December 17, 2011 - Dead, Dead, Dead

Sometimes the holidays can be a little depressing, and if that hasn't been the case for you yet, just listen to this song and you'll get there.

From Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics, although not seen in the TV special that accompanied it, this stand-alone song takes a light Christmas melody and adds layers and layers of existentialism to it.  Download your copy of Dead, Dead, Dead here!  (If you have trouble, you can also hear it here.)

December 16, 2011 - Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas (with special BONUS TRACK!)

We've had our share of Home Alone discussions recently (as I'm sure you all have), and our family remains divided over the necessity of Home Alone 2:  Lost in New York.  On the one hand, it's a reasonably well-made, amusing holiday film, and it showcases New York City at Christmastime in a way that makes you want to be there.

On the other hand, IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME MOVIE AS HOME ALONE.

Frenetic family preparing for Christmas trip?  Check.  Oversleeping?  Yep.  Mix-up leading to Kevin's disappearance being ignored by his entire extended family while on a plane?  Mmm-hmm.  Interaction with inept burglars Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern?  Of course.  Wise elderly misunderstood friend who helps Kevin at the last second?  Got it.  John Williams in full Christmas mode?  Absolutely.

That last one is the inspiration for today's song.  The Home Alone theme has become a common Christmas soundtrack since the movie came out (in fact, you now often hear the song, "Somewhere in My Memory," on your official radio station that plays all-Christmas carols).  We're serving up the end theme from HA2LINY (that's how it's abbreviated), because while it's spirited, it's also a little shouty.  Enjoy a John Williams full orchestral barrage with Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!

And, as a BONUS TRACK, here's the classic theme from the original Home Alone!

December 15, 2011 - The Twelve Days of Christmas

Norm MacDonald might be our favorite comedian ever, and we don't care what you think of him. 

His album, Ridiculous, has some great comedy sketches on it (one lets us listen in as Mr. Fantastic gives the other members of the Fantastic Four their names...), and includes this interpretation of The Twelve Days of Christmas, where Norm finds out just what it would feel like if his true love actually gave him the song's gifts...

Needless to say, it isn't pretty, as you probably guessed.

December 14, 2011 - Ho, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Rhum

Yes, we live in Florida, but Stephanie's love of Jimmy Buffett goes back to our NJ days.  In his only Christmas album, 1996's Christmas Island, Jimmy contributes this ode to a Carribean Christmas, Ho, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Rhum...

It's silly, and has steel drums and whistles, and it doesn't sound particularly Christmasy, but this is what Christmas for Parrotheads sounds like.  And today was around 80 degrees for us, so what do you expect us to listen to?

December 13, 2011 - Must Be Santa

The terrible, kind-of wonderful Bob Dylan Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart, rewards its listeners with Bob's barely-alive versions of many popular holiday songs.

Today's gift is Bob's rendition of Must Be Santa, which reimagines this childrens' favorite as a zydeco bar song.  Accordians battle Bob's croaky vocals, and it's hard to believe Santa will actually make an appearance in what sounds like a fairly dangerous place.

December 12, 2011 - O Come All Ye Faithful

This time of  year, you're probably looking for a version of the traditional hymn, "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" that sounds exactly like "We're Not Gonna Take It," right?  The Pauls have got your back...

Download Twisted Sister's version of Oh Come All Ye Faithful, and you'll be instantly transported back to the mid 80s, as Dee Snider and his band make a Christmas song into a stirring anthem (and I swear there's a cowbell in there...).

December 11, 2011 - Zoomah the Santa Claus from Mars

I have to be honest -- I really don't have any idea where I got this song.  It's almost as if Santa himself put it among my files.

Zoomah the Santa Claus from Mars was released in 1957 as a B-side, and it's a lesser-known Christmas song sung by Barry Gordon.  His big hit was Nuttin' for Christmas, which was featured in last year's collection, Happy Jew Year, because he was a Jewish person singing a Christmas song, which again applies here.  This one has that same "annoying-neighbor's-kid" quality to it, and the subject matter places it clearly in the UFO-obsessed 1950s.  Try this one out the next time you go caroling!