Category Archives: Check Out This Song

Songs you should check out.

Ball of Wax 58 Songs: James Whetzel – “God Rest Ye Funky Bhangra (Sarod & Beats)”

It wouldn’t really be a holiday compilation without a new spin on a traditional classic, and we’ve got a couple gems along those lines. First up, our pal James Whetzel has cooked up this wondrous bit of intercontinental Christmas magic. … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 58 Songs: Green Light Cameras – “Broken”

Phil Chamberlin – aka Green Light Cameras – continues his quest to become Ball of Wax‘s most prolific musical contributor with “Broken,” a morosely propulsive slice of synth-pop arriving just in time to underscore your SAD in the darkest time … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 58 Songs: Julia Francis – “Thanksgiving Song”

You know what holiday doesn’t have nearly enough songs in its honor? Thanksgiving. It has all the love, friendship, and familial bonhomie (and, of course, familial anxiety) of Christmas without its attendant religious baggage or gift-giving pressure. Now that most … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 58 Songs: Tekla Waterfield – “Come Together Christmas Cheer”

Seattle-area mainstay Tekla Waterfield delivers a polished, fully-realized holiday folk song with “Come Together Christmas Cheer.” With nothing more than acoustic guitar and a few vocal tracks, Waterfield constructs something that would readily hold its own alongside any mainstream country/Americana Christmas … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 58 Songs: “Christmas in the Borough of Our Birth”

In case the title didn’t tip you off, Virgin of the Birds lets us know right out of the gate that this is a Christmas song, with a comfortable “Be My Baby” beat and insistently chiming sleigh bells. The lyrics … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 58 Songs: Tom Dyer and the True Olympians – “(I’m a) Lonely Little Christmas Tree”

Levi has chosen wisely to begin the new volume of Ball of Wax with selections by strong vocalists. Like Sam Russell, Tom Dyer is something of an area legend, and even moreso a “musical chameleon.” In fact, if you ever … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 58 Songs: Sam Russell and the Harborrats – “Wisconsin Polka”

Do you know what I think of when I hear Sam Russell’s voice? Reckless abandon. Thirst for life. The kind of friend who will lead you on a wild adventure to the very edge of your sanity, the kind that … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 57 Songs: Green Light Cameras – “Weather Balloon”

I hadn’t realized until listening to Green Light Cameras’ gorgeous “Weather Balloon” what a soft spot I have in my heart for drum machines and keyboards. And a softer spot for pop music executed properly. How’s that, you say? For … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 57 Songs: Pampa – “Una de Cal y una de Arena”

Seattle via Buenos Aires band Pampa returns to Ball of Wax with “Una de Cal y una de Arena” and it’s an outstanding example of the band’s elegant-yet-naturalistic guitar-driven sound. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Moon Baillie (a better band name than Pampa? methinks … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 57 Songs: The Laughing Group – “The New Meritocracy”

In an all-too-brief (yet perfectly succinct) lumbering sway of a rocker in 6/8, The Laughing Group call out “The New Meritocracy” in modern life (society and politics, I’m sure, but more the latter) by painting a picture of entitlement, cronyism, … Continue reading

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