Ghosts of Marathons Past
WPRBXmas Songs 2017
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.
The Brixton Riot
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 in 2017. This is their third contribution to the marathon.
50 Helens
50 Helens are dear members of Korean Jeans, Petrillo and OUT. All proceeds from this holiday record (which includes songs beyond what was played during the marathon) will be donated to Planned Parenthood.
The fifth King Mistletoe song! Perhaps the last one? Time will tell!
Credits:
- Jim Lewis: vocals, drum.
- Steve Heise: guitars.
- Neil Pye: Father Christmas.
Jake McKelvie & The Countertops
Jake McKelvie tours around the country both as a solo act and with his band, The Countertops. Having self-released numerous full-length albums and EPs over the years, he has carved himself a niche as a songwriter, combining a rapid delivery with stream-of-self-consciousness writing in a manner so singular that it is never in question whose songs are being played.
Credits:
- This song was penned by Jolly Old Nick Votruba.
A remarkable reworking of The Fall’s “Totally Wired".
Credits:
- T. Penn: vox, bass.
- Mike Templer: drums.
- Mike Witwer: vox, guitar.
The 'Mericans
The ‘Mericans are a Rhode Island band founded in 2001 by singer / guitarist Chris Daltry (Purple Ivy Shadows). Check out "A Merry ‘Merican Christmas," their full collection of holiday material on their Bandcamp!
Edith Frost
Edith Frost can be found on her website and/or Twitter. This is her fifth contribution the WPRBXmas marathon.
Credits:
- James Dering: Piano.
Doug Gillard
Doug Gillard’s formidable body of recordings is as impressive as it is voluminous, encompassing his work as a key member of such notable combos as Guided by Voices, Death of Samantha, Cobra Verde, Gem and Nada Surf, as well as an array of notable collaborations with the likes of Richard Buckner, My Dad Is Dead, Yuji Oniki, Bill Fox, The Mice, Mascott, and Sally Crewe & the Sudden Moves.
Parade On, the Ohio-bred, New York-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist’s third official solo album, was released in 2014.
David Nagler
David Nagler
is a Brooklyn-based musician, singer, and songwriter. His latest
records are
The Appointees: 11 songs informed and provoked by Trump cabinet appointees,
and Carl Sandburg’s Chicago Poems: anorchestral folk song cycle
featuring
Jeff Tweedy,
Robbie Fulks,
Kelly Hogan, and others. Nagler performs regularly with artists including
Jon Langford,
Wesley Stace,
Mark Eitzel, and
Eszter Balint, and he is the founder and frontperson for NY metropolitan
area pop group
Nova Social.
Click the
first paragraph to collapse.more...
“Regard du Père (“Contemplation of the Father”) is the first part of composer Olivier Messiaen’s 20-part solo piano composition Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus (“Twenty contemplations on the infant Jesus”). Though not canon, I’ve always considered it a Christmas composition, and try to listen to it every year around this time.”
SAVAK
SAVAK was formed in 2015 by members of
The Obits,
Holy Fuck,
Nation of Ulysses, and
The Cops. Their third song for the
marathon is a doozy. Their third album "Beg Your Pardon" is out
now on Ernest Jenning.
Click the
first paragraph to collapse.more...
“We’d considered “What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)” and the 1961 gem “Merry Twistmas” by The Marcels. But after scouring folders of various recordings in even more various states, we pulled a few sounds together that’d been captured in our practice space and home noodling and started fiddling around. 135 bpm felt right. As did a few samples Sohrab had left over from his days of writing soundtracks to cartoons for the world wide web. Stretch, cut, re-stretch, filter and a-zabble-dabble-doo. Music really was meant to be free! Though we all signed a non-disclosure agreement, so mum’s the word on that Leo Nocentelli lick, folks. Anyway, what’s a hodgepodge of a loop if not a bed for some fella to fall asleep in with his boots still on? Written and delivered in a single take for minimal hassle and maximum joy.”
Nick Millevoi
Nick Millevoi is a guitarist and composer whose music searches for the sonic cracks between jazz, rock and roll, noise, and modern composition. His band, Desertion Trio, featuring bassist Johnny DeBlase and drummer Kevin Shea, takes on the history of instrumental electric guitar music and throws it in a blender. Last year Desertion Trio released the excellent album Desertion on Shhpuma.
Bret Saunders' Swingin' Holiday Synths
Mr. Bret Saunders is from Denver, Colorado where he can be heard every morning on KBCO.
Lyrics:
I don’t celebrate Christmas
Maybe I’m just not that fun
I don’t believe in Jesus
Maybe I'm the chosen one.
A tree don’t make you happy
That don’t belong inside your home.
Credits:
- BJ Howze: drums, synth.
- Perry Shall: guitar, bass, & vocals.
Joel R.L. Phelps
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 seven years. Many demos and new recordings of his have been posted on Soundcloud, with the lion’s share of his studio output now available through Bandcamp, including the 2017 EP "Consulate".
The Gotobeds
Sub Pop recording artists The Gotobeds released their third album of shambolic rocker in 2019.
It's a doozy...and so is this Christmas song!