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Northern Spies Share Christmas Single

December 22, 2015

Christmas is, among other things, the look of joy on children’s faces, spending time with loved ones, and a primal religious observance. It’s also Christmas shopping after doing a few shots, office party ragers, and going to mass with a rampaging buzz to get through primal religious observances. In short, Christmas can be a holiday of divergent extremes, and Rochester power poppers Northern Spies have embraced this duality with a special holiday single featuring an austere and almost reverential “Christmas Must Be Tonight” backed with the rowdy “Big Legged Christmas (Slight Return).” Northern Spies didn’t mess around. “Christmas Must Be Tonight” is all Dylan and the Band and Sunday school and what Christmas used to be about, with bluesy guitars, soulful organ, and some lovely, searching vocals. “Big Legged Christmas (Slight Return),” however goes for a nasty, vamping blues jam that is all about hollering, and doing your own damn thing on[...]

A Very Murray Christmas

December 8, 2015

The A Very Murray Christmas special on Netflix is one of the greatest pop culture artifacts ever produced, and potentially the apex of human civilization. Crafted by international icon/spirit animal Bill Murray, Mitch Glazer and director Sofia Coppola for streaming whenever you like, it is an instantly classic one offmedia masterpiece that transcends film, television, and reality itself. Featuring preposterously bravura performances  from a multitude of talents that are soulfully beautiful, yet ironic without a trace of irony, it’s ridiculously heartfelt and brilliant. There, I said it. And the musical numbers supervised by Paul Shaffer are sublime from start to finish: the very first number “Christmastime Blues” featuring Bill with Paul at the piano in his suite at the Carlisle Hotel before Bill’s ill-fated live TV holiday special instantly recalls Nick the Lounge Singer while setting the slightly melancholic mood; a duet in matching Andy Williams sweaters of Bill and[...]

Hussalonia Releases Well Timed Holiday Benefit Tune, “Soft Drink”

November 20, 2014

Those hoping to catch Hussalonia’s the Founder in the flesh tonight will have to make other plans as the Lannie Flowers/Nude Beach show he was set to open for was the latest local show lost to #snowvember. Luckily for us, the Founder has a way of giving to those in need. Last night, Between the Snowflakes, the latest installment from the Robot Holiday collective, was released upon bandcamp. The reoccuring project, which features long time local musicians likes Dee Adams, Brandon Delmont, and the Founder himself, has been releasing holiday and winter themed proceeds albums for over a decade. “Soft Drink,” the Founder’s lead contribution to Between the Snowflakes, sounds like Britpop at a luau, and could be a nice alternative to Bing Crosby’s “Mele Kalikimaka” as Clark Griswold day dreams out of his window in Christmas Vacation. Giving what has been going on in the Buffalo area over the last[...]