Time for me to take a hiatus
from the world of blogging.

It's been fun but I just don't have
the time to properly maintain this site.

All posts will remain, however
my RapidShare account expires May 5, 2008.
Not sure how long the uploads will remain.
Email me at bongolongmusic@yahoo.com
if any links don't work and I will re-upload
and send you the link and update the post.

Until we blog again,
Toodles!!

Labels: Editorial

# posted by bongolong @ 5:37 PM 2 comments

In 2005 I was starting to gather ideas for my third "bongolong Christmas" CD that unfortunately was never recorded. I started working on a silly parody of old sci-fi radio programs called "Nick Noel Space Captain" and almost finished the script. I did complete the first drafts of an opening theme and even added a voice over. A couple of my hard drives crashed and I feared I had lost these files forever, but, I found them hidden on my current drive... cool!

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

Download (RapidShare) Nick Noel Space Captain

Download (SendSpace) Nick Noel Space Captain

If you haven't downloaded the first two Christmas CDs
go to a bongolong Christmas 2003 & 2004

Labels: Novelty

# posted by bongolong @ 10:23 AM 1 comments

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

Download (RapidShare) Radio AHHS December 1995

Download (SendSpace) Radio AHHS December 1995

Labels: Childrens, Christmas

# posted by bongolong @ 8:11 AM 1 comments

The colors of Christmas: Red, Green and Blue.
BLUE??
Yes blue, if the music is played by
Vic Mulkey and the Blue Veins on their album
A Blue Vein Noel- 'Where Christmas Came From'.

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

Download (RapidShare) Vic Mulkey and the Blue Veins

Download (SendSpace) Vic Mulkey and the Blue Veins

Labels: Blues, Christmas

# posted by bongolong @ 5:23 AM 0 comments

With only 310 days until Christmas I calculated (all on my own)
that it was time to get started with some more Christmas music!!

First up for 2008 is a CD, which looks home made,
that I found at a local Salvation Army Thrift Store for $1.50.

It's called "A Father-Daughter Christmas" by Stardancer.

Although it looks home made (the booklet, tray & CD label appear to have been printed on a home computer) this is some fun stuff.
Original art work & liner notes accompany original well written songs that sound professionally recorded.

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

Download (SendSpace) A Father-Daughter Christmas

Labels: Vocal

# posted by bongolong @ 2:38 PM 0 comments

A Very Special Season includes 22 carols
played on several different instruments including
cellos, recorders, guitars, wood flutes,
banjos, tin whistles, bagpipes
and even a hurdy-gurdy!

Download (RapidShare) A Very Special Season

Download (SendSpace) A Very Special Season

Labels: Christmas, Instrumental

# posted by bongolong @ 6:41 AM 1 comments

Enjoy the reading of four
old-fashioned Christmas Tales:

A Christmas Mystery
by William Locke

Mrs. Parkin's Christmas Eve
by Sarah Orne Jewett

The Burglar's Christmas
by Willa Cather

What Happened Christmas Eve
by Oliver Herfold

Download (RapidShare) Christmas Tales

Download (SendSpace) Christmas Tales

Labels: Christmas, Spoken Word

# posted by bongolong @ 6:06 AM 0 comments

Here is an interesting group, Wind Machine,
who produce some lovely ambient/new age music.

boomp3.com

Download Wind Machine

Labels: Ambient, Christmas, New Age

# posted by bongolong @ 3:45 AM 0 comments

boomp3.com

Download Greatest Christmas Classics

Labels: Christmas, Classical

# posted by bongolong @ 8:10 AM 0 comments

Jump Jump and the Ice Queen was first broadcast from
November 22, 1948 to December 24, 1948 in
twenty-five 15 minute episodes.

Download Jump Jump and the Ice Queen

Labels: Christmas, Radio Drama

# posted by bongolong @ 4:56 AM 0 comments

Christmas Hits by Rock & Roll greats!!

Download Christmas Hits

Labels: Christmas, Rock

# posted by bongolong @ 9:30 PM 0 comments

And now for the last new
bongolong compilation for 2007.

Twenty different versions? Why, you ask?
Why not??

Download Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Labels: bongolong compilation

# posted by bongolong @ 4:58 AM 0 comments

Labels: Christmas, Vocal

# posted by bongolong @ 5:32 AM 2 comments

Here's a "gross" compilation:
twelve different version of
The Twelve Days of Christmas
all bundled up on one disk.

Download 144 Days of Christmas

Labels: bongolong compilation

# posted by bongolong @ 7:37 PM 1 comments

Don't have time to check out
all the Christmas blogs everyday?
If so, here's just what you need.

Senses Working Overtime searches all the blogs
to let us know what & where is out there
with their "Yule Sharity"
which is updated throughout the day.

Check out Senses Working Overtime

...also remember to check the links
over there on the left side,
periodically updated with new finds...

Labels: Editorial

# posted by bongolong @ 5:13 AM 0 comments

In 1995 several musical groups from Arizona
added their slice of the Christmas pie

boomp3.com

Download Merry Arizona

Labels: Christmas

# posted by bongolong @ 8:28 PM 0 comments

Let's go South of the Border for this Bargain Bin find...

boomp3.com

Download Mariachi Christmas

Labels: Christmas, World

# posted by bongolong @ 7:41 PM 1 comments

Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas on the Moon
first aired on the radio from November 25, 1938 to December 24, 1938.

It’s time for six-year-old Jonathan Thomas
and his teddy bear Guz to save Santa and Christmas!!

Download Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas on the Moon

Labels: Christmas, Radio Drama

# posted by bongolong @ 5:13 AM 0 comments

What was Christmas music like during the Renaissance you ask?

Just like this...

boomp3.com

Download (SendSpace) A Renaissance Christmas Celebration

Download (RapidShare) A Renaissance Christmas Celebration

Labels: Christmas, Renaissance

# posted by bongolong @ 4:57 AM 2 comments

The theme for this compilation was songs from some of
the great to even unknown progressive rock bands.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), Jethro Tull
and Rick Wakeman are her along with
some lesser known progressive acts
with some traditional favorites
and some original compositions.

boomp3.com

Download Christmas in Rock

Labels: Christmas, Rock

# posted by bongolong @ 4:51 AM 4 comments

Daddy, tell us a story...

A few years ago I published a small newsletter and for two Christmas editions I wrote a short story about Nick Noel, Private Investigator who always saved Christmas (well, twice, anyway) and his secretary Veronica (for some unknown reason Nick calls her Vern).

One of these days Nick may have a new adventure... stay tuned!!

Download (RapidShare) Nick Noel, PI

Download (SendSpace) Nick Noel, PI

Labels: Novelty, Story

# posted by bongolong @ 5:46 AM 0 comments

Here's something I've not done before;
it's a compilation done "podcast" style, or "bongocast" if you will.
One long track (57 minutes, 12 seconds)
with all kinds of Odds & Ends (see list below);
there's commercials, radio spots, songs, bits from radio shows
and any other strange little items I had digitally laying around.

Stream Odds & Ends bongocast

Download Odds & Ends bongocast

Labels: Christmas, Novelty

# posted by bongolong @ 6:28 AM 0 comments

How about some light jazz for your cocktail party?

Download Festivities

Labels: Christmas, Jazz

# posted by bongolong @ 8:45 PM 0 comments

This ain't from the famous "Celtic Woman" seen on PBS only a distant facsimile…

boomp3.com

Download Celtic Harp Christmas

Labels: Christmas, World

# posted by bongolong @ 5:13 AM 0 comments

The Cinnamon Bear was first broadcast on the radio November 29th through December 24th, 1937 and became a yearly Christmas tradition.

The story is about Judy and Jimmy Barton who are looking for their Christmas Tree Star.
During their search they meet The Cinnamon Bear, The Crazy Quilt Dragon, and Santa Claus.

It’s time to turn back your Christmas Time Machine to a much simpler time before television and multiplex movie theaters.

Download The Cinnamon Bear

Labels: Christmas, Radio Drama

# posted by bongolong @ 5:27 AM 1 comments

Santa Claus is coming to town -- for 34 microseconds

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Christmas is hectic for all but particularly for Santa, who must live in Kyrgyzstan and make his rounds at lightning speed if he is to deliver gifts to all the world's children on time, a Swedish consultancy has concluded.

Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Santa Claus's route around the planet includes stops at 2.5 billion homes, assuming that children of all religions receive a present from the jolly man in the red suit, Anders Larsson of the engineering consultancy Sweco told AFP.

"We estimated that there are 48 people per square kilometer (120 per square mile) on Earth, and 20 meters (66 feet) between each home. So if Santa leaves from Kyrgyzstan and travels against the Earth's rotation he has 48 hours to deliver all the presents," he said.

Father Christmas has long been believed to reside at the North Pole, although a number of northern towns, including Finnish Rovaniemi, claim to be his true home.

But Sweco's report on Santa's most efficient route -- which takes into account factors like geographic density and the fewest detours -- shows that he wouldn't be able to make his round-the-world trip from there in time.

"He has 34 microseconds at each stop" to slide down the chimney, drop off the presents, nibble on his cookies and milk and hop back on his sleigh, Larsson said.

Santa's reindeer must travel at a speed of 5,800 kilometers (3,604 miles) per second to make the trip on time.

Another report circulating on the Internet suggested however that Santa's sleigh, weighed down with presents and traveling at supersonic speed, would encounter such massive air resistance that the entire contraption would burst into flames and be vaporised within 4.26 thousandths of a second.

Labels: News

# posted by bongolong @ 5:33 AM 0 comments

...and yet another bongolong compilation
with 21 different versions of the classic,
Sleigh Ride which was written by Leroy Anderson
during a heat wave in August, 1946.

Download Sleigh Ride Compilation

Labels: bongolong compilation

# posted by bongolong @ 4:45 AM 0 comments

Sounds Like Christmas finds The December People creating, adapting and overhauling Christmas songs that sound astonishingly like seasonal triumphs that might fit on certain classic rock albums by certain classic rock bands, namely Yes, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Kansas and King Crimson. [from Magna Carta]

1. Carol Of The Bells (as if performed by Yes)

boomp3.com

2. We Three Kings (as if performed by Sting)

boomp3.com

3. I Hear The Bells On Christmas Day (as if performed by Queen)

boomp3.com

4. Silent Night (as if performed by Pink Floyd)

boomp3.com

5. What Child Is This? (as if performed by Genesis)

boomp3.com

6. Little Drummer Boy (as if performed by ELP)

boomp3.com

7. T’was The Night Before Christmas (as if performed by Led Zeppelin)

boomp3.com

8. Up On The Rooftop/Deck The Halls (as if performed by Kansas)

boomp3.com

9. Angels We Have Heard On High/Christmas Lullaby (as if performed by Peter Gabriel)

boomp3.com

10. The First Noel (as if performed by King Crimson)

boomp3.com

11. The Light (Special Bonus track by Kansas)

boomp3.com

12. Happy X-Mas/War Is Over (as if performed by Beatles)

boomp3.com

Here's where you can buy it...

The December People

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

cdUniverse

Labels: Recommendation, Rock

# posted by bongolong @ 6:33 AM 2 comments

...and now for something VERY different...

Download Christmas In TheAndes

Labels: Christmas, World

# posted by bongolong @ 5:59 PM 0 comments

"Bargain Bin Thursday" will feature those inexpensive (OK, cheap)
albums that you find at grocery stores, office supply stores, etc.
with so-so arrangements and don't even tell who the performers are.

First up is...

boomp3.com

Download Christmas Pan Flute

Labels: Christmas, World

# posted by bongolong @ 5:12 AM 0 comments

I love Christmas music!!
And the more interesting (or even weirder) the better!!
I always wanted to record my own Christmas music,
to rearrange some of those familiar melodies
and giving them my own special twist.

In 2003 and 2004 I was able to accomplish that dream.
Think of these as a Christmas stocking
that’s opened before the stuff under the tree;
each little gift is unique in it’s own way.

Here is my offering, a Christmas gift from bongolong.
It may not last as long as a fruitcake,
but it sure tastes better!

a bongolong Christmas 2003

a bongolong Christmas 2004

Labels: bongolong

# posted by bongolong @ 4:33 AM 0 comments

Here is the first of this season's "bongolong compilations"
the wonderful classic "Angels We Have Heard On High"
as performed by nineteen different artists (including bongolong).

Download Angels We Have Heard On High

Labels: bongolong compilation

# posted by bongolong @ 5:38 AM 0 comments

Here is one of my favorite Christmas albums,
one of the first to be played during the season.
If you like non-traditional Christmas Music check this out!

Labels: Christmas, Novelty

# posted by bongolong @ 6:13 AM 0 comments

I wish I could post mp3s for this album, but it is still available (see below).
However, I love this CD and wanted to make sure you all knew about it...

This is Progressive Rock Christmas Music at it's finest! The arrangements are very inventive, using all the best that makes Progressive Music so enjoyable to experience. Ten Point Ten formed in the mid-90's around a new contemporary worship service. Check out the sample mix and the complete song "Gentle King". If you like bands like Yes, Kansas, Spock's Beard, et al, then this is for you!

Good Tidings (1:44)
Messiah, He Is Born (7:17)
Gentle King (3:51)
We Three Kings (6:41)
Closer (5:20)
Myrrh (2:06)
Carol of the Bells (6:39)
Oh Come Oh Come Emanuel (6:19)
Misplaced (4:11)
Little Drummer Boy (6:46)
Oh Holy Night (9:42)

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

Buy from Progrock Records

Buy from CD Universe

Buy from Amazon

Buy download from Mindawn

Also available at iTunes & Rhapsody.

Labels: Recommendation, Rock

# posted by bongolong @ 8:36 PM 0 comments

and a Twosday Tuesday too!!!

First up are six (count ‘em, six!) different radio versions of Charles Dickens’ immortal holiday story, A Christmas Carol.
Broadcast dates range from 1939 airing of The Mercury Theater to 1954’s Hallmark Hall Of Fame. “God Bless Us, Every One!”

Download A Christmas Carol

…and lastly, since it’s the 31st of July I thought I’d do a compilation of what we sing on the 31st of December, “Auld Lang Syne”.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, don’t forget to
download The Auld Lang Syne