Showing posts with label The Spongetones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Spongetones. Show all posts

Friday, December 4, 2009

Hi-Fi Christmas Party

Released in 2002, Hi-Fi Christmas Party was put together by vocalist-bassist Dan Pavelich of the Chicago-based power pop band The Bradburys to help fund research for Von Willibrand’s disease, a bleeding disorder that had stricken his daughter. This easy-going holiday compilation includes contributions from several local and national power pop acts. Unfortunately, it looks like the CD is now out of print, although some of the songs are available on other compilations. It’s another example of how often musicians come together for charitable causes, particularly around this time of year.


Pavelich is equal parts philanthropist and musician here, leading The Bradburys through the romantic and highly energetic “I Love It When It Snows!” The song is currently available on the band’s MySpace page. The Jellybricks use a 1960s style arrangement on “We’ll Be Together,” their tale of a guy traveling on the holidays to be reunited with his girlfriend. On the bluesy “Christmas Is Saturday,” noted producer-performer Don Dixon is also eager to get together with his gal, and he brings an full choir along with him. The high-speed “It’s Christmas And I’m Going Home,” is Rob P. & The Q’s depiction of a city-dweller who needs to visit his old home town in order to find peace during the holidays.


Jim Babjak’s Buzzed Meg is pretty much The Smithereens without singer Pat DiNizio. The catchy “Christmas Morning” sports Babjak’s signature guitar playing, and he does a solid job on lead vocals. A different version of this song, sung by DiNizio, can be found on the very fun CD, Christmas With The Smithereens. “Christmas Morning,” as well as Andrea Perry’s funny “Fat Aunt Bette” and Glowfriends’ spiritual “Joy Of Christmas,” also appears on Ho Ho Spice, the 2-CD Hospice Awareness and Benefit Project.


Phil Angotti, whose band The Idea contributed one of the better songs on Yuletunes, goes the acoustic route with “Getting Home (for Christmas).” This light tune cleverly mixes references to The Three Wise Men, It’s A Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Carol. The Ted Ansani Trio finds the Material Issue drummer playing drums, bass, and vibes on the breezy, lounge style instrumental, “The Kriss Kringle Jingle.” Lisa Mychols brings back the girl group sound of the early 1960s with her “Listen To The Bells Ring” while October Elsewhere evoke The Kinks on their melodic “Christmas Every Day.” Other contributors to the highly worthwhile Hi-Fi Christmas Party include The Spongetones, The Lolas, Bill Lloyd, Jeremy, John McMullan, Dom Mariani, and Cool King Chris, which includes Jamie Hoover of The Spongetones.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Yuletunes - Part Two

Photo from The Spongetones website.


The four songs on today’s post illustrate how lead vocalist-guitarist Jeff Murphy of The Shoes couldn’t have anticipated the mixed bag he’d wind up with when he bravely asked a variety of musical artists to participate on his Christmas compilation, Yuletunes. Incidentally, this thoroughly enjoyable disc is still listed as available on the Black Vinyl Records website.


“The Saddest Time Of The Year” comes from Spooner, the Wisconsin-based band that featured lead vocalist-guitarist Duke Erikson and drummer Butch Vig long before they formed Garbage with dynamic Scottish chanteuse, Shirley Manson. The haunting arrangement, and Erikson’s guitar playing in particular, make this reflection on disappointment and loneliness at Christmas even more melancholy. It’s not a song to play while exchanging gifts, but its poignant message might make you consider the plight of the less fortunate among us.


The Cavedogs were a Boston band that according to Wikipedia, often mixed comedy with its catchy pop music. That’s certainly the case with “3 Wise Men And A Baby (Xmas Song),” a funny and ambitious epic that begins with a sound bite of Burl Ives’ talking snowman from the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer animated special. About halfway through, the guitar-driven song abruptly shifts into a lounge act reminiscent of the bit Bill Murray used to do on Saturday Night Live. The rollicking finale finds the band singing “alleluia” against a backdrop of George Bailey scolding his kids in It’s A Wonderful Life.


The Spongetones take us to a much more tranquil place with their acoustic-based, innocent fantasy “Christmasland.” While they had shown an ability to mimic The Beatles on their own albums, here The Spongetones craft an old-fashioned Christmas tune with a delicate melody and intricately layered vocals. It was great to hear via the Absolute Powerpop blog that Spongetones members Jamie Hoover and Steve Stoeckel have just released a new CD called English Afterthought that follows in the Spongetones tradition.


Listening to “A God Of My Own” by the Chicago trio 92 Degrees requires some thought since it’s a complex look at religious beliefs at what is undoubtedly the most commercial time of the year. The lyrics, “You go your way and have a Merry Christmas/I’ll go my way and have a Merry Christmas,” express a tolerant attitude that’s sometimes lacking when it comes to matters of faith. With its ringing guitars, the mid-tempo “A God Of My Own” has the British Invasion influence the band tapped into on its 1990 EP, Money Makes The World Go ‘Round. 92 Degrees would go on to record a first-rate full length debut a few years later, and the original line-up still makes the occasional live appearance to this day.


Coming up in Yuletunes - Part Three: Holiday romance, holiday heartache, and family traditions.

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