to be a future Album of the Day)  while perusing smacque's useful, and very amusing, series of posts at The Falalalala forum

Listen on Spotify

Not Such a Silent Night
The Match Girl's Christmas
A Little Nativity

Visit Starshine Music

Holiday Update for 9.5.11

 

Wine Cork Stamp Rosh HaShana Cards @ Creative Jewish Mom

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake Recipe @ A Beautiful Mess

 

Christmas Album of the Day

Christmas Time is Here by Dan Gottshall with Miriam Kaul

Listen on Spotify

 

Christmas Video of the Day