LISTEN: M Iafrate - Happy Xmas, X Is Here

Happy Holidays. Enjoy this seasonally appropriate record from M Iafrate. See you in 2012.

WATCH: Dallas Campbell and Geoff Hoskinson - McDonald's Holy Arches

Dallas Campbell (Drown Culture mastermind and former singer of The Minus Tide) and Geoff Hoskinson have been busy lately with Geoff Hoskinson & Dallas Campbell Make Videos. The project consists of the two Wheeling-ites writing, producing and performing in bizzarre, surrealistic and satirical music comedy sketches - think Tim and Eric but more hip and handsome. This recent video was featured on iheartchaos.com, but be sure to check out more of their videos on their Tumblr blog. The one below is my personal favorite.

DOWNLOAD: American Minor - Demo

Happy Birthday Robert McCutcheon, formerly of American Minor. I've been listening to the alt-country/southern rock band's 2002 demo a lot recently. If you don't have it already and you're a fan of Uncle Tupelo or Ryan Adams, be sure to download one of my favorite demos from a West Virginia band.

READ: Breece D'J Pancake - Trilobites

The second post I made on this blog was about author Breece D'J Pancake, a South Charleston native and Marshall grad who committed suicide at the age of 26. His talents have been celebrated over the years by the likes of Kurt Vonnegut, Chuck Palahniuk and Andre Dubus III.

If you've never read Pancake's work before, I suggest starting with Trilobites, which you can read in full online thanks to The Atlantic, where it was originally published in 1977. "Trilobites" is the first story in Pancake's only printed collection, The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Click here to read Trilobites.

WATCH: Alex's Birthday, Family Ties

Check out this gem. When Michael J. Fox's character on Family Ties turned 18, there was only one way for him to celebrate - head to West Virginia to drink. And yes, that is Crispin Glover (aka George McFly). Brilliant.

DOWNLOAD: Shindig - Hell, She Looked 18

Here is Shindig's follow-up to their debut Trendy Music For Trendy Kids. On the unfortunately but humorously titled Hell, She Looked 18, the songwriting is a bit more aggressive at times, but picks up where Trendy left off. There are a couple great songs on here including "Better Off," "I Wanna Go Home" and the homages to The Andy Griffith Show "I Don't Wanna Fall In Love With Ellie Walker" and "It Wasn't Helen Crump." But at 17-tracks of Blink 182 or Fat Wreck-esque pop punk, there is some room for editing, especially toward the end of the album. With that said, the experienced Charleston four-piece wrote hook-filled songs with cleverly memorable lyrics, and they always put on a fun show. The band's appeal was not limited to teenage girls, but anyone within earshot who couldn't resist wo-oh-oh-ing along.

Artist: Shindig
Album: Hell, She Looked 18
Year: 1997
For fans of: Blink 182, Green Day, NOFX

DOWNLOAD: Shindig - Hell, She Looked 18

WATCH: The Demon Beat love at Trackside, 2011

Here is a video of a recent performance by The Demon Beat, a garage-blues-rock trio from Shepherdstown. I've been hearing a lot about this band over the past couple years. I posted about them back in September after posting the drummer's fantastic solo effort The Rozwell Kid. I have not listened to The Demon Beat much, though, because, to be honest, they just didn't appeal to me. I'm not a fan of The Black Keys and prefer My Morning Jacket's early, more mellow material, and those are two bands to which I would compared The Demon Beat. Then I saw this video, and I'm sold. It's a great song by talented musicians playing with tons of energy. David Klug, music engineer and former drummer from The Minus Tide, said The Demon Beat put on a great show. I hope they make it to Austin again soon, as I'd love to see them. For now I will watch this video for the sixth time.

DOWNLOAD: U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd - Mountain Fiddler

This album needs no explanation. The late U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd playing bluegrass. This album, recorded in 1978, was re-released after Byrd's death at the age of 92 in June 2010. Fantastic stuff from one of the greatest ever West Virginians.

Artist: U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd
Album: Mountain Fiddler
Year: 1978
For fans of: Robert C. Byrd

DOWNLOAD: U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd - Mountain Fiddler