I wonder if it's gonna ever feel like Christmas again out here

December 21, 2015 4:57 AM

On Black Friday Aloe Blacc (previously) released an acoustic Christmas EP for free on Youtube. Unadvertised and unmarketed. It includes 4 Christmas standards and a remarkable0 original song, Merry Christmas Mr. Brown.

Full EP

The 4 covers are available at all the normal outlets, but the final song is not.

It's not a product for sale — it's a memorial, a tribute. First of all, to me, it doesn't seem appropriate. It really was just an expression that I felt was important for me offer to these families, and for other people to hear so that they could have a voice for what they were feeling inside, because a lot of the dialogue that we hear in the media doesn't give us the opportunity to grieve a way that is respectful to the families. I wanted to offer that to everyone, especially the families. I wanted them to see that there are people who understand their pain and are not just trying to make a headline out of their tragedy.

(Quote from A short "Songs We Love" interview with Mr. Blacc about the song from NPR. )

posted by DigDoug (11 comments total)

Minor keys. Jazz phrasing. Jazz acoustic. Delicate vocals. And then the last cut. (My eyes. There's something wrong with my eyes and I don't even celebrate the holiday.)...
posted by jim in austin at 5:31 AM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

oh fuck i wasn't ready for that.

but thanks for posting this -- it's excellent.
big sloppy hugs for everybody here.
turn off youtube autoplay, or you'll get a justin bieber song after this. nobody needs that.
posted by schmod at 5:53 AM on December 21, 2015 [3 favorites]

Just beautiful! Thanks for posting this--I am sharing it with family and friends.
posted by magstheaxe at 7:09 AM on December 21, 2015

This is stunning, both the song and the video.
posted by hydropsyche at 7:11 AM on December 21, 2015

This was a beautiful elegy for a tragic year. Thank you so much for posting.
posted by hippybear at 7:56 AM on December 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

Watching this video I had the same thought I usually do reading about gun violence and terrorism: they are all so beautiful and young. I don't want to have to see their faces in this way but I prefer it to videos of their deaths or the mugshots we usually see.

Thank you, Aloe Blacc.
posted by vespabelle at 7:58 AM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh wow, my allergies must be acting up. That was beautiful.
posted by haunted by Leonard Cohen at 8:25 AM on December 21, 2015

So great. Really humanizes those left behind.
posted by annsunny at 9:46 AM on December 21, 2015

Whew. I read the comments, so I can't say I wasn't prepared, but I wasn't ready to be moved that deeply.
posted by EvaDestruction at 10:08 AM on December 21, 2015

Yesterday I spent some time with an older relative who mentioned she had just discovered Aloe Blacc and had I heard of him, wasn't he amazing? And who also, only a half hour later, sniffed scornfully at a woman in a #BlackLivesMatter pin, "don't ALL lives matter?" (sigh.)

I think I'm gonna send her this video and hope.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:47 AM on December 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

oh wtf I'm gonna go to bed all teary eyed.

Damn.
posted by numaner at 7:12 PM on December 22, 2015