Peace on Earth

The blog Hard to Find a Friend is hosting a holiday charity album that you can purchase and download for $7. All of the artists involved recorded the songs on their own time and 100% of the proceeds are going to Toys for Tots. There are a few names I recognize: Canadian indie band Great Lake Swimmers, The Long Winters, Chris Walla (guitarist for Death Cab For Cutie)... If you're a Harvey Danger enthusiast (like me), the highlight on the track listing is The Long Winters covering an HD Christmas song. If you don't really like traditional Christmas carols (like me), this is a perfect remedy with some original tunes and non-ingratiating takes on x-mas classics, plus you get to discover some new artists. I'm digging this Quiet Company version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and methinks I spot a Charlie Brown Christmas cover in there.

Peace on Earth: A Charity Holiday Album
1. Prayers & Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers - Shepherd's Song
2. Quiet Company - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
3. Great Lake Swimmers - Gonna Make it Through This Year
4. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Sweetwater Abilene - The Wheels Are Off
5. Chris Walla - Coventry Carol
6. David Karsten Daniels - In The Bleak Midwinter
7. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
8. The Winston Jazz Routine - Through the Snow
9. Via Audio - My Boo
10. The Long Winters - Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)
11. TW Walsh - Drop the Bomb
12. Ohtis - American Christians
13. Aaron Robinson - End of the Year
14. The Cotton Jones Basket Ride (Michael Nau of Page France) - White Christmas
15. American Music Club - Please Please
16. Johnny Bertram - Merry Christmas (You Won't Get What You Want)
17. Rosie Thomas - Christmas Time is Here
18. Sleeptalker - This is Christmas

From the same blog I learned Okkervil River has a free covers EP for download featuring the likes of Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and Serge Gainsbourg among others, though I admittedly have never heard of any of the songs they're covering.