sonic slang

Peanut Butter Wolf's Valentine Mixtape

If Akon tunes aren't your idea of romance, have an old-skool Hallmark holiday with today's download:

Funked-out, 70s AM radio style, with Peanut Butter Wolf's Valentine's Day mixtape at Stonesthrow.  Download here

via Brooklyn Vegan

Max Headroom - "Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You're a Lovely Guy)"

Born Again 80's has the perfect companion piece to our recent Knight Rider Christmas tune: "Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You're a Lovely Guy)," from cult icon and Pepsi pitchman M-M-Max Headroom. 

It not much in the way of a melody, but what gives you the warm and fuzzies more than a talking computer program from a corrupt, dystopia future?  Check out the YouTube clip after the jump.

Wham/The Police - "Every Christmas You Fake"

Ahhhh the 1980s - Was there a better decade for cheesy, goofy, God-awful, Christmas pop tunes?  I mean what better way to commemorate the birth of Christ, than with George Michael straddling the other dude from Wham, while role-playing Santa and Rudolph?  (Ladies, you really should have read between the lines.)

Anyway, "Last Christmas" was a cornball classic, and now somebody has spliced it with perennial mash-up favorite, "Every Breath You Take."  The result?  Pure Holiday Magic. 

Check it out at The Beeb Blog.

Odawas - "I Tell Lies"

Our latest Christmas tune comes from Chicago-based folk-rockers Odawas, who's sophomore LP, Raven, and The White Night dropped last March.  "I Tell Lies" was originally crafted for front man Michael Tapscott's side project, More Animals Of The Arctic, but has now been recrafted with a new mix by Isaac Edwards and a new vocal track from Tapscott.

"I Tell Lies" might be best suited for a lonely night when you've got a case of the Christmas blues, but it's a beautiful track and deserves a spot on any Christmas mix, merry or otherwise.

Download: Odawas - "I Tell Lies (Odawas Remix)"

Sufjan Stevens - "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

It wouldn't be Christmas in the blogosphere without some holiday cheer from Sufjan Stevens, so although his interpretation of the classic "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" certainly isn't one of our favorites, we'd feel pretty grinchy about ourselves if we left it out.

This track comes off the previously-reported Sounds Familyre Christmas collection, featuring cuts from the likes of Danielson and Lenny Smith.

Download: Sufjan Stevens - "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

Neko Case - "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"

The week leading up to Christmas is usually a slow one for music news, so that leaves us plenty of time to pad our holiday tunage.  Today we've got got perhaps our most bizarre entry thus far (well, the most bizarre one sung by a human, not rapped by a  crime-fighting super car) in Neko Case's cover of Tom Wait's "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis."

Without Wait's gravel-filled delivery, the track isn't quite as down and dirty, but Case brings a beautiful sadness to the forefront.  We'll still take the original, but this version might be a little more Holiday-friendly.  Just don't tell grandma what it's about.

Download: Neko Case - "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"

Kitt - "A Knight Rider Christmas"

Holiday novelty tunes aren't usually our bag at SS, but this one was too good/awful to resist.  Plus, with the upcoming Knight Rider comeback, how could we possibly pass up a rapping Kitt on "A Knight Rider Christmas" in good conscience?  William Daniels, we never knew you had it in you.

Download: Kitt - "A Knight Rider Christmas"

New Pornographers Get in The Spirit of Giving

The New Pornographers digital EP, The Spirit of Giving, is only three tracks long, but that's three more songs to add to our holiday arsenal.  The EP includes the title track, as well as an A.C. Newman song called "Joseph, Who Understood" and a medley of two Chilliwack songs — "Arms Of Mary" and "Looking At A Baby" — which has been retitled "Arms Of Mary/Looking At A Baby."

Two tracks are streaming at MySpace, but to get the title track you need to hit up iTunes, ask Santa or watch a live clip at YouTube.

A Familyre Christmas, vol. 1

Beginning this morning, the folks at Sounds Familyre kicked off a merry little project that promises a new Christmas cut a day, for thirteen days.  Including reinterpretations of holiday standards, as well as originals, the tracks are first available for streaming and should be download-ready in time for all your holiday festivities. 

The first song comes from Jersey-bred Danielson and goes by "Christmas Eve Nite."  Check it out here and be sure to head back each day to hear what's next.

Evangelicals - "The Last Christmas on Earth"

Tonight we've got another jingle of the decidedly non-merry variety.  Evangelicals apparently takes the religious aspect of its name seriously, delivery an apocalyptic holiday song in "The Last Christmas on Earth."  It's too gloomy for rocking around the Christmas tree, but maybe if it scares us heathens into saving our souls, we shouldn't complain.

Download: Evangelicals - "The Last Christmas on Earth"