You can follow Frantz’ online radio program, airing once a month on WPKN.

Featured Music:
01. The Pinkertones – “Love Tape (Tom Tom Club remix)” – from Friends and Amigos
02. Tom Tom Club – “Wordy Rappinghood” – from Tom Tom Club
03. Tom Tom Club – “Femme Fatale” – from Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom
04. Talking Heads – “Road To Nowhere” – from Little Creatures
05. Senor Coconut y su Conjunto – “Autobahn (edit)” – from El Baile Alemán

Audiography Episode 019 – “Chris Frantz of Tom Tom Club (and formerly Talking Heads)”
Written and Produced by Len Comaratta and Cap Blackard

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Well, folks… back from the field and here again at Cluster 1. Outside Lands was quite a weekend, and we have some radical exclusive content coming your way in the form of interviews, live footage, and some more festival goodies. So, stay tuned, but for now, enjoy the past few day’s posts.

Interviews:

Cluster 1 Interview with Chris Frantz (of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club) – Our very own Cap Blackard sat down with Chris Frantz to talk a darker sound, more EPs, and a tour with the Psychedelic Furs.

Series:

f e e d b a c k Episode 6 – “Battles” – One minute they have the strangest single of the year, the next they’re working with Gary Numan. Clearly, Battles are doing something right.

Documentaries:

Shaking Light (Vol. 2 Ep. 7): “Sweet Lights” – Sweet Lights, aka multi-instrumentalist Shai Halperin, records a thickly layered track over the course of 24 hours.

Shorts:

The Birth – Birthed from boxes? Not so far from the real thing.

Bad Things that Could Happen – The keyword in this title is “could.”

Animation:

Yowie and the Magpie – A dedicated hunter chases down a legendary creature that seems to be very dangerous.

Storytime – Terry Gilliam made this in 1968, and it certainly looks like it. Not to mention, it is totally creepy.

The Bone Orchard – Another 3D animation film done on the program Movie Storm; this film shows a conversation between two cowboys in a saloon.

Music Videos:

Amanda Palmer – “Oasis” – A dark-natured story is told over the most happy song and colorful music video.

Yawn – “Acid” – Psychedelic and totally spacey… Syd Barrett would be so proud.

The Wombats – “Techno Fan” – Apparently, the band developed software to make their creative vision come true.  While the band starts out as well-done illustrations, they slowly become full humans.

Marissa Nadler – “Alabaster Queen” – An enchanting dancer puts on a display deep in the forest.

Mandala – “Blue Darkening” – A tale of life and death in a beautiful forest.

Pujol – “Too Safe” – Daniel Pujol certainly doesn’t play it safe hanging out with all these freaks of the Renaissance Fair.

Don’t Forget…

– Want a constant stream of musical goodness? Check out our Channel, featuring over 30 music videos, several short films, and other nifty clips, all crammed together in one non-stop barrage of visual and aural stimulation.

- Social networking is a way of life, so follow us at @cluster1tv and on Facebook

At the beginning of the year, Consequence of Sound and Cluster 1’s own Cap Blackard called up Chris Frantz of Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads for a bit of a chat. This time around, they met face to face – and Cap brought a camerawoman (Eleanor Edwards). In the six minute interview above, you can hear what Frantz has to say about the future of Tom Tom Club. He touches upon what we can expect from future recordings (hint: lots of EPs), new Tom Tom Club side-ventures (the darker, electronic-leaning Chris und Tina), and touring with Psychedelic Furs and Devo. There’s also a few comments about his time with Talking Heads, including having Tom Tom Club as an opener and working on music videos with David Byrne. Hear everything he has to say in the clip above.

This video presentation is only an excerpt from a much longer conversation. You can hear the whole thing in an upcoming episode of the official CoS podcast: Audiography.

-Ben Kaye

Interview by: Cap Blackard
Camera by: Eleanor Edwards
Edited by: Colin Peterson

At the beginning of the year, Consequence of Sound and Cluster 1’s own Cap Blackard called up Chris Frantz of Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads for a bit of a chat. This time around, they met face to face — and Cap brought a camerawoman (Eleanor Edwards). In the six-minute clip above, you can hear what Frantz has to say about the future of Tom Tom Club. He touches upon what we can expect from future recordings (hint: lots of EPs), new Tom Tom Club side-ventures (the darker, electronic-leaning Chris und Tina), and touring with Psychedelic Furs and Devo. There’s also a few comments about his time with Talking Heads, including having Tom Tom Club as an opener and working on music videos with David Byrne. Hear everything he has to say in the clip above, or over at Cluster 1.

This video presentation is only an excerpt from a much longer conversation. You can hear the whole thing in an upcoming episode of the official CoS podcast: Audiography.

We here are Consequence of Sound pride ourselves on providing readers with the best music coverage on the ‘Net. That means keeping you up-to-date on acts new and old, all while staying abreast of the constantly expanding festival scene. It’s not enough to keep people informed, of course, so we always love to get them involved. That’s why giving away a pair of tickets to East Hampton, New York’s inaugural Music to Know Festival makes so much sense.

Being held August 13th and 14th at the East Hampton Airport on Runway 4 (yes, actually on the runway), the festival will feature established artists like Bright Eyes, Tom Tom Club, and Vampire Weekend, sharing a stage with rising names like Dawes, Fitz and the Tantrums, and the server-crashing Ellie Goulding. The key theme is all the acts play music you should know — hence the name of the festival. The MTK festival will also feature fashion-related activities, chefs, drinks, and other lifestyle elements to know.

We’ve got a pair of tickets to get you into the festivities, and winning them couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is tell us which band on the lineup you want to know (i.e. the one you want to see play live on an airport runway). Simply follow these steps:

– Follow us on Twitter @coslive (in case you forgot to already).

– Tweet us: @coslive I want to know [band playing MTK that you want to know better] #mtkfestival!

Just make sure you put in a band’s name and don’t just copy and paste. You can see the complete MTK Festival lineup on the Festival Outlook page, or just check out the flyer above. More information about the event can be seen at the official festival website.

We’ll pick a winner at random, but the only way to have a chance is to tweet. So get chirping, people!

If you’re old enough to remember the 80′s, start digging out the period regalia now because two of the decade’s new wave staples are gearing up for a joint tour. Although neither outfit has released a new album since 2000, The Psychedelic Furs and The Tom Tom Club have plotted a 15-date trek across the states commencing September 14th in Saratoga, CA. Devo will join the tour for a special one-night performance September 17th just outside of Seattle. Check out the complete list of joint tour dates below.

The Psychedelic Furs and Tom Tom Club 2011 Joint Tour Dates:
09/14 – Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery
09/16 –  Scottsdale, AZ @ Talking Stick Casino Resort
09/17 – Woodinville, WA @ Redhook Brewery *
09/20 - Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
09/21 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
09/23 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
09/24 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
09/25 - Lexington, KY @ Buster’s Billiards & Backroom
09/28 - Charlotte, NC @ Knight Theatre at Levine Center
09/29 – Baltimore, MD @ Sound Stage
09/30 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
10/01 - Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre
10/03 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
10/04 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/07 - Westbury, NY @ NYCB Theatre at Westbury

* = w/Devo

Front page photo via Slicing Up Eyeballs

After not one but two spots at last weekend’s North by Northeast, the Devolution is going on a bit of a road trip. The drive would certainly be easy if Colorado and California were just closer, as those are the only two states that get the pleasure of Devo’s seven-stop summer tour.

One of those stops will be at, of all places, the inaugural Denver County Fair, which came into being because apparently someone made chickens legal in Denver; sounds like a reason to party if there ever was one. Also on the itinerary is a 93.1 Jack FM show in San Bernardino, CA with Tom Tom Club and English Beat. For such a short tour, those are two pretty interesting dates. See the rest of their current schedule below, and find tickets on Seatgeek or the official Devo website.

Devo 2011 Summer Tour Dates:
07/27 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
07/28 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
07/30 – Denver, CO @ Denver County Fair
08/04 – San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Casino *
08/05 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove of Anaheim
08/19 – Del Mar, CA @ Del Mar Racetrack
08/27 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery

* = w/ Tom Tom Club & English Beat

Set for August 13-14 in East Hampton, New York, the festival — known properly as the Music to Know Festival — will also feature Matt & Kim, Cold War Kids, Chromeo, Tame Impala, M. Ward, Fitz and the Tantrums, and Dawes.

Rounding out the bill are Ra Ra Riot, Tom Tom Club, We Are Scientists, The Limousines, The Naked and Famous, Francis and the Lights, Suddyn, Nicos Gun, and Young Empires.

Two-day passes go on sale Tuesday, May 10th to the general public for $195. Two Day VIP passes can be purchased for $645. Visit the festival’s website for more information.

Think about it. In a single week a hotly anticipated album can drop, festival rumors, no matter how legit or just plain entertaining, can begin to circulate, and a larger-than-life band can announce a string of tour dates. Then there the more unfortunate events. It seems like each loss we lose someone or something that means a great deal to us.

As usual, the list below illustrates this idea better than I ever could. It speaks for itself.

It’s only January, and we’ve already got a lot to look forward to. Stay tuned.

– Cluster 1 finally made its debut. Check out the first broadcast here.

– We published our list of the “50 Most Important Albums 2011″ to help you sort through the scores of new titles that will come out this year.

– The Strokes‘ fourth LP has an official release date.

– Panda Bear‘s Tomboy is slated for an April release.

– The first single from Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s fortchoming collaborative effort dropped. It’s called “H.A.M.” That’s reason enough to listen to it.

– Can’t wait for for PJ Harvey‘s new record to come out. Well, you’re in luck. Three tracks from Let England Shake surfaced this week.

– Broadcast vocalist Trish Keenan passed away.

– Aretha Franklin denied reports that she has pancreatic cancer.

– To commemorate the untimely death of Jay Reatard, the garage rocker’s Shattered Club said this week that it will offer unreleased material exclusively to its members.

– Bright Eyes announced a string of tour dates.

– Drake revealed a few collaboraters for his forthcoming record.

– Green Day will put out their interestingly titled second live LP soon.

– Remember when we told you that Daft Punk would be The Third Twin at a Spanish music festival? We were wrong.

– The Mountain Goats want to be on Law & Order: SVU, but they can’t do it without your help. Click here to find out what you can do.

– Lil Wayne did…um, okay, he did a lot of stuff. Too much to list in this post.

– Like Kanye, Snoop Dogg will offer fans tracks through a weekly online series, only his is called “Puff Puff Pass Tuesdays.”

– Eminem signed some big names to his record label.

– Basement Jaxx will score a sci-fi film.

– Vampire Weekend and The Black Keys “battled it out” for Stephen Colbert‘s Grammy vote.

– While we’re on the subject, Arcade Fire, Eminem, and Lady Gaga, among others, are set to perform at this year’s ceremony.

– Rothbury may or may not return this year. We’ll see.

– No, Coachella hasn’t revealed its lineup yet. In the meantime, get a load of these fake ones.

– Ask yourself, “At your first Bonnaroo, what was the first thing you witnessed that made you say ‘Wow, I’m actually here’”? Do it and you can win a fabulous prize in the latest CoS Giveaway!

– Be sure to help us win big at the Weblog Awards while you’re at it.

– Chris Coplan posted another thought-provoking edition of Nod Your Head.

– Cap Blackard interviewed Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club mainstay and all-around icon Chris Frantz.

– Karina Halle scored a great interview as well, with the ”‘architect’ of the turntable” himself, DJ Rob Swift.

– Michael Roffman offered his take on Weezer‘s recent nostalgia-heavy Chicago performance.

– The Decemberists are back with a follow-up to 2009′s The Hazards of Love. Read our official review, courtesy of Dan Caffrey, here.

– Did we make our best-of lists too early this time? Winston Robbins thinks so. Check out his review of Ghostface Killah‘s Apollo Kids, and then decide for yourself.

They have new music coming, but until then, it’s awesome to see Tom Tom Club playing a classic on TV. Supporting the band’s latest release Genius of Live, the Talking Heads offshoot stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to play, obviously, the early 1981 hit “Genius of Love”. There is nothing surprising about the band’s ability to pull the song off 30 years later, but what is surprising is a 60-year-old Tina Weymouth can still show up in a leather miniskirt and not look a day older than 38.

The band is still Weymouth and husband/drummer Chris Frantz, but five or six other folks share the stage with the new wave duo. Ol’ Dirty Bastard was not among them last night, but Frantz yelling “Jimmy Fallon, rock the house” in a raspy voice was close enough. Additionally, every set should end with “Ok, bye.” Watch above, courtesy of The Audio Perv.

]]> Genius of Live, the Talking Heads offshoot stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to play, obviously, the early 1981 hit "Genius of Love". There is nothing surprising about the band's ability to pull the song off 30 years later, but what is surprising is a 60-year-old Tina Weymouth can still show up in a leather miniskirt and not look a day older than 38. The band is still Weymouth and husband/drummer Chris Frantz, but five or six other folks share the stage with the new wave duo. Ol' Dirty Bastard was not among them last night, but Frantz yelling "Jimmy Fallon, rock the house" in a raspy voice was close enough. Additionally, every set should end with "Ok, bye." Watch above, courtesy of The Audio Perv. ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/01/watch-tom-tom-club-genius-of-love-on-fallon/feed/ 0 http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/01/interview-chris-franz-of-talking-heads-tom-tom-club/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/01/interview-chris-franz-of-talking-heads-tom-tom-club/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2011/01/tomtomclub-thumb.jpg Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:00:28 +0000 Cap Blackard http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=94949 Thirty years ago the world first grooved to one of the most legendary dance tracks of ‘em all, “Genius of Love”. The band behind the genius, founding Talking Heads members Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, have been performing and recording as Tom Tom Club for the past three decades, bringing the funk wherever they may go. However, for the last 10 years, things have been relatively quiet in the Clubhouse…That’s about to change big time.

Tom Tom Club are celebrating their 30th anniversary in style. They are kicking the festivities off this Tuesday with their first major television appearance since the ’80s on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, followed the next night by their return to Irving Plaza, the venue that, as Talking Heads, they were first to christen in the name of rock ‘n’ roll. What’s more, there are signs of life in their newly remodeled studio, a recently released live and remix compilation, and talks of a spring and summer festival tour. CoS reporter Cap Blackard had a chance to chat with legendary beatsmith Chris Frantz as he dusted off his rhythm section for the big return…

It’s been 10 years since the last studio album…What’s the last decade been like for you?

tomtom-q1.mp3

Do you guys have anything special planned for the Irving Plaza show?

tomtom-q2.mp3

Are you dusting off any tracks that you haven’t played in a while?

tomtom-q3.mp3

What’s the scope of your new tour going to be?

tomtom-q4.mp3

It’s really exciting to hear that there’s some new music on the way… What else is in the works?

tomtom-q5.mp3

Tina once said that you formed Tom Tom Club just to put food on the table. What was life like back in 1981?

tomtom-q6.mp3

The influence of “Genius of Love” is always talked about and all the samples that have been derived from it. What’s your favorite?

tomtom-q7.mp3

“Genius of Love” always gets the spotlight, but do you have a personal favorite Tom Tom Club track?

tomtom-q8.mp3

Tom Tom Club’s second album, Close to the Bone, didn’t get a reissue or CD release until recently with the Deluxe Edition of your first album. What took so long?

tomtom-q9.mp3

I’d like to talk a bit about The Heads.  How did the project get rolling?

tomtom-q10.mp3

In Ian Gilchrist’s essay included in the Deluxe Edition of Tom Tom Club, he mentioned that there was an entire second Heads album that was recorded but never released…

tomtom-q11.mp3

Unlike the first Heads album, the second album had one vocalist, Jimmy Helms of Londonbeat. What kind of role did he take on as a vocalist?

tomtom-q12.mp3

Recently, Peter Gabriel recorded the Talking Heads track “Listening Wind” as part of his Scratch My Back / And I’ll Scratch Yours project.  When he announced that the original artists were going to perform covers of his tracks, David Byrne was the only Talking Heads member who participated. Did he contact the rest of the band?

tomtom-q13.mp3

This year you started doing a radio program, Chris Frantz The Talking Head, on WPKN in Bridgeport. What got you started doing a radio show?

tomtom-q14.mp3

You and Tina are an iconic couple in the music world. What’s it like having both a life partner and a bandmate?

tomtom-q15.mp3

When did funk first find its way into your life?

tomtom-q16.mp3

When you’re in the zone, playing live or in the studio, what sort of things go on in your head?

tomtom-q17.mp3

What are some essential albums you’d recommend to a young person to learn about funk?

tomtom-q18.mp3

Tom Tom Club will be performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night, followed by their landmark return to Irving Plaza this Wednesday.

Christmas music is everywhere this time of year. Since the beginning of November, the air has been littered not with the cheerful dust of snowflakes, but a mess of mediocre audio. Certainly classic recordings have their charms, but the classics are over played and mainstream holiday songs are mostly of flimsy facades of holiday cheer over less than inventive songwriting. As a genre, Christmas music is very limited. It takes a lot of creativity to create a truly stand-out holiday song. Throughout the years, many brave and artful souls have undertaken the challenge, either to render the cliches warm and heartfelt again, or simply to turn the whole concept on its head.

Last year, Media Potluck, the source behind Audio Archaeology, put together an album-length collection of worthy holiday tunes to make the festivities more merry, bright, and palatable. Now we proudly gift this compilation to you, dear CoS reader, complete with track-by-track commentary sharing all the fun factoids that you’ve come to expect from Audio Archeology. These tracks are the very best of holiday music- from blatantly Christmas-related, to commentary on the hectic gift-giving season, or simple celebrations of wintertime.  Some tracks are more common than others, some are quite eclectic, all of them guaranteed to give you a break from dross of the shopping mall sound system.

Enjoy Media Potluck’s Holiday Feast Volume 1 now in podcast format here and get ready — the 2009 edition is on its way.

Media Potluck’s Holiday Feast Volume 1 (2008)

1. Shirley Walker - “Winter Reveries [Excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1]”

A beautiful and mysterious-sounding wintery bit of classical music from the Barry Levinson film, Toys. The film deserves a Media Potluck article all on its own (check back later this month). It’s an incredible holiday film that’s watchable any time of the year. This song appears in the opening scene of the film and leads into the following track, “The Closing of the Year.” Shirley Walker, who serves as conductor on this track, was a frequent collaborator with Danny Elfman and is perhaps most notable as the composer of the entire score for Batman the Animated Series and its spin-offs.

2. The Musical Cast of Toys Featuring Wendy & Lisa - “The Closing of the Year”
Along with John Williams’ “Somewhere in My Memory” from Home Alone, “Closing of the Year” is a Christmas song so smartly composed that it gained an existence past the film that spawned it. Though lesser known than the aforementioned track, “Closing of the Year” has since been recorded by opera-types as a holiday tune and occasionally gets airplay on holiday stations. It was written by mega-producer Trevor Horn and score composer Hans Zimmer who jointly crafted Toys’ wonderful score and soundtrack. Wendy & Lisa are the musical duo once a part of Prince’s Revolution. Since the late 80s they’ve released their own albums (their fifth came out a year ago) and have written a number of television scores. This version of the song comes from the Toys soundtrack album and blends in from the first track. The extended single is longer and features vocals by Seal. Check out the video of that version here.

3. The Smashing Pumpkins - “Christmastime”
The Smashing Pumpkins are an unlikely source for a heart-warming Christmas hit, but they delivered one. This track was released in 1997 for the third installment of the A Very Special Christmas compilation series. Whereas major artists such as Paul McCartney and Elton John made new holiday hits of the cheery party variety, the savage, alt. rocking Pumpkins did just the opposite. The low key, harmonic styling of “Christmastime” was a direct product of the era the band was heading towards with their electronica-influenced 1998 album, Adore.

4. Jethro Tull - “A Winter Snowscape”
In 2003 prog rockers Jethro Tull released a full-blown Christmas album. Though this may seem odd to the casual eye, Tull released a Christmas song as early as 1969 and other Christmas songs, or winter-themed tunes ever since. The album features new recordings of these tracks as well as new songs. This track is an instrumental composed by Tull guitarist Martin Barre.

5. David Bowie & Bing Crosby – “Peace on Earth/ Little Drummer Boy”
In 1977 David Bowie appeared in Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, a television special, and sang a duet with the acgingcrooner. Often referred to as one of the weirder moments in television history, it’s something that has to be seen/ heard to be fully understood. The “Peace on Earth” portion of the duet was written especially for Bowie who in actuality was none too fond of “Little Drummer Boy”. This song is among several Christmas tunes parodied by the cast of Adult Swim’s Venture Bros. and released online. Check those out here.

6. Mark Mothersbaugh - “Snowflake Music [From Bottle Rocket]”
A short instrumental track used in the Wes Anderson film Rushmore. The original version of this track appeared in Bottle Rocket, Anderson’s first full-length film, and his first collaboration with Mark Mothersbaugh.

7. The Darkness - “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)”
A comedic rock track from modern Brit glam rock outfit The Darkness. The comedy aspect of the song may fall on deaf ears without a little morsel of information, so allow me to educate: “bell end” is slang for the head of the human penis.

8. Chris Squire & Alan White - “Run With the Fox”
Chris Squire and Alan White are two members of Yes. Following the 1980 breakup of the band, these two continued working together and attempted to form a supergroup with Jimmy Page called XYZ (Ex-Yes and Zeppelin). The project never panned out and in very short time Yes reformed. Between those two events the duo released one track – “Run With the Fox” an unusual, but spirited holiday tune that can’t help but conjure up visions of various animated films about quadrupedal woodland animals.

9. Crash Test Dummies - “Jingle Bells”
In 1992 folk rockers the Crash Test Dummies released a Christmas single of their rendition of “The First Noel”. The version was traditional but made distinctive by lead singer Brad Roberts’ very deep voice. Years later this spawned a whole album of traditional Christmas song re-renderings, including this track. If you ever wondered what “Jingle Bells” would sound like if sung by pagan tribes or demons, well, now you do. The album is amazing, pick it up here.

10. mc chris - “Evergreen”
Adult Swim personality and rapper, mc chris, renders a charming portrait of the dead-beat drug-addled
youths who work part-time at Christmas tree tents. If you like your holidays full of laughs and cuss words, this is the song for you.

11. Bob & Doug McKenzie - “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas’ legendary comedy duo, The McKenzie Brothers perform their stumbling and confused rendition of a holiday classic. Hoser accessories such as beer, back bacon, and toques replace the original song’s golden rings, French hens, etc. Endless fun. Last year, a full animated video was made for the song in preparation for the long-awaited Bob & Doug animated series which premiered this year.

12. Grand Buffet - “Stocking Stuffer”
Grand Buffet are a Pittsburg-based rap duo specializing in synthcore beats and head-scratching, mirth-making rhymes. This tale of one young man’s encounter with Saint Nick is sure to warm your heart.

13. Tom Tom Club - “Il Est Né”
The funky, dancey husband-wife team of Talking Heads members Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth present a chill rendition of a traditional French Christmas carol. In 2002, “Il Est Né” and another track, “Christmas in the Club”, were made available for download on Tom Tom Club’s website. The tracks were taken down after the holidays passed and didn’t return again until 2007, when they released a single called Misletunes. The single features both tracks and the CD version features two additional mixes of “Christmas in the Club”.

14. Kate Bush - “December Will Be Magic Again”
A magical Christmas song from the likewise enchanted Kate Bush. It appeared on a single in 1980 and has appeared on finer Christmas compilations ever since. There are two versions. The version featured on the Holiday Feast favors a caroler sound, while the other rendition has a more minimal production and starts with chanting. The latter was featured on the 1979 BBC television event, The Kate Bush Christmas Special, you can watch that clip here. The TV special has recently been rebroadcast on the BBC, but a commercially available version has yet to surface.

15. Loreena McKennitt - “Snow”
McKennitt spins the words of Canadian poet Archibald Lampman into a Celtic ballad of wintertime beauty. What better expression of Christmas’ roots than a pagan-esque worship of nature and perhaps the winter solstice?

16. Spinal Tap - “Christmas With the Devil”
From their second (real) album, 1992′s Break Like the Wind, Spinal Tap explores how Satan celebrates the yuletide spirit. Here’s a hint: it involves BDSM.

17. “Weird Al” Yankovic - “Christmas at Ground Zero”
Continuing comedic variations on the holidays, we move to the master of musical comedy: Weird Al. His “Christmas at Ground Zero” aptly plays upon the 1980s’ paranoia of impending nuclear holocaust and attempts to dress up the scorched black remnants of humanity with tinsel and Christmas cheer. Truly there’s a bright side to everything.

18. Run-D.M.C. - “Christmas Is”
The lesser-known of Run-D.M.C.’s two Christmas singles. The first was “Christmas in Hollis” (1987). “Christmas Is” was released in 1992 and is a fantastic product of its time, discussing the consumerism of the holidays. A choice example is the kid’s Christmas list at the end: “yeah, that’s right — give up the dough. I want my Ninja Turtles, I want my bike, I want my Sega Genesis, I want my Nintendo, and turn my mommy lights back on!”

19. Phantom Planet - “Carol of the Bells”
A compelling synth-rock version of the most famous Christmas instrumental of all-time from the band best known for having had Jason Schwartzman as their drummer and writing the theme song to The O.C.

20. Ben Folds - “Bizarre Christmas Incident”
Piano-rocker Ben Folds details a none-too-pretty encounter with the corpse of Santa Claus on Christmas morning. Allegedly the song was composed for the Grinch film, but was turned down. Too explicit? Perhaps. This song first appeared on Maybe This Christmas, a counter-culture Christmas compilation that lasted three albums between 2002-2004.

21. Shogo Sakai - Snowman
Every installment in Shigesato Itoi’s video game series, Mother (called Earthbound in the US), has featured the “Snowman” theme composed by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka. It’s been reworked several times in the past. This version appears on the soundtrack to the final installment of the series, Mother 3, and was arranged by that game’s composer, Shogo Sakai.

22. The Band - “Christmas Must Be Tonight”
From The Band’s 1977 album, Islands. “Christmas Must Be Tonight” is a soulful retelling of the birth of Christ. No gaudy evangelicalism, just beautiful music and a tale for the ages.

23. My Morning Jacket - “Xmas Time is Here Again”
And so ends the album with an easy-going meditation of harmonies and jingle bells from Southern rockers My Morning Jacket. This song if off their Christmas EP, My Morning Jacket Does Xmas Fiasco Style, released early in their career, between their first and second albums.

Happy holidays, Internet. From the Media Potluck and CoS families.

Here’s the complete description, as given by EAR FARM:

Do you EAR what I EAR? is the final result of nearly four months of inspired collaboration and efforts among an incredibly talented and generous group of bands and musicians, the comprehensive recording and mixing services of Nadim Issa and Let ‘Em In Studios, and the mastering expertise of the Lodge. EAR FARM coordinated and curated the compilation, inviting a spectrum of genres and sounds into the project and working with both dear friends and musicians we’ve long admired.

The compilation will be available beginning December 1st  with a suggested minimum donation of $5.00. All proceeds will go to directly to the Association to Benefit Children.