A lot of people this way want to express the Christmas in their heart this week, just in different ways.
Just in! Justin! Justin Bieber will be unveiling his video with Mariah Carey in the revamp of her “All I Want For Christmas Is You” during the Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center tonight, to be broadcast on NBC.
Based on the preview, Bieber is more freaking Christmasy than you’ll ever be.
The Killers are on the loose, again, to bring another holiday single for charity. This time, they’ve donned their boots and hats for “Cowboys’ Christmas Ball,” a quick-stepping country tune for you good little girls and boys. The song goes up on iTunes tomorrow (Dec. 1), which is World AIDS Day. It’s sales will benefit (RED), as their songs in years past have.
I hate hating at Christmas, so it pains me to say, country doesn’t suit these fine-feathered men well. Lasso another dance mega-hit, and color me happy.
A press release reports, thankfully, that a new Killers album is in the works right now. If it came out in 2012, it will be the first from the Las Vegans since 2008’s “Day & Age.”
Meanwhile, the newly reunited Polyphonic Spree are here to tell you “It’s Christmas” in a new video, though the song’s been around for a while. The big group’s mastermind Tim DeLaughter recorded the choir-laden track back in 2003; the group has performed “It’s Christmas” at every one of its annual Christmas extravaganzas since then. The video features footage taken from Polyphonic Spree’s two holiday shows in 2007.
DeLaughter recently relaunched his Good Records Recordings, which is co-owned by his wife and Spree cohort Julie Doyle and their longtime associate Chris Penn. It’s releases from artists will be fairly non-traditional: it’s “a label focused on releasing one song at a time from its stable of artists, in both digital and vinyl formats. Each track will be available two ways: a high-quality download (with a choice of MP3 or lossless FLAC) or as a limited-edition, colored, collectible vinyl record with custom artwork and a surprise B-side not available elsewhere. Additionally, artists will create a music video for every track they release.”
Boosh. Look out for a rarity from DeLaughter’s former band Tripping Daisy, new stuff from Polyphonic Spree, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, Preteen Zenith and more.
Need some sugar in that coffee? How about this sappy “Share the Love”stuff from Honor Society. Again: hate hating, but at least this la la lovely song is raising awareness for the Salvation Army, as is evident in the video below.
If you’re going ice skating before the Christmas pageant and haven’t quite found your Christmas tree yet, let Dawes soundtrack your trek. The indie band covers “Christmas Time Is Here” from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (a classic original composition from Vince Guaraldi) for A/V Club’s Christmas edition of Uncovered. Simple, child-like. Good grief!
The Polyphonic Spree – “It’s Christmas” from Good Records Recordings on Vimeo.