Time to punk it up a little and send a shout-out to my brother-in-law Andy, who plays bass for the excellent Ramones tribute band, The Ramoniacs, with the Ramones’ Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight).
The Ramones: Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) (2.4 MB MP3)
Let’s face it; most original rock and pop Christmas songs are downright terrible. The worst of the lot is Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime, a phoned-in composition that relies on bland synthesizer sounds and digital delay effects to separate it from the pack.
There are a few gems, however. One of them is the Pogues’ Fairytale of New York, a griity but lovely, hard-drinkin’, Gift of the Magi-gone-wrong tune, perfect for tonight’s Blogstravaganza. I present you with the live version.
The Pogues: Fairytale of New York (5.3 MB MP3)
According to Krusty the Klown, Tijuana is the happiest place on earth. Hence, their Christmas carols must be super-happy. To test the theory, here’s Sy Mann’s Tijuana Christmas, a Moog synth number suitable for playing when the Zamboni is cleaning the ice.
Sy Mann: Tijuana Christmas (3.3 MB MP3)
You may recognize the sample that backs Superiority Complex’s number, Seasons: it’s from the Vince Guaraldi (the jazz guy behind the music in A Charlie Brown Christmas) track of the same name.
Superiority Complex: Seasons (5.7 MB MP3)
Christmas means peace on earth, goodwill toward men (and women), and…
Novelty songs!
Check out the first verse of Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey, by Lou Monte, a carol in the best New York Italian fuggedaboutit style…
Santa’s got a little friend,
His name is Dominick.
The cutest little donkey,
You never see him kick.
When Santa visits his paisons,
With Dominick he’ll be.
Because the reindeer cannot,
Climb the hills of Italy.
It’s-a spicy meat-a-ball of a carol.
Lou Monte: Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey (2.3 MB MP3)
Welcome to the first installment Accordion Guy Audio Advent Calendar! For every day from December 1st until Christmas, I’ll post a Christmas-related MP3 file for you to download and enjoy!
I’ll start this Advent calendar with a nice treatment of good ol’ Santa Claus is Coming to Town, as performed by legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans and his trio. Yes, thanks to A Charlie Brown Christmas, we all think of Vince Guaraldi when the topic of jazzy renditions of Christmas carols comes up, but cue up this track and listen to the master groove.
Bill Evans Trio: Santa Claus is Coming to Town (8.1 MB MP3 file)
Having been a teenager in the 1980s and in a Billy Idol cover band back in high school, I have had more than a passing interest in the punk-turned-pop rocker’s work — at least until that album with the dreadful cover of the Doors’ L.A. Woman. For reasons that I myself do not completely understand, I’m pleased that he’s got a new album coming out: a Christmas album!
Here’s a track listing for the album:
If you want to sample some of his Christmas tunes, go to Billy’s MySpace page. There, you’ll find gems such as the video for his rendition of White Christmas, pictured below:
You’ll aslo find the video of Jingle Bell Rock, pictured below.
I believe that the track Christmas Love is an original of Billy’s. It’s nothing special, but it’s still miles better than AC/DC’s Mistress for Christmas.
Damn it, I think I’m actually going to order it on Amazon right now.