PPSquare X-Mas Tape 2011

So, only a few days til christmas eve, here is my Mixtape for Xmas 2011 - hope you like it:

01 - Mike Viola - Give Me A Second Chance For Christmas

02 - Ron Sexsmith - Maybe This Christmas

03 - She & Him - The Christmas Waltz

04 - Bleu - Cold, Cold Christmas

05 - Jim Boggia - Christmas Baby Please

06 - The Nines - It's Christmas

07 - The Pogues - Fairytale Of New York

08 - Travis - Alone On Christmas Day

09 - David Mead - Christmas Is So Far Away

10 - Coldplay - Christmas Lights

11 - Aimee Mann - Whatever Happened To Christmas

12 - Ben Folds Five - Stumblin' Home Winter Blues

13 - Eels - Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas

14 - She & Him - Baby, It's Cold Outside

15 - The Nines - Winter Song

16 - Billy Mack - Christmas Is All Around

17 - The Darkness - Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)

Most of the songs are streamed here:

 
I made this tape not downloadable for copyright reasons and for protecting the artists. Some artists where already filtered by soundcloud. If there's still a problem with streaming the songs, I'll remove them immediately by request.

+ + + New Music for 2012 + + +

Bleu - Besides 

Seems to be delayed, probably it'll be out in early 2012. Besides is a collection of unreleased songs (a long time ago they would have been called B-Sides...). You only can buy it HERE.

Jellyfish - Spilt Milk & Bellybutton (January 10) 

The vinyl re-release from Omnivore Recordings. Preorder it HERE.

Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (January 23)

The first single "When I Was Young" for free download HERE 

Goldfrapp - The Singles (February 6)

Well, it's a .. Singles collection. - with a great selection of tracks - and two new songs. More info's HERE.

AIR - Le Voyage Dans La Lune (February 7)

‘Le Voyage Dans La Lune’ (A Trip To The Moon) is a classic black & white silent short film by French director Georges Méliès from 1902. It is widely considered one of the most important works in film history, and the very first to use science fiction as its theme, incorporating special effects that were very state-of-the-art at the turn of the 19th century. Restored in 2010 the producers decided to ask AIR’s Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel, to compose an original modern soundtrack. AIR decided to develop the project into a full album inspired by the film. There will be also a special edition including the short movie itself.

The Shins - Port of Morrow (March)

It's their first record since 2007′s Wincing The Night Away.

Ocean Grove (May)

Their debut album is crowd funded via kickstarter.com.

Ben Kweller - Go Fly A Kite (February 2) 

It's the first record since Changing Horses (which I REALLY didn't like!). But the sound samples show its musical direction is more like the 2006 Ben Kweller LP (which I REALLY did like!).

Listen here: 

Head & Tails by benkweller

Paul McCartney - My Valentine (February 7)

Macca says:  “This will sound like the years between 1920-1940, the time when my father was 20. These are songs I heard. My family, my uncles, everybody sang.”  

Brendan Benson - What Kind Of World (May)
Everytime a new Brendan Benson record is out I get a little excited. He's such a good songwriter. Read more HERE.

Aimee Mann 

Aimee tweeted on December 2: Just finished my new record!!!! WOOO!!

Ben Folds Five 

Ben confirmed it: there will be a new Ben Folds Five record

And then there are new records from Bleu, Keane, Travis and Phoenix in the pipeline for 2012 (no album name, no release date).

Mike Viola - Get You Back (Official video)

Ben Lee - Deeper Into Dream - Review

Yesterday Lojinx, an independent record company based in the UK (love them for bringing artists like Bleu and Fountains Of Wayne to Europe) posted a review of the new Ben Lee record Deeper Into Dream. It's in German, so I did a little translation:

A record about dreams is what Ben Lee wanted to do. It became an unusual mixture of a folk record, guitar pop a mini audiobook.

At certain points of the record songs are fractured by small stories or dialogues from friends of some experiences – in dreams or reality. They keep a record thematically together which offers a broad range for a singer songwriter album. Other than on some of his so far eight other records, the Australian works with a complete band. He develops songs than remind more of Death Cab For Cutie or Ryan Adams than a dreamy singer, which tilt into too much sweetness - whenever he tempts to do a song for format radio. He’s entitled to make money with his music, but these straightness offensives irritate because they form a direct contrast to his little, sometimes spaced-out meandering odes for which one holds him in high regard. Paired with his crystal clear voice he forms so many moments of high intimacy. And it was a clever move to break up these stylistic contrasts with dialogues. So you could blame Lee for undecidedness – or you adjudge that he shows the illimitability of our dreams with the greatest possible musical range. What counts in the end are the songs, and they fit. There’s not one that is needless or ordinary, because he is a genuine master in writing songs.

       Rating: 6/7                                               Sascha Krüger