Daniel Knox has the type of voice that makes you believe what he is saying. I truly believe he wants me to have a merry little Christmas (listen to that cover here). I am sure you will feel the same. Listen to his cover of “Last Christmas” below. The song appears on the free Holiday album from Tight Ship Records.

Daniel has two shows scheduled in January. Monday, Jan 4th, he’ll be back at the Hungry Brain for a You, Me, Them, Everybody event with special guests from the Classical Revolution Chicago outfit performing pieces for 2 flutes, bassoon and piano. Then he’ll join Can.Ky.Ree and Singing in the Abbey (album release) at the Hideout on Thursday, Jan 14th.

The tenth song on our countdown comes from Flosstradamus. "Big Bills" features Caroline Polachek and was released as a single early in 2009. 

For a special performance of "Big Bills" feature Kid Sister tune into IFC’s "Dinner With Band" tonight at 10pm. The crew and Kid Sis also help host Sam Madison make some spicy curry and play "Control" from Ultraviolet. You can find a sneak peak of tonight episode here. 

Bullets In Madison will debut some new tunes from their forthcoming album, We Became Your Family When You Died, at the Empty Bottle tonight, December 22nd. Have a listen to a brand new sampler track from the album (mp3) and come on out to the show. Camera and Milk At Midnight will also be performing. This 21+ show gets started at 9pm and tickets are $5. – Brendan Losch

Number eleven in our top 15 Chicago tracks of 2009 comes from Dave Davison and his side project Cast Spells. The song "Glamous Glow" is taken for the Cast Spells debut Bright Works And Baton which was released in July (Sargent House).

“From the dirty streets of Chicago to your bedroom”, this is what newcomers Mickey screamed over the top of their gritty guitar riffs for their recent HoZac Records radio spot. Whether or not Mickey’s view of Chicago is grounded in reality or not is not really the point, their back-alley garage punk sound is what has landed them on label that is also home to the like minded blog darlings The Smith Westerns. With scream-sing vocals from Mac Blackout, aggressive drumming from Christmas Woods, or the contribution from Mick Swagger, Dirty D, or Brent, the band is playing an angle, but has the talent to match.

HoZac announced this morning via twitter that they are releasing the bands debut 7” “She’s So Crazy”, and I would image they would have copies with them as they take the stage tonight at The Whistler for The CHIRP Radio Benefit. Modern Primitives are also performing tonight. The show starts tonight 9:30pm.

How can you possibly not attend something billed as the greatest show ever? Well, if you don’t want to take the bills word for it the bands involved have given you several incentives to dig a little deeper. The first thing you need to do is visit the show’s website (yes, it’s a website dedicated to just this show). Once you are at the site you will be able to download free albums from three of the four bands involved. Who are the bands involved you ask? Picture Books, Venna, Crayolala, and Kid, You’ll Move Mountains. You can find eps from Venna and Picture Books, and the full-length debut from KYMM all for free. Also, on the site you will find a ticket that will grant you free admission if you arrive before 9pm. If you need a little more from Picture Books, a live session from them was posted today over at Coach House Sounds. What more could you want really? 

Four great local bands, January 2nd, at The Metro for free (before 9pm). It truly is the greatest show ever.

As I begin to receive a few Christmas covers from Chicago musicians I feel as though I have missed an opportunity to do something bigger. Maybe next year there will be a Deli Christmas song project or something. Regardless, the Christmas spirit has infected Brendan Losch and I am happy to share with you his interpretation of the classic "White Christmas".

Number twelve is the wonderfully inventive song and video from Volcano! "So Many Lemons" which was released as a single back in March.

Our number thirteen selection comes from the BBU crew. "Chi Don’t Dance" no only captures a snapshot the hip hop scene in 2009, but also focuses on a style of dance that is original to the city.

2009 was a great year for Tania Bowers (a.k.a. Via Tania) and to close out the year she has sent us a beautiful Nina Simone cover. “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” is a perfect track for Tania and you can that it is meaningful to her. You can download the track here.

Via Tania already has some big plans for 2010 including a trip to SXSW. She will also be releasing a New single "Fields", as well as an exciting music video shot by none other than Aussie production team Moop Jaw (The Temper Trap, The Presets, The Golden Filter, Peaches, Miami Horror, Neon Indian) who will be taking Tania into the beautiful, rural mountain lands of Mount Buller, a spectacular locale known for its sunsets and breathtaking landscapes. Basically, we will be hearing much more from Tania Bowers next year.

Number 14 comes from Anni Rossi’s Rockwell album which was released in March of this year. The track is "The West Coast".

This brand new video from Treaty of Paris is taken from their 2007 release Sweet Dreams, Sucker. The band is releasing their much anticipated follow-up ep, Currents, on January 9th via a celebration at The Metro. Joining them will be other local bands AM Taxi (Virgin Records), The Insecurities, Last Fast Action, and The Victory Gins. Doors for the concert open at 5:00PM.