SANTA RECOMMENDS...THE CUTE LEPERS

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest this?

THE CUTE LEPERS

SMART ACCESSORIES

Some people are quite surprised by the fact that yours truly is a huge Punk Rock fan.  But you have to remember that I'm the one who gave Johnny Rotten his first lump of coal and altered the direction of music all those years ago (when I knew him as little Johnny Lydon).  But anway, I've handed out plenty of Punk Rock albums over the  past three decades and this year, stockings with be stuffed with Smart Accessories, the latest platter from The Cute Lepers.  When The Briefs decided to take a break, Steve E. Nix and Stevie Kicks formed this outfit, who sound pretty much like....er... the Briefs!  And that is OK by me.  How can you go wrong with a band that mixes the melodic edge of classic Punk Rock (the Damned, Buzzcocks, The Clash, etc) with a modern edge.  And thankfully, they still sound unique and NOTHING like the so-called Punk that all the kids have been buying over the last decade (Blink 182, Green Day and their spawn are about as Punk Rock as Punky Brewster).  So, kiddies, listen and see how it's done!

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious gingerbread reindeer and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa

SANTA RECOMMENDS...THE CUTE LEPERS

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest this?

THE CUTE LEPERS

SMART ACCESSORIES

Some people are quite surprised by the fact that yours truly is a huge Punk Rock fan.  But you have to remember that I'm the one who gave Johnny Rotten his first lump of coal and altered the direction of music all those years ago (when I knew him as little Johnny Lydon).  But anway, I've handed out plenty of Punk Rock albums over the  past three decades and this year, stockings with be stuffed with Smart Accessories, the latest platter from The Cute Lepers.  When The Briefs decided to take a break, Steve E. Nix and Stevie Kicks formed this outfit, who sound pretty much like....er... the Briefs!  And that is OK by me.  How can you go wrong with a band that mixes the melodic edge of classic Punk Rock (the Damned, Buzzcocks, The Clash, etc) with a modern edge.  And thankfully, they still sound unique and NOTHING like the so-called Punk that all the kids have been buying over the last decade (Blink 182, Green Day and their spawn are about as Punk Rock as Punky Brewster).  So, kiddies, listen and see how it's done!

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious gingerbread reindeer and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa

SANTA RECOMMENDS...FINDLAY BROWN

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest this?

 FINDLAY BROWN

LOVE WILL FIND YOU

When I first heard this album, I was in the midst of my Hawaiian vacation.  It was a few months after Christmas of 2009 and I was enjoying some much needed 'relax' time on the big island. I was so blown away that I had to rush out and buy one for the missus.  I could have shared my copy, yes, but it is such a lovely album that I felt she needed a copy to have and to hold...  You see, Love Will Find You is not a typical Findlay Brown album, stylistically. With producer Bernard Butler (Duffy, Suede, The Tears, McAlmont & Butler) twiddling the knobs, Findlay has stepped back in time and created an album that retains his melodic songwriting skills yet takes his music into an era that existed even before he was born. The best way to describe Love Will Find You is this: imagine Roy Orbison and The Everley Brothers flying over to the UK in the mid-'60s and recording an album in the midst of the Merseybeat boom. Add some gorgeous melodies, lush strings, big Spector-like production and a whole lot of love and you've got Love Will Find You. Mrs. Claus LOVED it, by the way. 

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious double-fudge brownies and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa

SANTA RECOMMENDS...BADFINGER!

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest these?

 

 

BADFINGER
The Remasters:

Magic Christian Music
No Dice
Straight Up
Ass

 Badfinger were the greatest act on Apple Records. Period. Well, apart from The Beatles, that is!  While the band were initially compared favorably with The Beatles, their association with John, Paul, George and Ringo became the shackles that held them down and never allowed them to soar, commercially.  Artistically, the band were one of the greatest Pop/Rock acts of the '70s and deserve to be looked upon as true legends. Their four original Apple Records albums have been remastered with bonus tracks added (some of which differ from the decade old original CD issues). All the band's hits are spread out over these albums including "Come And Get It" (from Magic Christian Music), "No Matter What" (from No Dice), "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day" (both from Straight Up).  Most folks don't realize that Badfinger members Pete Ham and Tommy Evans wrote the soft-rock standard "Without You" (made famous by Harry Nilsson) and the original version can be found on No Dice.  For Beatles, Badfinger and '70s pop fans for sure, but for those looking for some extraordinary music, Badfinger are your new favorite band!

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious chocodelic cookies and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa

SANTA RECOMMENDS...ELVIS PRESLEY!

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest this?

ELVIS PRESLEY


VIVA ELVIS

With The Beatles' Love a great success, the fine folks at Cirque Du Soleil focused their attention on the King Of Rock 'n' Roll and created Viva Elvis.  While I have yet to see the show, I already know that it will be spectacular.  I love what Cirque... does and I'm a huge Elvis fanatic, so how could I not love it?  I must admit that I was a bit hesitant on listening to this soundtrack to the show because, unlike the Beatles music, this soundtrack consists of Elvis' original vocals and entirely new music.  It's not just modern re-recordings of the original music: most of this material is given a whole new musical wardrobe!  "Suspicious Minds" is damn close to being a modern Alt-Rock classic. "That's Alright" adds so many different dimensions, it's almost a different song.  In fact, every track here retains the spirit of the original yet becomes a whole different beast altogether.  It's like listening to Elvis with a new set of ears.  Gonna go listen to it again now!

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious peanut butter cookies and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa

SANTA RECOMMENDS.... HARRY NILSSON!

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest this?

WHO IS HARRY NILSSON

(AND WHY IS EVERYBODY TALKIN' ABOUT HIM)?

Harry Nilsson was one of America's finest singer/songwriters, penning songs that you love (The Monkees' "Cuddly Toy", Three Dog Night's "One", etc) and recording other writers' material and creating classic hits ("Everybody's Talkin'" and "Without You").  But behind the scenes, Harry was self-destructive and hell-bent on having a good time... and that he did.  This excellent documentary tells the whole story utilizing plenty of rare footage, soundbytes of Harry telling his own story plus interviews with famous friends such as Micky Dolenz, Yoko Ono, Gerry Beckley (America), Randy Newman, Mark Hudson, Van Dyke Parks, Jimmy Webb and many others.  It is a fascinating look into the life of a true Pop legend and, dare I say it, genius.  It's a glorious celebration of an extremely talented artist who spent a lifetime searching for the happiness he brought others and finally found it in the final chapters of his life.  This is an emotional must-see documentary that should be viewed by anyone interested in music.  Brilliant.

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious shortbread cookies and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa

SANTA RECOMMENDS.....PERRY COMO!

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest this?

PERRY COMO

COMPLETE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

2010 two CD holiday release. A roaring fire, something warm to wear (probably a cardigan), and the crooning sounds of Perry Como-such has been the comforting recipe for countless Christmas celebrations for generations. Now, for the first time, here are ALL of the holiday- themed recordings Perry made for RCA over 36 years, with liner notes by longtime admirer Richard Carpenter! The first eight tracks hail from the original 78 rpm album Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music (1946). Next up is the 1953 album Around the Christmas Tree. That's disc one; disc two leads off with the 1959 stereo album Season's Greetings from Perry Como, plus the 1967 singles "Christmas Bells" and "Love Is a Christmas Rose". Then comes the 1968 album The Perry Como Christmas Album, plus the album outtake "Some Children See Him", the single release "Christmas Dream" and Perry's final holiday song from 1982, the appropriately-titled "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Forever". 51 tracks.

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious snickerdoodle cookies and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa