Here’s my shotgun approach to the holidaze, a hand-picked selection of tracks from albums that have been facilitating my aural merriment and mirth.  And as a special treat, The Chipmunks’ “Christmas Song” mix by Jason Willett is an Aural States exclusive.

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MP3: Béla Fleck and the Flecktones – Linus and Lucy from Jingle All the Way (2008)

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MP3: Caleb Stine – Peace on Earth from Peace on Earth: Christmas (2007)

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MP3: Reverend Horton Heat – Santa Bring My Baby Back from We Three Kings: Christmas Favorites (2005)

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MP3: My Morning Jacket – X-mas Curtain (Live) from Okonokos (2008)

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MP3: Au – I’ll Be Home For Christmas from I’ll Stay ‘Til After Christmas (2008)

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MP3: The Chipmunks – The Dark Truth Behind the Chipmunks (‘The Chipmunk Song,’ Jason Willett mix)

Check out the vanilla Chipmunks version with original video, after the jump! Read the rest…

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MP3: My Morning Jacket – Highly Suspicious from Evil Urges (2008)

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MP3: My Morning Jacket – Get Down On It (Kool and the Gang) live from Bonnaroo 2008

This Wednesday, DAR Constitution Hall will host My Morning Jacket, who recently has been touted by the media as the greatest live act in the world. It’s the kind of fanboy drooling usually reserved for Iron Maiden or U2 or Kiss, bands that really want you to believe they’re the greatest, but it’s the first time I’ve heard that kind of praise leveled on a band whose rise to popularity I’ve fully witnessed and who may not have even peaked yet. Maybe people of the generation before mine recall the rise of Pearl Jam and Radiohead and their nomination for that title. My Morning Jacket never had a huge breakthrough chart-topping single like either of those bands, and I doubt they ever will unless Jim James develops a more radio-friendly voice–although one could have said the same of Neil Young in 1970. Read the rest…

So MMJ’s spectacular Bonnaroo set really triggered a sense of aural nostalgia/recall, as they played Kool and the Gang’s funk anthem “Get Down On It,” the first song I bonded with my mother over (and actually the first hint that her musical palette might extend beyond Kenny G and smooth jazz).

So I thought I’d share some choice cuts of funk from some of the masters. And please, dear reader. Share with us in the comments. What really gets you funky?

Here are a few hall-of-famers in my eyes:

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MP3: Chuck Brown – Bustin’ Loose

Chuck Brown, DC’s own godfather of go-go, is one of the select few go-go artists to attain notoriety outside of the DC metro area. Let’s just forgive the fact that the masterfully groovy jazz-funk cut “Bustin Loose” is now the Nationals’ home-run song.

Read the rest…

Though I’ve seen the Fiery Furnaces (Wiki) twice before, I decided to go after their set at the That Tent since the two previous shows had been like night and day, presenting some of the most musically stimulating and challenging live experiences I’ve ever had.

Their Roo performance proved no different. Read the rest…

The first in my series of planned daily artist features, highlighting artists I absolutely can’t wait to see at Bonnaroo 2008. First up, those caterwauling, reverbed-out Kentuckyian jamsters My Morning Jacket.

Look no farther than this download of the title track from their upcoming LP Evil Urges (drops 6/10):

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MP3: My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges

Need more? Check out their transcendent Black Cab Session after the jump!

Read the rest…

Toned down on the psych-reverb, amped up on the country rock and R&B vocals, My Morning Jacket look to further cement their status as one of America’s best rock acts, always evolving and always interesting. This is one of my most hotly anticipated albums of the year. Their previous LP Z was nothing short of glorious, with one of the best opening track sequences in recent memory.

Evil Urges drops on 6/10.

My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
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If you are anything like me, you are absolutely foaming at the mouth with anticipation for My Morning Jacket’s upcoming release Evil Urges, salvation comes in the form of a YouTube-like stream of videos live from their recent stop in Houston.
Read the rest…

Fans of reverb and psychedelics rejoice! Louisville, Kentucky’s own My Morning Jacket have announced the title of their sinister new LP…henceforth known as Evil Urges.
Source: Pitchfork

My expectations are growing by the day as the gap between 2005′s spectacular Z has only been filled by the excellent-but-still-old-material live album/DVD release Okonokos.

Z still holds my personal title for best sequence of opening tracks on an album in the past decade…maybe more. Here’s hoping frontman Jim James delivers plenty of spectral caterwauls to sate the hungry, teeming masses.