Every Day is a Holiday: The Chieftains and "Brafferton Village/Walsh's Hornpipe"

Today's song is by The Chieftains, who are an Irish ensemble who introduced the wider world to Irish music. The Chieftains were formed in Dublin in 1962 and played their music primarily around the distinctive sound of uileann pipes. They took their name from the title of a novel by Irish author John Montague. Besides releasing several critically acclaimed albums, they are just as well known for their collaborations with such artists as Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor and Roger Daltry. They have released 44 albums. Brafferton Village: Walsh's Hornpipe is from their holiday themed album The Bells of Dublin (1991), on which also appeared Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, the McGarrigle sisters, Marianne Faithfull, Rickie Lee Jones, Nanci Griffith and Burgess Meredith.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chieftains; http://www.thechieftains.com

Ring Ding Dinging: The Chieftains and "The Bells of Dublin/Christmas Eve"

I'm forgoing a rule I have, in which I don't play the same group within the same month. Because it is getting toward Christmas, and a Christmas themed song has come up by the Chieftains, I am going to use it anyway. The Chieftains are an Irish ensemble formed in Dublin in 1962, and they developed their music primarily around the distinctive sound of the uileann pipes. They took their name from the title of a novel by Irish author John Montague. Besides releasing several critically acclaimed albums, they are just as well known for their collaborations with such artists as Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor and Roger Daltry. They have released 44 albums. This song, The Bells of Dublin/Christmas Eve, is from their 1991 album The Bells of Dublin.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chieftains; http://www.thechieftains.com/main/

Early Christmas: The Chieftains with Renaissance Singers Belfast and "Ding Dong Merrily on High"

We're about a month away from the holidays, and the Global Music randomizer wants you to start getting in the mood, kind of like a department store after Halloween. Today's song is by The Chieftains with The Renaissance Singers Belfast, and is a holiday song called Ding Dong Merrily on High. The Chieftains are an Irish ensemble formed in Dublin in 1962, and they developed their music primarily around the distinctive sound of the uileann pipes. They took their name from the title of a novel by Irish author John Montague. Besides releasing several critically acclaimed albums, they are just as well known for their collaborations with such artists as Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor and Roger Daltry. They have released 44 albums. Ding Dong Merrily on High is from their 1991 album The Bells of Dublin.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chieftains; http://www.thechieftains.com/main/

It's Gorse, of Course: The Chieftains and "The Wren in the Furze"

The Chieftains, an Irish ensemble formed in Dublin in 1962, performs our random song for today, which is called The Wren in the Furze. The Chieftains developed their music primarily around the distinctive sound of the uileann pipes. They took their name from the title of a novel by Irish author John Montague. Besides releasing several critically acclaimed albums, they are just as well known for their collaborations with such artists as Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor and Roger Daltry. They have released 44 albums. The Wren in the Furze is from their 1991 album The Bells of Dublin.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chieftains; http://www.thechieftains.com/main/

Dancing Among the Buildings: The Chieftains and "Skyline Jig"

I (Mike) associate today's random song with the holidays, though I suppose it doesn't have to be. Skyline Jig is off The Chieftains holiday album The Bells of Dublin (1991), which Megan introduced me to way back when we were dating and which we play almost every Christmas season. The Chieftains are a legendary Irish ensemble who introduced the wider world to Irish music. Formed in Dublin in 1962, The Chieftains formed their music primarily around the distinctive sound of uileann pipes. They took their name from the title of a novel by Irish author John Montague. Besides releasing several critically acclaimed albums, they are just as well known for their collaborations with such artists as Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor and Roger Daltry. They have released 44 albums.

Put that Horn in your Pipe: The Chieftains and "Brafferton Village: Walsh's Hornpipe"

Today's song, randomly chosen, is from a holiday CD. I actually had second thoughts when it popped up as the random pick, but a couple of things swayed me to keep it as today's song and not randomly pick another. First, it doesn't sound like a holiday song. It's short, only 1 minute and 24 or so seconds, and it's a fast hornpipe, so fast that it almost sounds like a reel. Second, well, since Halloween is over I am just betting, though I haven't been to a store, that all of the shops and stores have taken down their Halloween stuff and have already put up Christmas decorations, put out Christmas goods, and are starting to play Christmas music. I find it difficult to stomach that crass commercialism means that we will be hearing Christmas carols in US stores and seeing holiday commercials on television for the next 2 months, but that's the way it is.

In the meantime, enjoy this song, from a holiday CD, that can really be played at any time of the year. The Chieftains are an Irish ensemble who introduced the wider world to Irish music. The Chieftains were formed in Dublin in 1962 and played their music primarily around the distinctive sound of uileann pipes. They took their name from the title of a novel by Irish author John Montague. Besides releasing several critically acclaimed albums, they are just as well known for their collaborations with such artists as Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor and Roger Daltry. They have released 44 albums. Brafferton Village: Walsh's Hornpipe is from their holiday themed album The Bells of Dublin (1991), on which also appeared Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, the McGarrigle sisters, Marianne Faithfull, Rickie Lee Jones, Nanci Griffith and Burgess Meredith.

A little PS: Megan got this CD a long time ago. I had never heard Irish Christmas music before she introduced me to this album. The Christmas music I grew up with was the schmaltzy Christmas music of Bing Crosby and Andy Williams and Nat King Cole. This album opened me to different types of holiday music, and as a result we have a nice little collection of non-traditional holiday music, including some really interesting ones from all different genres. Thanks, Megan, for enlarging my world so long ago.