Ho Ho Ho! - You have happened upon Suburban Sprawl Music's annual Holiday compilation. Every year, various friends (from Michigan and beyond) use the SubSprawl Holiday comp as a way to have fun, write some totally sweet holiday songs, and collaborate.
2008: the year of the great holiday song explosion. We're very happy to give you 44 tracks of holiday insanity this year, and a nifty hand-drawn cover design by Angela Duncan. By besting 2007's contribution count by 12 songs, our little free music sampler has grown into a behemoth of giving and cheer, a titan of goodwill and sincere holiday blessings. We hope you enjoy this year's compilation and consider this a thank you for supporting the arts in 2008!
If you're determined to spend money on something, consider a purchase in our webstore.
Tis the season right?
Thanks, and Happy Sprawlidays!
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Disc One
What happens when you stop getting excited about the Ventures proto-mashup holiday jams? If you are Adam Kempa, you create your own. Adam adds: "I prefer to think of this as weird Ventures fanfic."
Scott Allen and his father, Brad, offer up this Nilsson-esque holiday ditty. Dig those samples!
Will Yates is a man of invention. He has created a new genre: glitch-piano-pop, and it is good.
Sea of Japan have plans to meet you on Christmas Eve. Don't be late. They are busy dudes.
Reborn as DANIEL, Dan Johnson offers up a soulful version of "What Child Is This?" To answer the question, the child is Daniel, and he is a beautiful child.
Former Natural Monuments members Travis Bravender and Aaron Quillen team up with their friend Ashleigh New for a pretty synth-pop jam, CHRISTMAS STYLE YA'LL!!
Not The Dead Bodies, but real close. HAWAIIAN CHRISTMAS STYLE YA'LL!!
Love Axe's Chris Hatfield's move to California's Bay Area hasn't hurt his holiday mojo one bit.
No one ever thinks about what Rudolph feels. No one cares about that guy, EXCEPT DAVE LAWSON.
Em News' Trevor Naud, Kathleen Bracken and Matt Rickle return to the subsprawl holiday comp with an intergalactic holiday space hymn.
Not only is this a collaboration between members of Serenity Court, The Pop Project and The Hard Lessons, but it is also a collaboration between roommates, which you will quickly realize while listening to this song.
Cale crawled into a dark room filled with synthesizers, and emerged with his own rendition of McCartney?'s Christmas megajam.
Friendly Foes offer up more considerations of positivity for the holidays. You should be glad.
Graceful and charming holiday sentiments from subsprawl holiday vet Andrew Dost of Fun.
Kevin Mahler assumes a new identity for a sizable dose of Michigan-centric insanity.
Lightning Love laments their personal connection with Christmas. If this is the soundtrack to holiday disconnect, humanity isn't so doomed afterall.
Shawn (Knight) and Christian (Doble) offer up the deepest cut with a song from the Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer television special. This deep cut cuts real good.
Holiday comp newcomers, Silverghost offer up a tune that is equal parts 4AD and Phil Spector.
Walk with Zach Curd into a holiday dreamworld where autotune and DeBarge meet at the Rhodes break of Minnie Riperton's "Inside My Love."
The Next Door Neighbors take their concept songs even further with musical interpretations of real letters sent to THE BIG MAN. Not Clarence Clemons, but Santa.
K & Ju is a new and refreshing collaboration between The Word Play's Kevin McGorey and Javelins' Julian Wettlin. The result is a dreamy and frantic holiday jambo.
Kiddo's Lizzie and Christian wrote this together about being in love in their messy house during the holidays. Cute!
Ex-Casionaut Jon Cendrowski goes solo and brings all of Ferndale with him to cover John Lennon's holiday classic.
Indianapolis' Everthus The Deadbeats are so into Christmas, they happen to know a Christmas song featuring their namesake!
Blasé Splee put on their own spin on the title theme to a modern film classic. Mavis Staples has got nuthin' on these guys.
The Paincakes shed the progressive excess of the past few years and get down to what Christmas is all about: ordering Santa around.
Disc Two
A song so nice, it's here twice! Lennon's track gets the lady/dude combo treatment this time courtesy of Teleportation Please.
Beaverton, Michigan's own Jeremy Vallender hears angels. Angels sound like key changes, synthesizer polyrhythm and a voice of pure velvet.
Ex-Sight Bobby Emmett, the UK's own Spencer Cullum, ex-Hard Lesson Christophe Zajac-Denek team up, INTERNATIONAL STYLE YA'LL!!
Prussia remind us of what Christmas is all about for some. They also remind us that The Beatles are so good.
Newcomers Allan James & The Cold Wave heard the bells, and those bells are sad.
The Lickity-Splits' and Dark Meat's Timmy Tumble humbly offers up the only song in mono on this year's compilation.
Local blogger and musician Elle decides to drop the Fonts and pick up a Foe in the form of Friendly Foes' Brad Elliot.
The Silent Years' Ryan Clancy normally plays the drums, but decided to play the heartstrings this year for you. Nay, for the world.
Insanity from Brandeis University faculty.
Rangoon Online's Joe Ging decides decides to use his holiday song to hold Zach Curd over the hot fires of devastating satire.
Mystery track! We have no idea who this is, or if you could even consider this a song.
Few people dare to go the "I'm going to sing about winter and not just Christmas" route. Hugs And Kisses doth dare. They doth dare.
The Cartridge Family rolls deep in a field of Christmas cookies. Yum!
Lansing's Flatfoot decided to drop the twang and go all Luke 2:9 on your ass, instrumental style this year.
The Darts might not be as drunk as Santa, but it's a safe bet that they are more drunk than you.
The OFC take the reigns and ride a sled towed by 8 Latin Christmas devils.
Zach Curd: Slowly working his way towards recording the Christmas equivalent of Gentle Giant's 'Knots.'
Introducing the new project by ex Army/Navy members Chris Hatfield (also formerly of Those Transatlantics) and Heath Johnson. Bryan Robb plays guitar and also co-wrote the song.
Scott (Thunderbirds Are Now!) and Brad (Thunderdads Are Brad!) revisit Chipmunks holiday classic. Dig the mandolin and laser beams solo.
Adam Kempa spends a few days each December methodically working towards his ultimate goal of recording a complete tribute to the Ventures' Christmas album. This year's installment is more of a departure from the source material than normal, but it's only a minute long. Tough it out.
Brooklyn's Sean Higgins and Friends sing about spite, in like, the most beautiful way.
Annette (Serenity Court) sings a plaintive finger-picked tune with backup from Matt Balcer (The Codgers) on mandolin and Emily Gustafson (Serenity Court) on thumb piano.
Aloha's Cale Parks goes deep. Tis the season to be JAHly.
Aaron Quillen and Travis Bravender of Natural Monuments present a tight-ass rhythm section for the holidays.
Ryan Allen and friends jam out on positive vibes for the holidays. Praising quality time never sounded so fierce.
Trevor Naud (Zoos of Berlin), Matt Rickle (Javelins), and Kate Bracken (formerly of Those Transatlantics) come together once again to stir the christmas pond.
Daniel Johnson (Judah Johnson, The Elanors) slam dunks another solid track. Write Dan and tell him to come out of retirement, Jay-Z style.
Three key elements all add up to one thing: the Christmas Unspirit! Dave Lawson (The Pop Project/The Drinking Problem) and Darin Ficorelli (ex-Wafflehouse) are veterans to the holiday music circus - burned out on narratives. Angela Duncan joins in on clarinet.
Lansing twangers have fun, sing about baby Jesus. Just in case you were wondering, yes, he is very sweet.
Javelins offer a unique cover with original music, lyrics from an Elvis classic and also from 90's CCM chart-toppers PFR. And no, that sound you hear is not a pig.
Will (The Pop Project/Zoos of Berlin) plays a deep cut from the caroling book on piano while we celebrate Shawn Knight and Ryan Allen's birthdays in the reverbed distance.
Lisa Norton (El Boxeo) freaks out about the future. Her brother, Zach Norton (Child Bite/El Boxeo), ditches their usual Whoa Boats cohorts Zach Curd and Danny Sperry in favor of fake drums and a bass synthesizer pedal to accompany his festive fuzz bass.
Shawn Knight & Christian Doble (both of Child Bite) enlist the help of drummer Mike Durgan (formerly of Thunderbirds Are Now!) for their 3rd installment to the annual compilation. Inspired by the Hawaiian Christmas sub-genre, this year's contribution is their first as an original composition.
More sadness for Christmas from Kevin (The Word Play), featuring trumpet courtesy of his bro Colin McGorey.
The French Skeletons are powerful microorganisms that wreak havoc on the body, making it stronger. Ethereal voice achieved via intense effects masking.
Ypsilanti transplant Tim Schreiber (ex-Cornish in a Turtleneck, current Lickity Splits) sent this song from Athens, GA which he describes as 'Ozzy sings Christmas, which isn't necessary bad.'
Another fun track from Jacuzzi 2.0. This dude lives in Livonia, but no one here has ever met him. Weird.
Andrew Dost (ex-Anathallo) rides a white steed into the city of light, brings power-pop joy, elevates the universal soul of mankind.
Jason Bales (ex-Flatfoot) moves to North Carolina, sings Christmas song, the world rejoices.
Recording the handclap track on this song must have annoyed the crap out of Brook's Chicago neighbors.
Paincakes: an annual tradition, Suburban Sprawl's label founder gets drunk in front of a microphone. Thank the Lord.
Zach Norton (Child Bite / El Boxeo) honors guitar legends Zakk Wylde and Jimi Hendrix with a very special Christmas tribute.
Jon (ex-Casionauts) pays homage to one of his lifelong inspirations: public nudity.
Ryan Clancy (The Silent Years / ex-Rescue) sings about Zach Curd and some other stuff for about 5 minutes.
Mike Hardin (Joiya) turned this in, and I'm not exactly sure how it relates to Christmas. I don't think he's even Greek.
Zach Curd stretches his musical wings and flies high with Annie Moss.
Jeremy writes the some of the spookiest and prettiest music you've ever heard, all from the depths of rural Mid-Michigan.
(members of Javelins, The Pop Project)
(Ryan Balderas of The Casionauts)
(members of The Sights, The Hard Lessons, The Pop Project)
This song has been retired for inclusion on Windy & Carl's Rarities compilation 'Introspection.' Go buy it!
