The Christmas canon falls easily into several clusters of songtype: the wassail and traditional Euro-melody, the hymn and the poetic setting, the early 20th century crooner, the TV special soundtrack. Each, in its way, is a marker of a historical era; string them together, and you've got a cultural timeline of sorts, representing the common threads of the tree and the snow, family and friends, Jesus and Santa, exposing – along the way – the ways in which our perspective has changed over time. But genre and soungsource have blurred and expanded over the [...]

Horror films that instantly take me back to my childhood.

Childsplay - Love Me Tender [Elvis Presley] | od | zs

As we noted in our recent profile of Crooked Still , the addition of the cello to the folk repertoire is relatively recent. Indeed, it would not be entirely wrong to credit founding member Rashaad Eggleston, who has since moved on to become a core member of stringfolk supergroup Fiddlers 4, with broadening these particular boundaries for a huge percentage of the folk audience. But of course the much larger trend towards experimental expansion and genre-blur in the indie world comes into play here, too, making the rock violinist (or the rock [...]
What's better than getting amazing indie games for whatever you feel like paying for it? Try feeling good while doing it! The third Humble Bundle has been on sale for a little over a week now, but there are still 4 more days to get your hands on it. Just a few of the many great games in the bundle! Not sure what the heck a Humble Bundle is? It's a group of (great) indie games packaged [...]

Do you remember a little remix contest (click HERE to view the original post) we held alongside our Aussie bezzies Dirtie Clouds ? Well, thanks to that little contest, the Dirtie Clouds DJs got a nice record deal with Shabang . The EP consists of the original track and four brilliant remix entries from the contest. On the remixes we've got Alexander Shenrog , Fid Frantic! , Knocked Up Noise and The Goonies. With support from The Bulgarian and Oh Snap! amongst others, you'll probably be [...]
I asked my man Brandon of ABB Video to come out and shoot our Child's Play event, and that's what he did! Him and ABB's CEO, Dre , cut up some niiiice footage for this version of Child's Play. I love how three different people chopped the same event up and still each had a very unique perspective. This one is nothing short of brilliant, and shout out to ABB for holding me down. Featuring so many cool ass people, some you may [...]
Shout out to my homegirl Reiana for chopping up this footage from our Child's Play event! It looks marvelous, and captures pretty much all the memories from that great day. If you need some film work done, holler at her: @flip_the_script. Check some of her stuff at ESSTXR Media .

Yep. We made it out alive this weekend. You probably wouldn't know, but Nelly's throwback song "Never Let 'Em C U Sweat" was the only thing keeping me together on Saturday. Last-minute moves to the grocery shop, Staples, Target. I was moving like Carl Lewis with no track. I think Sheena needs a special shout out for all the advice and motivation she gave me the day before. Thank you, those who made it out to the event, for helping make Child's Play the success that it was. Everybody who chose to get down [...]

Многие наверняка встречали сообщения о ремикс паке Bassnectar , иногда на блогах, реже - в рассылке почтой. С одной стороны - от десяти до шестидесяти долларов за двадцать треков (плюс-минус бонусы в виде разных постеров, автографов и так далее) вроде и жалко, а с другой - это как несколько пластов купить.. В любом случае ине этот ремикс пак попал в целях промо расслыки, к тому же с двумя дополнительными ремиксами. Релиз очень даже ойойой, поскольку эдиты Mexican With Guns , Noah D , [...]
No costume, no party, no problem! Whether you are stuck at home giving out candy, or merely having a quiet night in, here are some of my favourite scary movies. Big Thoughts From A Small Mind's Top Films to watch on Halloween 11) Saw – The yearly, and vastly weaker, sequels has caused many to forget that the original Saw help to bring new life into the modern horror genre. 9) Ginger Snaps – Here is the first proof [...]

Typically, in our regularly recurring Covered in Folk feature, we enumerate the impact a particular artist has had on culture, and follow that with a carefully compiled list of folk covers from that artists' songbook. Tonight, we break the mold, turning to the songs made famous by Elvis in order to tout a few artists whose new and recent releases or rediscovered gems have been at the top of my playlist for the last few weeks for one reason or another. One day, perhaps, we'll feature a more traditional look at [...]

FC Ukelele on stage at the Guilford Arms, Edinburgh The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is primarily known for its comedy and theatre, but the city is also host to a load of fine music throughout the month of August and, I'm sure, the rest of the year. My previous visits to the city have mostly focused on the comedy, but this time my friend, John, and I found ourselves attending more music gigs than before. Our first port of call was a folk pub called the Royal Oak , situated near the Royal Mile. [...]
This Week's News First of all, don't forget to vote for which song you'd like Broken Chimneys to cover on the right! Read this post to find out what it's all about. Joan or Bruce, Wilco or Neutral Milk? Jacko fans, cover fans, music fans at large, the wait is over. Butter X Face has done a brilliant job hyping up their Michael Jackson tribute (mostly by delaying it), but it is here in all its glory. Thirteen brand new covers, many of his [...]

Bob Childs is a craftsman. Whether making music himself, or making instruments for other musicians... Childs takes to his task with care. He knows that a well crafted instrument is essential to creating a well crafted tune. That's because Bob Childs is a master luthier (maker of stringed instruments). He's been building violins for over three decades and has been playing them for even longer. A brief history... Childs began playing the violin as a teenager in Maine. Whenever his instrument [...]
My friend Claudio filmed this clip of a midget dressed like Chucky from the Child's Play movies rapping on the streets of LA. If you look closely, you can see the mask on the ground beside him. The fake knife that he pretended to stab my friend with is in his back pocket. Midget Chuckie Beatboxing