Whether you’re one to rope garland like ‘whoa’ while making it rain tinsel or bah-humbugging your way through the end of the year, it’s an undeniable fact that Christmas is upon us.  The Mitten’s first snow has fallen, presents have been purchased, hidden, and stockpiled, and most of us have already packed on half or more of the holiday weight we’ll resolve to get rid of come New Year's Eve. Excited? We certainly are!

To celebrate the season and to give our ears a break from the same old stale Yule time tunes in seemingly constant (and often painful) rotation, Hell’s Half Mile has partnered with Bay City’s lone independent record store and festival sponsor Electric Kitsch to create a Christmas playlist sure to please.  Built using selections suggested by Kitsch owners Jordan and Jessica as well as committee members and friends of the festival, this compilation was mixed by M.M. Knapps over a few quarts of eggnog and one half of a one cheese log.

Some of these groovin' tracks were even transferred directly from vinyl obtained fresh via the Kitsch bins, while others could only be resurrected using the magic of the internet (legally, of course).  This eclectic glob of audible goodness is available for free download using the link provided.  Time to put this baby on the deck and hang some mistletoe, hellions…when you serenade your Christmas crush with these delicious tracks you’re all but guaranteed to snag a kiss.  Happy Holidays from HHM and Electric Kitsch! :)

track listing

1.     Soul Santa - Funk Machine featuring Kurtis Blow
2.     Dinner Party over Fantasia - Ralph Vauhan Williamson
3.     Stone Soul Christmas - Binky Griptite
4.     White Christmas - Otis Redding
5.     Cool Yule (interlude) - Tony Rodelle Larson
6.     Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis - Neko Case
7.     Little Toy Trains - Roger Miller
8.     Back Door Santa Medley - Clearence Carter, RUN DMC, Cut Masta    D.C. , Eazy E.
9.     Santa Baby (Knapps Remix) - Eeartha Kitt
10.    I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Clause - Brenda Lee
11.    Christmas Eve Will Kill You - The Everly Brothers
12.    Goodbye New England Covered in Snow (I Speak because I Can) - Laura Marling
13.    Every Day is Christmas - Charles Bradley
14.    Fairy Tale of New York - The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl
15.    Truckin' Trees for Christmas - Buck Owens
16.    Mull of Kintyre - Wings
17.    Be-Bop Santa - Babs Gonzoles
18.    Secret of Christmas - Ella Fitzgerald
19.    We Free Kings - Roland Kirk
20.    Lil' Drummer Boy - Lennox Avenue
21.    Christmas Song - Mogwai
22.    Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas - John Denver
23.    Let Me Sleep - Pearl jam
24.    Roma Devonne - Victor Oratorio Chorus
25.    O, Holy night - Josh T. Pearson
26.    What Race is Santa? - Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable

enjoy!

HHM presents...it's a VERY Kitschy X-Mas Mix Tape volume I

Emcee Gyp$zee Thief's "OPUS" featuring Bongwattah Wallace Produced, Mixed, Mastered by Mo Beavah 2014.

Emcee Gyp$zee Thief - OPUS (featuring Bongwattah Wallace)

Well, hellions...it's THAT time of year again. Whether you think of yourself as a Grinch or one of Santa's little helpers, you can no longer escape from the madness that is Christmas mania. To help push you into the New Year, Hell's Half Mile has once again partnered with Bay City's only independent vintage/vinyl/instrument repair/boutique miniplex Electric Kitsch to construct ANOTHER Very Kitschy X-Mas mix tape. This season's splendid selection of deep cuts and dusty grooves were picked ripe from the Kitsch bins and mixed over an early December evening by M.M. Knapps while visions of sugar plums break danced in his eggnog-saturated noggin. Lost treasures of yesteryear are resurrected alongside obscure modern day odes to the holiday, sandwiched between slick versions of standards and splashed with a bit of pop culture awesomeness...or in non-pitchfork terms - "it rules." 
But wait, the giving doesn't stop there! Your ears will soon be treated to a double dose of holiday cheer with a second compilation of 'str8 from wax' tracks compiled by Kitsch owner Jordan Preis. Lucky shoppers can obtain physical copies of these tasty mixes by making qualifying purchases at the Kitsch through the New Year, so check your lists thrice or more and support local business by giving the gift of music and/or fantastic vintage artifacts this Christmas season 
:)

disc one track listing:

1.  Christmas Caper part one
2.  Auge Rois - Donde Esta Santa Claus?
3.  Lou Rawls - Christmas Will Really Be Christmas
4. Jack Scott - There's Trouble Brewin' (Side A version)
5. Jacobites - Teenage Christmas
6.  Elliot Smith - Angel in Snow / Christmas Miracle feat. Bill Murray
7.  Bassie Smith - At the Christmas Ball
8.  Little Drummer Boy interlude
9.  The Treacherous Three  & Doug E. Fresh - Santa Rap
10. Sufjan Stevens - The Christmas Unicorn
11. David Axelrod - Behold a Virgin Shall
12. Ghetto Reality Youngsters - Christmas Time
13. James Brown - Hey America
14. August Darnell - Christmas on Riverside Dr.
15. James Linck - Last Christmas
16. Leadbelly - Christmas is Comin'
17. Christmas Caper part two
18. Death Row AllStars - Santa's Comin' Str8 to tha Ghetto
19. Clark's X-Mas Bonus
20. Animal Collective - Winter's love
21. Bangels - Hazy Shade of Winter
22. Mary Skene - Please Santa Dear
23. Bobby Darin - Silent Night
24. The Jive Turkeys - Get Down Santa
25. Bing Crosby - Silent night
26. Wonder Women Sure Keeps Her Promises
27. Tom Waits - New Year's Eve
28. outro

enjoy.

M. M. Knapps II