Sunday, December 10, 2006

It's the most wonderful time... of the year!



Ever since MC Abstract McScroogester's post on how he dislikes most Christmas music, I've been readying myself for a counterattack. Despite being a devout Atheist, I love the hell out of Christmas time. I don't know why, usually I get all uppity about consumerism and blah blah blah, but the lights are just so pretty and I get caught up. So since I love Christmas time and the music so much, this will be the first of several posts on the topic. Today we're going to be taking a look at some non-traditional christmas songs.



Usually the punk rock scene isn't super keen on Christianity, but the Vandals broke through the status quo and recorded Christmas with the Vandals: Oi to the World!. The album includes warm, fireside classics like "Christmas time for my Penis" and "My First X-Mas (As a Woman)". My personal favorite off of the album is the semi-titular track "Oi to the World!". This track tells the tender story of a skinhead who beats up a guy for wearing a turban and their eventual realization that Christmas is about love. Eventually, No Doubt decided to cover "Oi to the World!" for one of the Very Special Christmas compilations and somewhere far away, an angel lost its wings.

"Oi to the World!" by the Vandals



Years ago, before I jumped on the anti-dave train, I went to see the Dave Matthews Band up in Albany, about a week before Christmas. When it was time for the encore, mr. Matthews came out all by himself with one subtle blue spot, and sang "Christmas Song". Like I said before, I'm an atheist. In spite of it though, I really like religious music, and this song is definitely on the more religious side of the Christmas music spectrum. This is one of the few examples of a DMB song that doesn't annoy me these days.

"Christmas Song" by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds



To close things up here, we're gonna take a spin back to punk rock for a Christmas song from the ugliest band in Rock and Roll, the Ramones. This one's nice because it's a little break from the uber-cheer we get immersed in this season. Instead, you have Joey Ramone pining for uber-cheer, a little break from an otherwise shitty life. Isn't that what Christmas is all about??? That and Jesus?

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