The Halls are Decked, the Boughs are Hollied

I have a hard time believing that it's Christmas tomorrow, it certainly doesn't feel like it to me...and yet, I am surrounded by abundant reminders that it is indeed that time of the year once again. Thus, I will supply you a non-militaristic installment of music for the blog. I do have to say to my Jewish friends that I would have liked to put up a Hanukkah-themed post as well, but unfortunately I lack a sufficient number of relevant selections. Perhaps one day when my music collection has grown more voluminous I'll make up for this transgression.

So, here are some tunes. A merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, fun-filled Festivus, and joyous Kwanzaa to all, and to all a good night.

Casiotone For the Painfully Alone - Cold White Christmas (From Etiquette)
It's a downer, but it's awesome.

Neutral Milk Hotel - Two-Headed Boy (From In the Aeroplane Over the Sea)
It's a downer, and not really relevant until the very end, but still awesome.

"Weird Al" Yankovic - The Night Santa Went Crazy (From Greatest Hits, Vol. 2)
It's no "Amish Paradise," but when I was ten, the images of bloodshed, destruction, and venison this song evoked seemed pretty cool.

Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter (From Peace: Vol. 5)
A song that slowly builds to an apex of holiday epicness, as only Sufjan can do it.

Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone - Baby, It's Cold Outside (From Elf: Music From The Major Motion Picture)
Elf is a mehhh film, but Zooey Deschanel has a very nice voice.

Modest Mouse - Jesus Christ Was an Only Child (From The Lonesome Crowded West)
Isaac Brock, putting the Christ back in Christmas!

Everclear - Santa Monica (From Sparkle and Fade)
Ok, this is a stretch. But a clever pun, no?

Buy 'em up:
Tomlab
Merge
Amazon.com (Because Scotti Bros. went belly-up years ago)
Asthmatic Kitty
Up Records
Capitol

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 3

My classes on the South and on the Civil War may be over, but the inventory of songs that I have amassed which are vaguely related to them is not. So, I have returned with yet another installment of the epic series on the Civil War, where I make far-fetched connections between songs and the great conflict which pitted brother against brother.

I decided that considering the month in which we presently find ourselves, today was as good as any for a Decemberists double-shot.

The Decemberists - The Soldiering Life (From Her Majesty)

Being a soldier in the Civil War was not exactly a fun time. Rations were often meager, disease ran rampant, and if you were seriously injured, there was no anesthesia for when they lopped off your limbs. However, the spirit of camaraderie exhibited in this song often rang true.

And you
My brother in arms
I'd rather I'd lose my legs
Than let you come to harm

Personally, if I were a soldier in the Civil War I'd much prefer to keep my legs, but I'm a selfish bastard so take that with a grain of salt. Or a bite of saltpork.

The Decemberists - 16 Military Wives (From Picaresque)

I already went on a rant about military wives in my last post in this series, so I suppose I stole this post's thunder in that regard. It doesn't matter though, because this is an excellent song. Plus, Colin Meloy's math skills never cease to amaze.

Buy 'em up:
Kill Rock Stars

Done?

It's 8:30 in the morning and I just recently completed an epic all-nighter writing a final paper on The Boondock Saints which directly followed a rigorous final exam yesterday afternoon. But considering I pounded a NOS and a Rock Star overnight, I'm not going to sleep right away. I'd just assume stay up all day as if I slept last night, excepting the fact that it's pretty difficult to keep my eyes focused.

So...all this pertains to the blog in that now I'll actually have ample opportunities to update it over the next couple of weeks. Should be a good time.

There's more music coming, I swear

I'm presently tied up with end-of-the-semester academic stuff. But in about a week the semester will be over and I'll be posting much more regularly over holiday break, in large part because I will probably not have anything better to do. I'm leaning towards making this more of a straightforward mp3 blog, but we shall see. In the meantime, check out these links:

Kid Omega (blog of my main musical focus)

Funion (Myspace page of my side project)

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 2

The pangs of guilt I feel for having not updated my blog have led me away from my studies (which ironically enough at the moment consists of reading a book called The Confederate War) to bring you, loyal reader, a second installment of the ongoing series of songs with a fratricidal flourish...so with no further gilding the lily and absolutely no adieu whatsoever I give you some additional selections.

The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (From The Band)

There is no stretch to be made while explaining this song's relevance to the topic put forth--it's just a straight-up tale of the Civil War from a Confederate perspective.

Josh Ritter - Girl in the War (From The Animal Years)

It is worth noting that women disguised as men saw combat for both the Union and Confederacy during the war. Women's contributions on the home front also should not be overlooked. Even if they were simply whining in letters to their husbands, whilst their husbands were dodging bullets and living on hardtack and saltpork, they served to persuade their men to reenlist so as not to have to deal with their incessant jabbering on about nothing. How's that for an impact?

Buy 'em up:
Capitol
V2

The War of Northern Aggression, Part 1

This semester (being an American History major) I'm taking a class on the Civil War, referred to by many of our Southern brethren as "The War of Northern Aggression." My roommate has repeatedly asked that I one day in class refer to the war in said Southern manner, as of yet I have failed to follow through on this request, tempting as it may be.

So on a somewhat related note, last week I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea to compile all the songs I have that can be connected to The War of Northern Aggression and compile them into a playlist. More recently, I thought "why not post some selections from this amalgam of songs on my blog and thus flirt with making this something like a proper mp3 blog?"

Since I went down to New York last weekend to see The Mountain Goats play (which, by the way, was friggin sweet), I thought it would be fitting to start with some relevant selections from John Darnielle's vast catalogue. Doubtless there will be further installments in this series of songs. Hope you enjoy this fusion of awesome tunes and American History.

The Mountain Goats - Jeff Davis County Blues (From All Hail West Texas)

Jefferson Davis was, of course, the President of The Confederate States of America. Apparently, they also named a county in Texas after him.

The Mountain Goats - Going to Georgia (From Zopilote Machine)

Who could forget Union general William Tecumseh Sherman's (who by the way, was one mean, angry, ragged dude) March Through Georgia in 1864, burning Atlanta, not to mention laying waste to whatever is 40 miles from Atlanta.

Buy 'em up:
Emperor Jones
3 Beads of Sweat

So I'm not moving to Canada...

Part of me still isn't sure whether last night really happened or if I'm the victim of some massive cosmic joke, but thank God Obama won. After the past eight years of lies and incompetence, Obama could pull a Jimmy Carter over the next four and still be a marked improvement.