Camera Crowd Holiday Buzzz

The big day is only four days away, I'm done with my shopping and you are too right? You know how we seriously love playlists here at the Camera Crowd, so we've come up with several Christmas songs to get you through the hordes of last minute shoppers and the number of unexpected paper cuts while wrapping those presents. With hundreds of shoppers buzzing around for last minute bargains, you're going to need something pleasant playing in your ears to avoid that holiday "buzz".

(If you already bought the Sufjan Stevens : Songs for Christmas box set, or you took time and entered our contest to win one like our reader Susan, then you are all set and ready!)

If you're low on cash and don't wanna resort to the all popular gift card, then check out the affordable gift ideas on our holiday gift guide below.

P.S: I included a song from a duo I discovered lately and they're really good, It's Snow Song from Habitat, expect more from them after the New Year.

1. Christmas is Coming - Vince Guaraldi Trio (Peanuts)
2. Sister Winter - Sufjan Stevens
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Coldplay
4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab for Cutie
5. Jinglebell Rock - The Arcade Fire
6. Handjobs for the Holidays - Broken Social Scene
7. Christmas Cake - Rilo Kiley
8. Snow Song - Habitat
9. Warmest Part of The Winter - Voxtrot


~ Love, team Camera Crowd
(Anne and Charlie)

Win a Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas box set!

Seems like no one is interested in wanting this box set, oh well. I guess we'll stray away from contests for awhile, thank you for reading and such.

Okay so we have a winner! Hooray Susan! That's the Christmas spirit!

Funny how Barnes & Nobles accidentally shipped us one extra box set! So we thought one of you readers may want it. So in the spirit of giving, all you have to do to win this unexpected contest is to print out the provided Sufjan Stevens cutout and take a photo of Mr. paper-doll-Sufjan anywhere you'd like. Take him out to the park or have him stand on the dashboard of your car. We'll pick winners based on humor and creativity, you may even add speech bubbles if you'd like.

Just give us the link to your photo as a comment and we will announce the winner this Monday...good luck!

Download this cutout and take a pair of scissors and cut along the dashed lines. To make Sufjan stand up on his own, try folding the bottom flap. If you're taking Sufjan outside and it's windy outside, be sure to bring some tape so Sufjan doesn't blow away!

>>> Download Sufjan!

What's in it...?
This festive box set is filled to the brim with five EPs, some stickers, a Sufjan Stevens' family portrait with a comic strip on the back and the extensive liner notes include short stories from Sufjan and his friend Rick Moody, the cute animated music video of "Put The Lights On The Tree" and has chords and lyrics to every song! Here is a visual guide of the contents in the box set and it will surely get you in the Christmas spirit.

How this came into existence...
In the liner notes is the story of how Sufjan came to hate Christmas and then reconciled with the holiday by covering classic Christmas songs and also creating his own starting in 2001. I'll include two short excerpts, I tried to capture the gist and not reveal too many details, but reading the whole thing in its entirety is of course what will give you the feeling of satisfaction and understanding. Sorry for such the choppy transition, but I didn't think many were up to the challenge of reading 100% of this type-heavy post. So here are two short excerpts:

(...A bad experience with Christmas had ruined the holiday when he was still young...)

Even today, whether I'm at home in Brooklyn or in some distant East Asian country, Christmas still leaves a plastic taste in my mouth, a toxic residue that reminds me of tube socks. Is it any wonder then, that after years of enduring the Stevens Family Christmas Crisis, I grew to despise the Holidays with the kind of deep antipathy one usually reserves for things like racism and terrorism and corporate fraud?

(...grown up Sufjan burns a plastic spatula in his apartment reminding him of the tube sock smell...)

I turned to the one thing I knew well: music---the singular kind of language I could use to communicate the things that mattered most. And by music, I mean Christmas music. "Angels We Have Heard On High." "It Came Upon A Christmas Clear." "Take Me Back to Toyland." And so, that very same day---in the Year of Epiphanies---I decided to to make a Christmas album, spending the next week or so fastidiously singing, vigorously strumming, mindlessly humming, and joyfully jingle-jangling a collection of Yuletide carols, which I would record and mix and burn to disk and wrap in newspaper and send to my family back home, as an offering of peace.

Preview & purchase...
If that made you curious, go on and enter the contest or give it to a friend who could use a little Christmas spirit! We featured this as a gift idea along with others in the post below. Asthmatic Kitty has re-stocked the box sets and have already started shipping the back orders. You can also stream the whole box set right here on Asthmatic Kitty. Here's a preview of the box set with one song you can download from each of the five volumes:

Tracklisting:

Songs For Christmas Vol. I: Noel

1. Silent Night
2. O Come O Come Emmanuel
3. We’re Goin’ To the Country!
4. Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming
5. It’s Christmas! Let’s Be Glad!
6. Holy Holy, etc.
7. Amazing Grace

Songs For Christmas Vol. II: Hark!

1. Angels We Have Heard on High
2. Put the Lights on the Tree
3. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
4. I Saw Three Ships
5. Only at Christmas Time
6. Once in Royal David’s City
7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!
8. What Child Is This Anyway?
9. Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

Songs For Christmas Vol. III: Ding! Dong!

1. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
2. Come on! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!
3. We Three Kings
4. O Holy Night
5. That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!
6. Ding! Dong!
7. All the King’s Horns
8. The Friendly Beasts

Songs For Christmas Vol. IV: Joy

1. The Little Drummer Boy
2. Away In A Manger
3. Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time!
4. The First Noel
5. Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!)
6. The Incarnation
7. Joy To The World

Songs For Christmas Vol. V: Peace

1. Once in Royal David’s City
2. Get Behind Me, Santa!
3. Jingle Bells
4. Christmas in July
5. Lo! How A Rose E’er Blooming
6. Jupiter Winter
7. Sister Winter
8. O Come O Come Emmanuel
9. Star of Wonder
10. Holy, Holy, Holy
11. The Winter Solstice

~ Charlie and Anne (team cameracrowd)

Camera Crowd Holiday Gift Guide

Christmas is only two weeks away and if you still don't know what to get your friends or what to do with that $10 bucks you have left, don't panic. Here at the Camera Crowd, we've come up with some neat gift ideas, ones that won't burn your wallet, a couple that will, and several that will go towards a good cause. Also just because we link to one store, does not mean you can't shop around. So if you let out a humbug at the price, shop around before that perfect gift is officially off your list.

Finally, sometimes the best gift you can give to someone isn't something tangible that you can get with a swipe of a credit card. Spend some money here and there, but most importantly spend time with the people you love. Cheesy yes, but this part is easily forgotten when people are agonizing over finding that "perfect gift".

Let's start off with some picks and a few random things we thought were cool.

Charlie's Picks:

CD's:

Voxtrot : Raised By Wolves
Your Biggest Fan just came out but Voxtrot's first EP, Raised By Wolves is by far my favourite out of all them. All five tracks are just loveable. If you're planning a 25 minute party for yourself anytime in the future, then this CD that started it all is a must.

Raised By Wolves - Voxtrot

Buy Me

Phoenix : It's Never Been Like That
This Parisian quartet can easily explode and be the next "it" band. I got a first taste of Phoenix two years ago after seeing Lost in Translation. They have a "perfect for radio" sound, so get to know Phoenix before the teeny boppers take over.

Long Distance Call - Phoenix

Buy Me


Oh No! Oh My! : Oh No! Oh My!
Another band from good ol' Austin. Oh No! Oh My! will have you singing, whistling, and head bobbing. Seriously! A bird outside my room tweeted along with the the tunes of "Walk In The Park." I had to stop the song cause it was just getting creepy.

I Have No Sister - Oh No! Oh My!

Buy Me



Dvd:

Amelie
You know I love my French flicks, and this is just one of them. Played by my favourite actress, Audrey Tautou, Amelie goes on a quirky mission to make everyone happy and at the same time chasing true love.
Buy Me



Jeux d'enfants ( Love me if you dare) English Title
It's another French movie, starring the beautiful Marion Cotillard. It started out as a harmless game between a boy and a girl, as time passed by, the dares get tougher and began torturing their lives. It's a crazy adventure from beginning to the twisty end.
Buy Me


The Simpsons on DVD (any season available right now; 1-9)
The Simpsons is by far my favourite sitcom out there. It's one of the longest sitcom still running up to this day, I remember seeing the first episodes of The Simpsons when I was around 8. Classic man, classic.
Buy Me



Anne's Picks

CD's:

Beirut: Gulag Orkestra
Hearing this, makes me feel like I'm walking down the cobblestone paths of Europe and a group of troubadours are playing on the sidewalk with every possible instrument you could imagine. You can't help but to have fun to sing, dance and clap along to.

Postcards From Italy | Beirut

Buy Me

Sparrow House: Falls [EP]
Sit back and take a breather this holiday to Sparrow House's soothing debut EP, you deserve it. To the lone guitar on "When I am Gone" and "Last Fall" to the a fuller lush sound of "You Sang Along" and "Blindfold Waltz", this is the cure to those bad days. Curious? Read our lengthier post on Sparrow House and Falls.

Foxes (sighing like a Furnace) | Sparrow House

Buy Me

Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas [box set]

I hope you've heard about Sufjan's box set by now, if not you probably either live under a rock or just woke up from a coma. Aside from all of that, don't feel embarassed, but do treat yourself to the Christmas covers and new Christmas favorites that Sufjan Stevens presents in five volumes. Stream the whole thing here!

{We will have a post soon with more downloads and information on to learn how to win one!}

Put The Lights On The Tree | Sufjan Stevens

Buy Me

DVD's:

The Office: Season Two
Michael Scott, the "best boss in the world", is in charge of Dunder Mifflin, a paper company based in Scranton, PA. Although, this already sounds too dull to be a TV show, it really isn't, thanks to the power-hungry, though harmless Dwight and down-to-earth Jim who pulls pranks on him. Pam is the receptionist who assists Jim in the mischief of annoying Dwight to his wits. Through all that we have Michael Scott and his antics trying to make his employees think he is funny and a good boss. This is shot documentary style or some call it mockumentary and there are parts where you have a character who just talks to the camera. This is not slapstick humor, where someone gets hit with a wrench, this is subtle humor that lasts in the long run.

Buy Me


A Charlie Brown Christmas
There is nothing that beats this Christmas classic. It offers something to all ages. When I was younger I'd enjoy it for the animated characters and songs and now I also discover the subjects they touch on too: the question of whether consumerism has "consumed" us with the tin-colored Christmas trees. The lonely neglected tree that Charlie Brown brought to his friends. Make some hot chocolate and feel like a kid again.




Buy Me


Almost Famous
Possibly my favorite movie of all time. William Miller is a 15 year old outcast growing up under the wings of a protective mother gets thrust into the world of rock 'n' roll writing for Creem magazine and soon Rolling Stone magazine. The movie was based on the director, Cameron Crowe's own life as a teenager writing for Rolling Stone. This coming of age story will make you feel every emotion possible and will shuttle William and the viewer through the '70s when rock 'n' roll was on the edge of falling into the jaws of money machines.


Buy Me

Camera Crowd's Picks:



Holga
The cool thing about the Holga is that you don't have to be a great photographer and the pictures that will come out will look pretty amazing. This is for casual photographers and also a lot of seasoned photographers love it too. It's plastic and is easy to carry around, each with a neat color wheel to tint the photo if you'd like! Every Holga is different; light leaks and scratches enhance the individuality of every Holga. Learn more about Holga and just look at some of these!



Buy Me


Yellow Bird Project Tee Shirt
Get a name crossed off your list and help out, cool huh? Not only that but these tee shirts are designed by some of our favorite bands: Rilo Kiley, Stars, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Devendra Banhart and more! It's called the Yellow Bird Project and it's a nonprofit organization working to raise awareness of the charities and the bands that design the tees. The bands themselves choose which charity the money goes towards and all the shirts are printed on American Apparel.

Buy Me



Filter Magazine Subscription
The gift that keeps on giving, well at least for one year. Give a magazine gift subscription, they may not be "wowed" on Christmas Day, but they will thank you for the rest of the 364 days when they don't have to go out and buy it themselves. Instead, it will just arrive in their mailbox all ready to read with the morning cereal. Also the Filter magazines that are bought in Barnes & Nobles and any other bookstores don't have the sampler that is included every issue for the subscribers and who does not want a nice mix CD once in awhile? For the people who like to keep up with music, movies and all good stuff like that.

Buy Me



Poketo Wallet
Durable vinyl wallets that has unique designs on them that can fit in your pocket! They hold coins, bills and credit cards, the usual stuff is now organized in a neat two-fold wallet that the owner just can't stop showing it off.


Buy Me/more designs

Flickr Pro account
For the avid photographers and also to the ones who don't want to resize every single photo they take to fit the 100mb limit. Unlike the limit of having only 200 photos uploaded onto a free Flickr account, people with pro-account has unlimited storage and no monthly limit. Also unlimited photosets, ad-free browsing, permanent archiving of all the photos you upload and the ability to replace a photo. Convinced yet?

Buy Me

~Charlie and Anne (team cameracrowd)

The undead roams A Camera in the Crowd

It's that time of the year again, when scary midterm election ads are everywhere, horror movies are on every night, and that certain winter smell in the air.

It's halloween!!!

To me, It marks the end of nasty summer weather and welcome in winter with open arms. Here at A Camera in the Crowd, you know we're all about treats and not tricks. So I came up with a playlist that you can play while you're trick or treating and satisfying that sweeth tooth or while applying make up to go along with your devilish hooker costume.

This year, I don't think Anne and I are dressing up, it's the lack of costume ideas and money. I don't even have enough for a d.i.y costume. So I thought to myself, how can i gratify both audiences who wanna enjoy halloween? To those of you who are just staying home and handing out candies to little trick or treaters, you can keep yourself busy by renting a horror film.

I don't know much about good horror flicks, so i've consulted my good friend/horror film fanatic Emily, to give us input on her most favorite horror flicks of all time. So hit up your local video store or netflix and rent these movies.

*wicker man (1973 version)
[i haven't seen the remake with nicholas cage, but i definitely think the '73 version is superior. i've sen trailers for the remake, and it looks like several details were changed.]
the story is set on a remote island in scotland. the followers of a pagan religion scarifice an innocent man in order to produce successful crops. the wicker man shows the powerful and, in this case, frightening control religion has on people.

*se7en
se7en is definitely a thriller that keeps you guessing. the killer uses his "work" to teach the world about the seven deadly sins. the mystery definitely sucks you in. it might also make you appreciate life a little more.

*the mothman prophecies
mothman is based on true events (look it up, it's very interesting!). a strange being makes itself known in a small town. it's a puzzling, surreal movie about the unknown. it sure kept me from looking out the window at night...

*the hills have eyes (i'm a fan of both the original and remake)
anything could go wrong at any time! it shows what people are capable of doing to each other, and what people would to to survive. there's great action and exciting attacks and killings.

*silent hill
many people who are fans of the game find problems with the movie version of silent hill. i haven't played the game much, so i wasn't too familiar with characters or scenes. with that said, i thought the movie was exciting. the graphics were great and the characters were horrifying.

*cannibal holocaust
this is the most disgusting movie i've ever seen. i don't recommend this to anyone, really. it's one of the most controversial and famous italian cannibal movies. it's about a group filmmakers who travel to the amazon and encounter deadly native tribes. the gore in the movie is so real and so horrible that I almost threw up. Don't watch this unless you really know what you're getting yourself into...

*night of the living dead
the movie that sparked my passion for zombies! the first in the "...of the dead" movies. it's filmed in black and white and it's beautiful. unlike the newer movies, Night moves slowly before any awesome zombie attacks. this may bore some people, but the second half of the movie is well worth the wait. it's a classic and must see for any horror fan.




Date With The Night-playlist

1. Date with the Night - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2. The Genocide Ball - The Robot Ate Me
3. Haunted Castle - Belaire
4. Werewolf (live version) - Cat Power
5. Monster Hospital - Metric
6. Strange Machines - Peter and the Wolf
7. They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh! - Sufjan Stevens


Links:

Last minute Halloween "costumes" - Printable masks from the S.F Chronicle
Upcoming.org - Search Halloween related events in your area.
Netflix - Rent those horror movies


p.s: Don't forget to share some of your halloween fotos if you plan on shooting tomorrow night.
And special thanks to Emily for providing us the horror flick recommendation.

-Charlie