Sound Bites

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Apparently I made this felt ornament when I was in kindergarten. As you can tell, it is an elf. A cool elf, as he is clearly wearing sunglasses. Art was never my strong subject. 

MP3: The Chipmunks -  Wonderful Day

This was the "sequel" to "The Chipmunk Song" and appeared on the 1963 album Christmas with the Chipmunks Vol. 2 which I would listen to year-round on my crappy kiddie turntable. It's way better than Vol. 1, despite not having their most famous song on it. Their voices are annoying, but Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville) was a great arranger (and pretty good songwriter) and the original recordings (not the Chipmunk Punk ones of the '80s) hold up pretty well.

Goth Tuesdays, or; Boys Becoming Men, Men Becoming Wolves

I have a confession. I was fairly into goth music in the late-'80s. I mean a lot of it (Siouxsie, Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, the various Bauhaus offshoots) was genuinely popular, but I also own records by Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry, Xymox, the Bolshoi and others. And I still like them!

As we're experiencing a bit of a goth resurgence these days (Gang Gang Dance, Crystal Stilts, Shearwater) and 'tis the season to be spooky, I thought I'd post this Classic Goth mix that I made for my local hang, Snacky, back in 2003. This is a not an obscurity-filled mix; we're talking Nothing But the Hits. You might question the inclusion of Joy Division and Echo & the Bunnymen (maybe not Goth goth, but definitely within that world); and the abscence of, say, Fields of the Nephilim and the Mission (I don't like them); as well as wondering where Ministry's "(Every Day is) Halloween" (good question), but i think this will probably go over pretty well at any Halloween party. Like all my mixes, the songs segue together so no shuffle!

Download VAMPIRE BITES: ESSENTIAL GOTH

Here's the tracklist:

1. Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead
2. Clan of Xymox - Muscovite Mosquito
3. Sisters of Mercy - Lucretia My Reflection
4. The Birthday Party - Release the Bats
5. Death Cult - God's Zoo
6. The Damned - Wait for the Blackout
7. Siouxsie & the Banshees - Spellbound
8. The March Violets - Snake Dance
9. The Bolshoi - Away
10. Echo & the Bunnymen - Pictures on My Wall
11. The Cramps - Human Fly
12. The Cure - The Hanging Garden
13. Xmal Deutschland - Incubus Succubus
14. Lords of the New Church - Dance With Me
15. Southern Death Cult - Fat Man
16. Joy Division - Heart and Soul
17. Tones on Tails - Christian Says
18. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Temptation
19. Sex Gang Children - Beasts

And though this song didn't exist when this mix was originally made, I've got to include this new Halloween classic:

MP3: Tracy Jordan - Werewolf Bar Mitzvah

And for more Halloween fun, dont' miss Heart on a Stick's annual collection of terrifiying tunes.

Have You Heard the American Sound?

There's nothing bloggers like to do more than post holiday-appropriate MP3s. So here's two songs about American music. One is genuine in intent, and the other is by Denim.

MP3: The Fleshtones - American Beat (buy)

MP3: Denim - American Rock (buy)

That Fleshtones song was originally on the Bachelor Party soundtrack, for what it's worth, which also featured R.E.M., the unforgettable Oingo Boingo theme song and "Little Demon" by film co-star Adrian Zmed. It's in print, oddly, unlike any of The Fleshtones' classic '80s catalog.