Julian Koster and his singing saw play the Paste studio

It was as still as a "Silent Night" while we waited for Julian Koster of The Music Tapes (ex-Neutral Milk Hotel)—stopping at the Paste studio during his month-long caroling tour—to play his first note on Badger, his nine-year-old singing saw. Nobody breathed. Then Koster put his bow to the bent metal and a tone as pure as snow on a Christmas morning issued from it. He leapt adeptly from pitch to pitch, performing with quiet grace and an endearing sense of humor, several classic holiday tunes from his October release, The Singing Saw at Christmastime.

Then he informed us he would "sing a song with [his] throat now," at which point he picked up the abused-looking banjo (on which there was a painted elephant) that waited on the stand at his foot next to a small, silver Christmas tree. First he sang a song to a reindeer, accompanied by a story about a tour stop where he saw a buck in someone's yard (he dedicated the song to said buck). Then he sang a song with his toy piano, this time not to a reindeer but for a reindeer, making sure, with his dry humor and winning smile, that we understood the distinction.

His red sweater, adorned with white snowflakes, matched the red Chuck Taylors (his silent companion wore green Chucks) he pointed inward as he produced vocals tones and saw notes, both of which issued forth with great intensity. Following another saw song, he grinned and told us a story about a man who said his hat was a cow, and we clapped, and Koster, like other red-sweatered figures in our holiday mythology, moved on to spread joy to the next house.

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Be sure to check back soon for video of Julian Koster and Badger's Paste performance!