In this edition: Owen Pallett drops Final Fantasy moniker in advance of his first Japanese release, Sony responds to Diamond Rings in light of last week's controversy, Peter Project plans to sell new EP as a bar of soap, and forthcoming release information from the Rural Alberta Advantage, City & Colour and Junior Battles.

In keeping with the spirit of the holidays several artists have offered up holiday music for free download, including Jason Collett, Evening Hymns, Ohbijou, Oh No Forest Fires, Woodpigeon & more.

Plus videos and downloads from Everything All the Time, Hard Caliber, Woodhands, Broken Social Scene, Olenka & the Autumn Lovers and a bass lesson from the Constantines' Dallas Wehrle.

Southern Souls presents Olenka & the Autumn Lovers - 'Two Coins'

Owen Pallett drops Final Fantasy moniker
After six years under the title Final Fantasy, Owen Pallet has voluntarily elected to drop the moniker in favour of his own name. Heartland will be his first release in Japan, where Pallett feels that it's in his best interest to "definitively distinguish [his] music from Square/Enix's" Final Fantasy video game series. Owen Pallet's debut under the new title will be released on January 12 through Domino Records.

Drummer Paul Banwatt Splits His Time Between The RAA and Woodhands
The Rural Alberta Advantage will be releasing a 7" for 'Drain the Blood' on January 12 via Saddle Creek. The B-side is a cover of 'Eye of the Tiger,' which they've been playing live for quite some time now. RAA drummer Paul Banwatt managed to fit a video shoot into his hectic schedule recently, starring in a hilarious CP24 parody for his side project Woodhands. Check it out below:

Peter Project Help Fans Freshen Up With New EP
Electro hip-hop DJ Peter Project has recruited Laura Barrett, Maylee Todd and Toronto rapper More or Les to contribute to his latest release The Fresh EP. The EP features five songs, and will be sold as a digital download code embedded within a bar of homemade soap. Sample a track from the collection entitled 'Unorthodox' featuring More or Les (MP3).

- City & Colour will release a two-song single featuring a live performance of 'Forgive Me' and a solo take on Alexisonfire's 'Boiled Frogs.' Live at the Verge hits digital outlets on January 19 in Canada.

Broken Social Scene - 'Love is New' (Live at the Andy Kim Christmas Show)

- Sony finally responded to Colin Medley and Diamond Rings when a whirlwind of negative press caught up with the major label last week, shortly after they had the video for 'All Yr Songs' wrongfully removed from Youtube for copyright infringement. Turns out Sony UK were the culprits, as one of their automated scanning programs flagged O'Regan's moniker 'Diamond Rings,' which is also the title of a song by rapper Chipmunk.

- Punk rockers Junior Battles will be releasing a yet-to-be-titled 7" through Square Up Records on March 2. They'll celebrate the release with a show at Sneaky Dee's on Friday March 5th, where they'll be joined by This is a Standoff.

Q TV presents a Bass Lesson from Dallas Wehrle of the Constantines - 'Insectivora

Holiday Music
- The Line of Best Fit have released an incredible 25-song holiday mix entitled Ho! Ho! Ho! Canada. The collection features Ohbijou, Jason Collett, Evening Hymns, Years, The Wilderness of Manitoba, Woodpigeon & many more. (MP3s in ZIP)
- Oh No Forest Fires have posted holiday songs for free download via NxEW including 'Almost Silent Night Crimes,' which samples Broken Social Scene, as well as a pair of Christmas classics: 'Feliz Navidad' and 'Winter Wonderland.'

Audio/Downloads
- Last week I mentioned Hard Calibers, a side-project featuring members of Boys Night Out and Love You To Death (formerly the Pettit Project). You can download their five song EP for free via myspace or mediafire.
- Check out 'Lazy Days,' a track from the much buzzed-about indie collective Everything All the Time (MP3).

On blogTO last week
- Joe met up with Mother Mother in advance of their show at Massey Hall with Matthew Good.
- Jennifer got to know TTC busker Maria Kasstan.
- I profiled the ongoing Third Floor Sessions project at Ryerson University, which has featured live concert streams and downloads from DD/MM/YYYY, Ohbijou, The Wooden Sky and more.

News Round-up by Matthew McAndrew. Lead photo: 'Your New Friends' by Johnny Madden, member of the blogTO flickr pool.