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The CHIRP Blog

Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesTop 25 Christmas Songs: #15 - Magnetic Fields, “Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree”

It's the holiday season, which means Christmas music. Lots and lots or Christmas music, most of which was written before the people listening to it were even alive. While "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" are great, and resilient, we're devoting this year to finding the best Christmas song written since 1989. We continue today with #15, and a song from the world's greatest imaginary Christmas special from the Magnetic Fields.
 

 

#15: The Magnetic Fields, "Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree" (2010)

Much like Rufus Wainwright's entry at #20, the songs of Stephin Merritt often sound like music originating from some alternate, but faintly recognizible, past. When I hear "Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree," it feels like I'm watching the world's great lost animated Christmas special. In my mind, it's a stop-motion film created by a group of German artists waiting out their nation's Cold War troubles in a city like Chicago or Milwaukee. There's lots of fake snow, and existential forest animals, and even a later musical interlude about the Space Race (which is hinted at in the song's German section). It's charming and ramshackle and earthy, which was the vibe Merritt was going for on the Fields' back-to-basics record Realism. It's also more than a little melancholy, asking its audience to forget their troubles, even the big ones, even for just a single day. Like all carols, the song from this imaginary film is a flickering pinprick of light in an otherwise dark season. I'd pay Merritt good money to write the rest of that soundtrack.

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Categorized: Christmas Top 25

SKaiser writesOverlooked Albums of 2014: The Fresh & Onlys’ House of Spirits

The Fresh & Onlys | House of Spirits | Mexican Summer

It doesn't come as much of a surprise that The Fresh & Onlys fourth album, House of Spirits, should evolve to reflect a more matured mood from the quartet. They formed in 2008, and let's not forget the experiences brought from the members. After all, lead vocals Tim Cohen has released albums ranging from hip hop to psychedlic-folk. If you've listened to previous albums by The Fresh & Onlys there are reminiscent tracks on House of Spirits, like "April Fools", to take you back. Otherwise, you're in for a fresh new calm. There's a warm and mysterious atmosphere that brings memories of lazy summer days where you have no place to be. The day is yours. Even from the beginning, the first song "Home is Where" draws introspection. The light piano accompanying Cohen's makes-it-sound-so-easy vocals is a sweet treat. The next couple tracks "Who Let the Devil" and "Bells of Paonia" give the feel of a much-anticipated road trip, picking up steam and filling the void with psychedlic, slightly more aggressive guitar and vocals. There's something very "Misirlou" about the middle of this album: a sexy twang that's classic and undeniable. The final tracks wind down to reach the end - a track called "Madness". This one stays true to the fine quality of any good meditation. It's soft, it's sweet, and most importantly, it brings us back full circle to where we started.

Tim Cohen (vocals) | Wymond Miles (guitar) | Shayde Sartin (bass) | Kyle Gibson (drums)

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Categorized: Album Reviews

Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesTop 25 Christmas Songs of the Last 25 Years: #16 - Sharon Jones, “Ain’t No Chimneys in the Projects”

It's the holiday season, which means Christmas music. Lots and lots or Christmas music, most of which was written before the people listening to it were even alive. While "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" are great, and resilient, we're devoting this year to finding the best Christmas song written since 1989. We continue today with #16, and the story of how Santa flaunts municipal building codes from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
 



#16: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, "Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects" (2009)

We return for some more Santa talk today, with a question that's confounded generations of parents: what do you say when your children start asking for the hard truths about Santa Claus? You could tell them the truth after a little hemming and hawing, which is what my mom did. You could trick them with an elaborate story of crash-landed sleighs and oddly-dressed Bavarians, like the dad from the This American Life story. Or, you could just lie a little longer, buy another year of innocence, and wait for your kid to figure out the real loving figure responsible for all those gifts.

That's the strategy found in this great tune by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, which originally dropped as a holiday 7" in 2009. The song's style and subject matter immediately bring to mind James Brown's classic "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto," but as NPR's Marc Silver points out, "Jones' saga is all about the strength and resourcefulness of African-American women." It's a sweet message, and an underappreciated one, but thanks to Jones' massive talents, it's one that will be heard and celebrated for many Christmases to come.

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Categorized: Christmas Top 25

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