We’ve posted clips of forró — a style of dance music from Brazil — before, but never quite like this. Our pal Squeezyboy turned us on to an entire cottage industry of mashups that combine forró with modern pop songs. While you think everything might sound better with some accordion, they aren’t all winners; but we definitely share his love for this forró remix of the Gnarls Barkley hit “Crazy.” I’m not sure who’s behind this accordion mashup madness, but I dig it.

No unifying theme for today’s Quick Links, except that they’ve all been kicking around my inbox since the holidays…

• Player/Repairman Tom Bruno Passes Away
  Sad news about the sudden death of Tom Bruno, owner of Bruno Accordions in New Kensington, PA. Not only was Bruno an expert craftsman and one of the nation’s finest accordion repairmen, but he was a fantastic player, renowned for his renditions of Charles Magnante’s works. He was just 36 years old.
• From Berlin’s Hole of Forgottenness, a Spell of Songs
  The curious story of Bruno S., who flirted with German movie stardom in the early 1970s and is now playing accordion on the streets of Berlin. (Don’t miss the video on the article’s second page.)
• Spektrum Lab: “Outside the Box”
  “Put away any pre-conceived notions of what an accordion album might sound like.” Samples and loops abound on a unique album from Spektrum Lab that could easily have been titled “MIDI Accordions Gone Wild.”

And one quick Let’s Polka note — after making some behind-the-scenes improvements to our accordion events calendar, we now have over 250 events posted nationwide and the list is growing daily. Have an accordion concert, festival, or gathering to add? Want your band’s gigs listed? Let us know!

After the success of last month’s accordion advent calendar, we’re starting a new regular feature for 2009: MP3 Monday! Every Monday, we’ll kick off the week with a downloadable track from an accordion artist we think you should hear. This week’s song comes from French accordionist/composer Jacques Pellarin. Trained as a classical accordionist, Pellarin has branched out well beyond his roots to mix French, new tango, gypsy, and even klezmer influences into his music. Like many classical accordionists, Pellarin plays the bayan, the accordion’s chromatic Russian cousin.

It’s been awhile since we’ve mentioned it, but if you’re into the history of free-reed instruments, concertina.com is a treasure trove of research, photos, sheet music, and much more. A perfect example is Stephen Chambers’ excellent “Annotated Catalogue of Historic European Free-Reed lnstruments from my Private Collection.” From Æolinas and mouth organs to the earliest accordions and concertinas, the collection includes fascinating photos and descriptions of these instruments that paved the way for the accordions we play today.

Some sad holiday news to share: Swedish accordionist and Accordion Tribe member Lars Hollmer passed away on Christmas Day. I know he had been sick for some time; earlier this year, Seattle accordionist Amy Denio took Hollmer’s place on Accordion Tribe’s European tour.

Known for his improvisational and avant-garde work on accordion and keyboards, Hollmer was part of the pioneering Swedish prog rock group Samla Mammas Manna (and its subsequent offshoots) and collaborated with numerous artists over the course of his 40 years in music. Most of his recordings were made at his unique home and studio outside Uppsala, Sweden, called “The Chickenhouse.” One of my favorite Hollmer songs is “Boeves Psalm,” written around 1977 and dedicated to an uncle of Hollmer’s who had just passed away. There’s an all-accordion version on the first Accordion Tribe album, but I just can’t resist this beautiful orchestral arrangement.

Lars Hollmer: Boeves Psalm mp3

Buy Accordion Tribe by Accordion Tribe

(Thanks to Lauralee for passing the news along.)

Ho-ho-ho! It’s the last day of our accordion advent calendar and we’ve had a blast sharing music from some of our favorite accordion-toting artists. We’ll wrap up with a tune from polka legend Lil’ Wally Jagiello — composer, arranger, drummer, singer, self-taught concertina player, relentless promoter, and the undisputed king of Chicago polka. From everyone here at Let’s Polka (myself, Anna, and Sarah), we wish you a merry and musical Christmas!

Lil’ Wally and the Harmony Boys: Polka Holiday mp3

Rising “hats and shoulders” above other C&W (“Comedy and Western”) acts, Riders in the Sky have been playing original and classic cowboy songs for more than thirty years. In the late 1980s, the group added accordionist Joey Miskulin (“The Cowpolka King”), known to many as the accordion prodigy who joined Frankie Yankovic’s band when he was only thirteen. On this track, “An Old Fashioned Christmas Polka,” Joey gets to mix the Riders’ Western style with his polka roots.

Riders in the Sky: An Old Fashioned Christmas Polka mp3

Buy Christmas the Cowboy Way by Riders in the Sky

When journalists write about indie rock’s embrace of the accordion, Portland band The Decemberists typically heads the list. With an oeuvre that ranges from sea shanties to prog rock, they’ve had ample opportunity to showcase their longtime accordionist/keyboardist Jenny Conlee. One holiday-themed example is this cover of a quirky, lesser-known John Denver tune, “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas).” The Decemberists stick closely to the original’s country style, but trade the honky-tonk piano for Conlee’s honky-tonk accordion.

The Decemberists: Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas) mp3

In honor of the start of Hanukkah, we have a lively holiday track from New York’s klezmer superstars, The Klezmatics. In 2006, the band won a Grammy for its album Wonder Wheel, which brought the lyrics of Woody Guthrie to life. Soon after, the band released another album of Guthrie lyrics — Happy Joyous Hanukkah — based on a series of his songs about Hanukkah, Jewish history and spiritual life inspired by his mother-in-law, Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt. Whether you’re lighting a menorah or a Christmas tree this holiday season, this is a great tune to get the entire family dancing.

The Klezmatics: Happy Joyous Hanuka mp3

Buy Happy Joyous Hanukkah by The Klezmatics