Keepers:
Sam Butera & The Witnesses – Dig That Crazy Chick
Peggy Lee – Fever
Louis Prima – Jump, Jive An’ Wail
Wayne Newton – Danke Shoen
Sam Butera & The Witnesses – French Poodle
Keely Smith – What Is This Thing Called Love?
Louis Prima – Closer To The Bone
Nat “King” Cole – L-O-V-E
Louis Prima/Keely Smith – That Old Black Magic
Julie London – You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To
Keepers:
The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
Facts About Cats
I Love You In The Strangest Way
Keepers:
Albatross
Black Magic Woman
Something Inside Of Me
Without You
Jigsaw Puzzle Blues
What else could it be?
Merry Christmas everybody!
Christmas Pantheon:
White Christmas – Darlene Love
Frosty the Snowman – The Ronettes
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town – The Crystals
Sleigh Ride – The Ronettes
Marshmallow World – Darlene Love
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – The Crystals
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – The Ronettes
Winter Wonderland – Darlene Love
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers – The Crystals
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
Here Comes Santa Claus – Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
Wizzard-I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
The Pogues & Kirsty McColl – Fairytale Of New York
Is there such a thing as Christmas Hell?
I’m not sure, and I seem to get into trouble when I get snarky. Maybe it’s more like a Christmas Purgatory where you can shorten your stay if you say a prayer or two or confess or otherwise redeem yourself.
What I WILL say is that there’s a certain solo Beatle synth-y Christmas song that I’d love never to hear again… for now I’ll choose to believe that Christmas Purgatory (a temporary state) is reserved for those who should’ve known better.
There are all sorts of Christmas albums. I’ve never heard one more appropriate to listen to on Christmas eve when all of the presents are wrapped and under the tree, fire in the fireplace (real or imagined) blazing, snow on the ground, Santa in the sky. A Christmas sigh of relief, courtesy of a true artist.
Christmas Pantheon:
O Holy Night
The Little Drummer Boy
Other Keepers:
Jingle Bells
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Silent Night
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
Irish Medley
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Santisima
Christ Is Born on Christmas Day
On’ Come Little Children/Ach du Lieber Augustine
Mary Had a Baby
Good Christian Men, Rejoice, Rejoice
Spanish Carol
Christ Is Born as Child of Man
Christmas Medley: Samuel Barber’s Lorgo/It Came upon a Midnight Clear
Christmas Pantheon:
none
Other Keepers:
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Keepers:
Black Sheep Boy
Jackie
Next
Plastic Palace People
The Bridge
The Girls From The Streets
Keepers:
Embryonic Journey
Plastic Fantastic Lover
She Has Funny Cars
Somebody to Love
White Rabbit
Weirdtown has all three Midnight Christmas comps.
Why aren’t these things played all the time this time of year? Anyway… I’ve never admitted this in public, but Sleighbell Bop (on the 2nd comp) was entirely my friend Michael and myself at Dubway Studios. I do backup vocals and reindeer feet for sure… don’t remember what else I might’ve played on it. Not very garage-ey and maybe a bit outta place but it holds its own.
Oldandnew has a bunch of Jeremy Spencer, including his first (really fun) solo album. Lots o’ Dylan as well.
Down Underground has The Cheepskates’ It Wings Above.
I think all Cheepskates records are out there in the ether somewhere, so now it’s time for some of these songs to get used in TV shows or movies or get covered by Shakira or something, right? Isn’t that how it goes, or do I have to die or go crazy first?
Liquid Dilemma with some Christmas cheer.
As far as Power Pop Overdose, TWILIGHTZONE, Clicks and Pops and Power Pop Criminals are concerned… there’s just too much to list and you should be going to these places every day anyway.
Keepers:
Blue Moon Revisited ( Song For Elvis )
200 More Miles
Working On A Building
Sweet Jane
Christmas Pantheon:
Brightest Star
Blue Christmas
Other Keepers:
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
The Christmas Song
Let It Snow
White Christmas
Most of this record is pretty bad, but some of it sounds like Magic Band outtakes – so much so that I think that if ol’ Warren were around to ask he would admit being influenced by the Captain.
As mainstream wacky as he was when he had his hits, this is even stranger. A product of an amateurish inability to self-edit, or the first flight of a certain kind of genius that got sanded down before anything else saw the light of day? I’d love to hear recordings done between this and Zevon’s other “debut” if any exist.
Keepers:
Wanted Dead or Alive
Hitchhikin’ Woman
Gorilla
Christmas Pantheon:
That’s What I Want for Christmas – Nancy Wilson
Winter Wonderland – Dean Martin
Other Keepers:
White Christmas – Peggy Lee
