Bob Boilen writes:
Somewhere inside the body of Julian Koster — the Elephant 6 and Neutral Milk Hotel alumnus who once released an entire album of Christmas songs performed on a singing saw — lives a 13-year-old boy filled with wonder, imagination and a talent for spinning a good, quirky tale. Just in time for the holidays, and with the season in mind, Koster and his friends brought those wide-eyed songs and earnest spirit to the NPR Music offices for a joyful and strange Tiny Desk Concert performance.

Collectively known as The Music Tapes, they mixed bowed banjos and singing saws with tape machines, a chord organ and a crooning snowman to create a psychedelic holiday music pageant. Whether it’s the traditional “The First Noel” (scored here for two musical saws) or a reworking of Gavin Bryars’ avant garde piece “Jesus Blood,” or even their venture into Santa songs, there’s no one else playing holiday music quite like this. That is, unless you’re a band of 13-year-olds with very vivid imaginations.

Order The Singing Saw at Christmastime on CD, LP or digital download in the Merge Holiday store now. Orders over $50 save 10% through the end of December.

Several houses a night will be visited in each city. Houses welcoming outside guests in each area will be listed via email auto-reply two nights prior to the Music Tapes arrival. Write musictapescaroling2011@gmail.com to receive open house list or to make a last minute caroling invitation. Routes are only projected and may change so check often!

The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available now on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge Holiday store.

2011 Holiday Caroling tour:
NOV 30   Virginia
DEC 1     Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC area
DEC 2     Charlotte, NC area
DEC 3     Athens, GA
DEC 4    Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC area
DEC 5    NE Virginia/Washington DC area
DEC 6    Washington, DC
DEC 7    Eastern PA/Philadelphia, PA
Dec 8     Philadelphia/NYC
Dec 9     NYC
Dec 10   Upstate NY/Massachusetts
Dec 11   Rhode Island/Massachusetts/New England
Dec 12  Upstate NY/New England

We have put together a collection of songs from late 2011 and a few glimpses of what is to come in 2012. Available as a stream and a download, our winter sampler will help you catch up on releases you might have missed, and alert you to what you should be pre-ordering now. Our 2011 holiday store will launch tomorrow, so listen now and prepare to take advantage of all of the great deals we have designed for you this year!

Merge 2011-2012 Winter Sampler
Hospitality – “Betty Wang”
Richard Buckner – “Traitor”
Lambchop – “If Not I’ll Just Die”
Crooked Fingers – “Bad Blood”
Superchunk – “Driveway to Driveway”
The Mountain Goats – “Estate Sale Sign”
Eleanor Friedberger – “My Mistakes”
Imperial Teen – “Runaway”
Archers of Loaf  – “Harnessed In Slums”
Wild Flag – “Romance”
Stephin Merritt – “Rot in the Sun”
The Rosebuds – “Go Ahead”

We have also included streams of songs from our two holiday albums: Julian Koster‘s The Singing Saw at Christmastime and She & Him‘s A Very She & Him Christmas.

Enjoy our new sampler and visit the Merge store for more from all of these artists!

Sharing his excitement that his caroling trips have now become a grand tradition, Julian said, “We’d surely like to thank everybody for the extraordinarily magical times and adventures, and wonderful welcomes, and to thank you all for making them happen! As well as our selfless volunteer Caroling Ambassadors!”

They will choose a path visiting as many of the places possible along the east coast of the US and Canada between November 28 and December 12 from which come the warmest invitations. The final list of dates and path of the Caroling will be announced just prior to the commencement of the tour.

For more information about sending an invitation to host an evening of carols, games, stories and other holiday magic, email musictapescaroling2011@gmail.com.

Along with this announcement of a new caroling tour, we also have a new video from the Music Tapes to share! Set to the song “Nantasket” from the recently released digital EP “Purim’s Shadows (The Dark Tours the World),” the video showcases the Paragon Carousel as well as Julian’s whimsical drawings and footage of people having fun which is what the Music Tapes is all about!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store as well as the Music Tapes’ “Purim’s Shadows (The Dark Tours the World)” and the rest of the Music Tapes’ catalog.

Purim’s Shadows, the new digital EP from The Music Tapes, is available now in the Merge store and from all your favorite digital outlets. The kazoos have sold out in our store, but Julian will have some on tour with him. Stop by the merch table to pick one up!

The Music Tapes on tour:
All dates with The Olivia Tremor Control
Sep 14 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts
Sep 15 Pittsburgh, PA – The Warhol at New Hazlett Theater
Sep 16 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Sep 17 Montréal, QC – Il Motore
Sep 19 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Sep 21 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
Sep 23 Philadelphia, PA – UPenn Rotunda (SPEC Jazz & Grooves’ Fall Concert)

Purim’s Shadows, the new digital EP from The Music Tapes, is available now in the Merge store and from all your favorite digital outlets. The kazoos have sold out in our store, but Julian will have some on tour with him. Stop by the merch table to pick one up!

The Music Tapes on tour:
All dates with The Olivia Tremor Control
Aug 31 Austin, TX – Mohawk
Sep 05 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 08 Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
Sep 09 Portland, OR – MFNW – Someday Lounge
Sep 12 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
Sep 13 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
Sep 14 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts
Sep 15 Pittsburgh, PA – The Warhol at New Hazlett Theater
Sep 16 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Sep 17 Montréal, QC – Il Motore
Sep 19 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Sep 21 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
Sep 23 Philadelphia, PA – UPenn Rotunda (SPEC Jazz & Grooves’ Fall Concert)

Julian shared some thoughts about Purim’s Shadows and The Music Tapes with us:

Purim’s Shadows is a very small entrance into a vast landscape that is both auditory and imaginary and from which will come two full-length albums that I’m very excited about. The first will be Mary’s Voice, which we are finishing up now and will comprise the first half of Imaginary Symphony No. 3.

The Music Tapes, to me, is a sort of living dream that illustrates the continual process of how dreams become real. For example, when the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome sprang from my imagination, it was to be The Music Tapes’ primary rhythm instrument, and although it existed only as a drawing in a notebook, imagining it delighted and inspired me. My friends (Scott Spillane, Terry Rowlette, Robbie Cucchiaro, Laura Carter, Eric Harris, and others) saw the drawing and, in a flurry of excited activity, made it real. And thus the real world became different: it had a 7-foot-tall metronome in it.

Many of the basic tenants of The Music Tapes’ world are found on Purim’s Shadows, including the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome which provides the primary rhythm for “A Lightning’s Cheeks.” Also featured are the Orchestral Banjo and the Singing Saws. The Orchestral Banjo is played with a violin bow, producing a sound that I love very much; it’s like having at your command ghostly orchestras from crackly old records. And Saws, of course, sound to me like angels. This recording marks the first time a Singing Saw solo was encouraged (played) by someone other than me on a Music Tapes record: the solo at the end of “Night and Day” is the work of Ian Ludders, a great encourager of Saws, and I am honored to have had him play with us. Robbie Cucchiaro, The Music Tapes’ co-founding member, supplied horns and his signature euphonium. And finally, the most important contributors to this recording, and central to The Music Tapes’ sound, are the Webster Chicago wire recorder, RCA DX44 ribbon mic, and The Music Tapes’ array of antique and modern recording machinery and field recorders.

Without state-of-the-art machinery, The Music Tapes’ recordings would be next to impossible. But, of course, the past is where the future comes from. What often makes something new is not a loyal adherence to the trends and technologies of the moment but rather a loving interaction with the rich inheritance that makes our moment in time the most unique of all. All that has come before us has been left for us to find, dusty and often without any context to distract from its pure magic. It is my happiness to endeavor to make brand-new sorts of things in which all that I love most about the world will have a home, just as my friends meaningfully and lovingly set out to make a 7-foot-tall metronome exist, giving their love and friendship a large, loud wooden form that can march forward in time.

The Lullaby evenings with include songs from the Music Tapes forthcoming 2011 record, as well as from Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, The 1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad, and The Singing Saw at Christmastime, along with new Music Tapes games and stories. The entertainment, though sometimes more exciting than lulling, are all in honor of the comforting moments directly preceding and following sleep when we find ourselves happily unsure of whether we are awake or are dreaming.

For more information and to find out where the tour is stopping in your town, write lullabyedeliveries@gmail.com to receive an automatic reply and as always visit The Music Tapes’ online home at orbitinghumancircus.com. Dates may shift around a little bit, so be sure to check the website and email often.

Also, the St.Nikolai Game will be played in select cities at a location to be revealed via the email autoreply. All who wish to play must bring a candle 10 or 12 inches tall!

Lullabye tour path:

November 4th: Nashville, TN
November 5th: Mountain Home, AR
November 6th: Memphis, TN
November 7th: Baton Rouge, LA
November 8th: Houston, TX
November 10th: Austin, TX
November 11th: Austin, TX (St. Nikolai Game)
November 12th: Dallas & Denton, TX
November 13th: West Texas
November 14th: Albuquerque & Santa Fe, NM
November 15th: Flagstaff, AZ
November 16th: Phoenix, AZ
November 18th: Los Angeles, CA
November 19th: Los Angeles, CA (St. Nikolai Game)
November 20th: Wrightwood, CA (and area)
November 21st: San Francisco, CA
November 22nd: San Francisco, CA
November 23rd: Davis, CA
November 24th: Chico, CA and Eugene, OR
November 25th: Portland, OR
November 26th: Portland, OR (St. Nikolai Game)
November 27th: Olympia, WA
November 28th: Seattle, WA
November 29th: Idaho / Montana
November 30th: Utah / Wyoming
December 1st: Denver, CO
December 2nd: Columbus, NB
December 3rd: Omaha, NB
December 4th: Minneapolis, MN
December 5th: Maquoketa, IA
December 6th: Chicago, IL
December 7th: Chicago, IL (St. Nikolai Game)
December 8th: Cleveland, OH
December 9th: Buffalo, NY (area)
December 10th: Rochester, NY
December 11th: Ithaca, NY
December 12th: Syracuse, NY
December 13th: Northampton & Amherst, MA
December 14th: Williamstown, MA
December 15th: Tivoli, NY
December 16th: Poughkeepsie, NY
December 17th: Marlborough, NY
December 18th: Philadelphia, PA
December 19th: NYC
December 20th: NYC
December 21st: Worcester, MA
December 29th: Winterport, ME
December 30th: Brattleboro & Saxtons River, VT
December 31st: Henniker, NH
January 1st: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
January 2nd: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
January 3rd: Detroit, MI & environs
January 4th: Bloomington / Indianapolis, IN
January 5th: Pittsburgh, PA
January 6th: Baltimore, MD
January 7th: Washington, DC
January 8th: Richmond, VA
January 9th: Raleigh, NC
January 10th: Asheville, NC
January 11th: Atlanta, GA
January 13th: Athens, GA
January 14th: Athens, GA
January 15th: Athens, GA

To invite The Music Tapes to your house, send an invitation to:LullabyeDeliveries@gmail.com to reserve a time slot. There will be very few slots available so the first and most warm invitations will have to be chosen. Sleep over gatherings are accepted and even encouraged, although the lullabies will be absolutely delighted to regale audiences of only one. Locations of the lullaby events will be closed, and will not be announced to the general public, though you are heartily encouraged to make use of whatever means you wish to make new friends and gather.

On the night to follow, in each city, there will be played a game of “St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles” at a secret time and location to be announced by automatic reply via LullabyeDeliveries@gmail.com. “St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles” is a Music Tapes Game not unlike a form of freeze tag played with candles, which sometimes causes unexplainable things to happen. In order to play the game, you must bring a candle 10 or 12 inches tall.

Further instructions and information to be found via automatic reply from: LullabyeDeliveries@gmail.com and www.orbitinghumancircus.com!

Thank You Very Much!

Lullaby Delivery tour:
8/4 Lullabies in Boston and Cambridge, MA (and area)
8/5 St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles in Cambridge, MA
8/7 Lullabies in New York City, NY (and area)
8/8 St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles in New York City
8/9 Lullabies in Philadelphia, PA (and area)
8/10 St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles in the Philadelphia area

To promote the spirit of the holidays and The Singing Saw at Christmastime, Julian, his dog Rudolph and his Singing Saw friend Badger set out on a caroling tour last fall. Julian says, “Caroling last year was one of the most special experiences I’ve ever known…following a path that wound through so many houses (over 100!), in so many neighborhoods in each town (and so many towns!), and being welcomed so kindly and so warmly into all of those homes. I’m so glad that we’re all still here, and that the Universe has arranged for this all to happen again. I can hardly wait.”

The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available on CD, LP, and digital download. Stream the whole album in the Merge store, visit the Merge blog to watch a video of Julian and the Singing Saw performing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” and click to download a brand-new Singing Saw holiday classic rendition of “White Christmas.”

To find out the address of one of the homes in your area who will be hosting the carolers, please email musictapescaroling@gmail.com for the address and general time of the performance. Invitations are still being accepted at musictapescaroling@gmail.com for Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, Champaign, Cleveland, Providence, Baltimore, D.C., and Chapel Hill/Durham.

Julian and his merry carolers will accept no money at their caroling visits, but if you would like to contribute a little to help with their expenses, visit orbitinghumancircus.com.

Confirmed Caroling Path:
12/5 – Atlanta / Rome, GA
12/6 – Nashville, TN (early) / Louisville, KY
12/7 – Indianapolis, IN (early) / Champaign, IL
12/8 – Chicago, IL
12/9 – Kalamazoo, MI (early) / Detroit, MI (and area)
12/10 – Toledo, OH (early) / Cleveland, OH
12/11 – Buffalo, NY (early) / Geneseo, NY
12/12 – Ithaca, NY (early) / Monterrey, MA / Easthampton & Northampton, MA (late-night)
12/13 – Boston, MA (and area)
12/14 – Providence, RI (and area)
12/15 – Riverside, CT / Purchase, NY / Marlboro, NY
12/16 – New York City, NY
12/17 – New York City, NY (and area)
12/18 – Manalapan, NJ (early) / Philadelphia, PA
12/19 – Baltimore, MD (early) / Washington, DC
12/20 – Eagle Rock, VA (early) / Lynchburg, VA
12/21 – Chapel Hill, NC / Raleigh, NC
12/22 – Athens, GA

Get your invitation in now to have Julian & The Singing Saw come bring caroling, stories and holiday cheer to your house next month! More information can be found at orbitinghumancircus.com.

Order The Singing Saw at Christmastime on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store. A great gift for everyone on your list!

photo by Adam R.

photos by Bradley Searles unless otherwise noted

Pitchfork is reporting that Orange Twin Records will release the infamous Elephant 6 movie, Major Organ and the Adding Machine on DVD this fall. If you were smart enough to attend the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour,  you already know that this movie is funny, strange and a must-see for any fan of children, pastry, and, of course, bands from the Elephant 6 collective!

From Music Tapes mastermind, encourager of saws, and Neutral Milk Hotel member Julian Koster:

“It’s a recording of an old Yiddish/Gypsie song I made with my Uncle Harlan, as interpreted by the circuits and tubing of my Wire Recorder. It was really fun for us to do, and I am hoping it will be fun also for friends to listen to. For the curious, you are hearing both the signal coming off the wire and the signal being mic’ed coming from the Wire recorder’s speaker as it originally passed through.”

Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes is available in the Merge Store now!

Superchunk‘s Laura Ballance, Wye Oak‘s Andy Stack, and The Music Tapes‘ Julian Koster all shared stories of past love.

Read these and do Valentine’s Day mixtape shopping for your own crushes at eMusic.com.