Alright, it's the day before
Thanksgiving and the SOTO family is about to take a little break before we
wrap up 2008. This year has been pretty eventful here at the site and
in my personal life, so I have to say that I'm pretty anxious to recap and
then kick back for a few weeks.
Here's the schedule and some holiday tunes to help get you in the mood.
Enjoy.
December 1st through 5th - Top 50 Songs
December 7th - Noah's Year-End List
December 8th through 12th - Top 25 Albums
December 14th - John Michael's Year-End List
December 15th though 16th - Top 20 Films
Starting the 17th the site will be on hiatus until at least the first
week or so of January.
John "Insert Nickname" Laird
:Raveonettes
- The Christmas Song:
This is by far my favorite song. Admittedly, it
doesn't carry the "wow" factor with its bland title, but I
love the lyrics that long for that special holiday feel and
the music is full of bells and other sounds that are
associated with this time of the year. Trust me when I
say that you're really in for a treat if you've never heard
this. On another note, does anyone remember if it was
on a compilation or something? I seem to have
forgotten after all these years.
:Rilo
Kiley - Xmas Cake:
To be honest, this isn't exactly the most uplifting song
that I could have picked to share. I just think that
it's one of Rilo Kiley's better numbers from their rather
large back catalog, and I wanted you to hear it in case
you've missed out all this time. Now, with that bit of
information out of the way, you only need to know that
headphones are a must for this gem.
As a random bonus, here's the trailer for my favorite
Christmas movie.
Noah "Seattle" Sanders
:Super
Deluxe - All I Wanted Was A Skateboard:
Two reasons why this song should be on every
ear-grating X-Mas EP ever:
1. This is the very first band I ever saw live. The
very moment in my meager existence where I realized that
live music was amazing and that when I was 26 years old I
would occasionally forgo food, drink, and the love of a
woman in exchange for the chance to see a good live show. I
was in seventh grade, and these long-haired Seattle
power-poppers nearly made my little heart explode. I even
bought a t-shirt that I continued to wear until late in to
my senior year of high school. Awkward.
2. The apex of Super Deluxe's fame was this song
appearing in a "character introduction" for the
non-Christopher Columbus directed Home Alone 3.
I've never seen that movie, but I did listen to this song on
repeat for endless hours during the X-Mas seasons of my
early teens.
It's sort of dated, but hell, the "this stuppppiiiiiiiddddd
sweeeaaaater" chorus still makes me shiver.
:Bright
Eyes - Have Yourself A Merry Christmas:
Sure, Conor Oberst's voice at the beginning
of the track is more yuletide pedophile than X-Mas
joy-spreader, but push past the creepiness and this redoing
of the X-Mas classic is really quite beautiful. Christmas
always brings up nagging doubts and nostalgic yearnings, and
who's better to help bolster these crippling insecurities
than Mr. Bright Eyes himself? No one, that's who.
John "And/Or" Michael Cassetta
:Sufjan
Stevens - Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!:
Sufjan Stevens records like a madman, so it's no surprise
that while he was writing all those great albums (Illinois)
he was also recording Christmas music for his friends and
family, enough to fill multiple albums. If you
remember a while ago, he released them all in a big box set
along with lyrics and tabs to sing and play along.
Talk about a great Christmas present! This song is one
of the originals from the set. Basically, Sufjan tells it
like it is: "It's Christmas time ya'll, who wants to hear my
new distortion pedal?" I do! I do!
Here's another example of Sufjan's holiday prowess.
:The
Walkmen - No Christmas While I'm Talking:
The Walkmen are a great Winter band, even if they did drop a
fantastic new release right in the middle of summer this
past year. None the less, I'm breaking out all the old
Walkmen albums (especially the good ones) to celebrate the
colder weather and long road trips driving home to see
family. On a side note, I don't think this song is
actually a Christmas song. Sorry.
- John Laird - Noah Sanders - John Michael Cassetta -
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