, WPRBXmas Songs -- 2016
Christmas Pixel Tinsel Animated GIF by Ivan Dixon

Ghosts of Marathons Past

WPRBXmas Songs 2016

A lot of wonderful (and wonderfully creative people) have submitted original songs & stories to WPRBXmas over the years. Scroll down to learn more about these folks, listen to their contributions, and connect with them on social media & around the web.

The icons below each contributors name link to their Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , YouTube , Bandcamp , Soundcloud , MySpace , Apple Music , Vimeo , E-mail , Tumblr , and personal websites .

Links in the song/story descriptions direct to Discogs profiles (where possible & appropriate), as well as other relevent supplementary material.

There's a lot of cool stuff here and we encourage you to explore it all!

Try as we might, we're not always able to track down info about past contributors. That means some entries are stumps . If you have any information about these "stumps" we'd love to hear from you. Contact us at elves @ marathon dot christmas.

PLEASE NOTE: We're still in the process of auditing & updating all of the material in the site's archives! Not all past WPRBXmas submissions will feature linked icons & text.

"Flexible Flyer"
B. Riot + A. Council 03:09
A
The Brixton Riot + The Anderson Council Flexible Flyer

Combining American and English influences, New Jersey’s The Brixton Riot fuses elements of 70’s power-pop and punk, 80’s jangle-rock and 90’s indie rock into a sound that is both familiar and distinct. The Replacements, Big Star and The Jam represent only a small fraction of their influences. Their full-length “Close Counts” was released on Mint 400 Records earlier this year. Here, they’re joined by fellow NJ act The Anderson Council.

"Fun For Hanukkah"
Spleverb 03:13
A
Spleverb We Want Fun For Hanukkah

A long-lost 1994 recording by Mr. Brian Musikoff, a Chooch of Seattle (by way of NJ / NYC) who draws cartoons as needed and played bass for a rock group named Stuyvesant.

"Holiday Crow"
Memorial Gore 04:32
A
Memorial Gore Holiday Crow (If It Makes You Merry)

Brooklyn’s Memorial Gore sounded like William F Buckley, Jr debating Gore Vidal on the Pulaski Bridge; the murky waters of Newtown Creek swiftly rise up and swallow them whole.

"Xmas Drone"
SAVAK 04:12
A
SAVAK Wonderful Christmas Drone

SAVAK was formed in 2015 by members of The Obits, Holy Fuck, Nation of Ulysses, and The Cops. Their second album “Cut-Ups” was released recently on Ernest Jenning.

"Christmas Jeans"
Korean Jeans 07:53
A
Korean Jeans Christmas Jeans

Korean Jeans is a noisy duo of tuba and non-tuba. Offering primo financial tips from Chicago since 2010.

"Not In The Cards"
Bill & Karlee Goffrier 03:30
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Bill & Karlee Goffrier Christmas Is Not In The Cards

Bill Goffrier was in two of my favorite purveyors of terminal plaid shirt rock, The Embarrassment and Big Dipper. He currently lives in Alaska with his wife Karlee. Please visit their Bandcamp page for more.

"The Snow Is Falling"
The 'Mericans 03:05
A
The 'Mericans Listen The Snow Is Falling

“This song was written and originally recorded by Yoko Ono in 1969 and appeared on the John and Yoko ‘Wedding Album’. It was later covered by Galaxie 500 on their 1990 album ‘This Is Our Music.’ Our version was influenced by both, but we also took liberties with it and its lyrics.” – The ‘Mericans.

Find this song and more on "A Merry 'Merican Christmas."

"Bleak Midwinter"
Edith Frost 04:41
A
Edith Frost In The Bleak Midwinter

Edith Frost can be found on her website and/or Twitter.

Piano by James Dering and guitar by Jeff Ragsdale.

This is her fourth contribution to the marathon in as many years.

"Hot Sun Xmas Day"
David Nagler 04:41
A
David Nagler In The Hot Sun Of A Christmas Day

David Nagler is a Brooklyn-based musician and songwriter. He is the founder and frontperson of NY metropolitan area pop group Nova Social, the musical director for Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders at City Winery, and the host of The Oracle Show at NYC piano bar Sid Gold’s Request Room. His most recent releases are a collection of songs informed and provoked by recent presidential cabinet appointees called “The Appointees Volume 1” and the acclaimed “Carl Sandburg’s Chicago Poems.” The above is a Caetano Veloso song.

"Shchedryk"
Aerialist 01:33
A
Aerialist Shchedryk

Lary Hoffman began making music as Aerialist in 1997. Over the years the project morphed from bedroom electronic pop to synth-rock collaborations with drummers Stevie Treichel & Nikhil Ranade, to both analog and computer-based solo instrumental productions. After a long hiatus, Lary has been steadily digitally self-releasing new Aerialist music since the fall of 2015. Based in the DC area, Lary and his wife Erica own Virginia bars Galaxy Hut and Spacebar.

"Xmas Time Is Here"
Fond Han 05:22
A
Fond Han Xmas Time Is Here

Drawing influence from Daughters and Converge to Modest Mouse and Dischord Records, New Jersey’s Fond Han are unpredictable by nature. The band’s Bandcamp tags include “arboreal yazz” and “shark doom” among others, a glimpse into the mindset of Fond Han and the strange new world the duo have created with their post-hardcore indebted weirdo punk. Here, they uniquely reinterpret a tune from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

"Brother Tannenbaum"
King Mistletoe Jr. 03:45
A
King Mistletoe Jr. Hark, Oh Brother Tannenbaum

The fourth King Mistletoe song, a tribute to both The Fall and the marathon itself.

Jim Lewis - vocals, organ, aux perc.

Steve Heise - guitar, sampler.

"Empty Holiday"
The Rutabega 06:54
A
The Rutabega Empty Holiday

Indiana’s Joshua Wayne Hensley has been writing, recording, and birthing hopeful sad-bastard songs under The Rutabega moniker since early 2002.

In 2011 Joshua joined forces with Garth Mason, and The Rutabega evolved into a bona fide Carp Rock power-duo.

Josh & Garth have since played a bundle of shows (mainly across the Midwest, but also venturing to both coasts), recorded live sessions with Daytrotter and WPRB and released a pair of full-lengths.

"Devil Wins"
Joel R.L. Phelps 05:50
A
Joel R.L. Phelps It's Christmastime But Tonight The Devil Wins

Vancouver’s Joel Phelps is a member of The Downer Trio and has also recently played with the group Dama/Libra. Joel is the only artist to record a “Christmas Story” for the show each of the last six years. Many demos and new recordings of his have been posted on Soundcloud, with the lion’s share of his studio output available through Bandcamp, including the 2017 EP “Consulate.”

"Prince Can't Die Again"
Mac McCaughan 03:45
A
Mac McCaughan Happy New Year (Prince Can't Die Again)

He of Superchunk and Portastatic. This song arrived in the final hours of the marathon and when I listened to it in queue for the first time prior to debuting it on-air, I actually broke down crying.

"Will It Snow?"
Glory! Bangs 01:05
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Glory! Bangs, Corin Tucker & Lance Bangs Will It Snow?

A piano and vocal exploration of whether it will snow (it did.) Corin Tucker is active with Sleater-Kinney and Filthy Friends. Glory! Bangs composed piano score for “Waves of Echo” at the Echo Theatre in Portland, OR. Lance Bangs recently realized that he has been making music for several decades.

"12 Days of 2016"
Men & The SGs 04:27
A
Men And The Sonograms The Twelve Days of 2016

Performed by Robert West and Kristine Kennedy.

"Tone Forty Xmas"
Sure-Lock 01:05
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Sure-Lock Tone Forty Xmas (Indian In The Hubbard)

Rumor has it Sure-Lock are secretly Kalamazoo, MI rock band OUT, but you didn’t hear that from us.

"What Child Is This?"
MCSS 01:05
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MCSS What Child Is This?

MCSS = MCSS