New Year's Resolution

Taking a break from the Big Rock Candy Mountain "Top 50"rekkids o' the year to wish each and everyone one of ya a very Happy New Year!!!!!!

So...some rawkin' tunes to help ya through the night!  

Be safe, be happy, and lovelovelove yr fellow man, woman, person, no matter what!!!!!  Remember, we're all in this together, this crazy world!  Drink up and spread the joy!!!

Johnny Paycheck: The Old Year Is Gone (mp3)

Mae West: My New Year's Resolutions (mp3)

Charles Brown: Bringing In A Brand New Year (mp3)

Roy Milton and the Solid Senders: New Year's Resolution Blues (mp3

Roy Tan and Combo: Happy New Year (mp3)

Slade: Here's to the New Year (mp3)


Be good too each other! 

And The Hardwood Floor Is Home

Day 2 of the highly influential, world famous Big Rock Candy Favorite Records of 2013!!!!  Be the first rock'n'roll kid on yr block to collect 'em all!!!!  Hipsters aint got nothin' on us, what with all their tired, sleepy, mustache miasma!

Reviews will get longer the closer we get to the Top 10, of course. 

Reminder: These are our "favorites"...not a qualitative judgment.  If we miss a great record that y'all like, let us know!


And, of course, as ever, no major label nonsense on this list!!!!  Tracks are vinyl, where available!

Git with it, then...

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Favorite Records of 2013 (Part 2)

 

40. Colleen Green: Sock It To Me

A little 60's girl group bubblegum, a little 80's new wave, a little lo-fi 90's fuzz, a little modern attitude, all wrapped up in an angelic package lemon-bitter and rainbow sweet.

Colleen Green: You're So Cool (mp3)

39. Eat Skull: III

Set yr controls to the the dark side of Jupiter, fading in and out vocals transmitting over ancient space signal, layered amidst a bed of burning star guitar, half heard blips and bleeps, and fumed rocket rhythms.

Eat Skull: Space Academy (mp3)

38. Mark Kozelek and Desertshore: S/T

The house has been painted, and it's actually a desert tan, slow beauty melody and canyon sad, delicate and windblown, a lazy day with tequila and a fading memory of something lost, but never remembered to be found...summer dress dancing in hazy sun. (and, oddly, lots of swears) (and with a beautiful tribute to former Toiling Midgets/American Music Club/Sun Kil Moon musician Tim Mooney on "Tavoris Cloud")

Mark Kozelek and Desertshore: Livingstone Bramble (mp3)

37. Peoples Temple: More For The Masses

Cult deep scuzz and echoed garage punk thrill filtered through hazy syrup: nasty, swirling, snotty and psych, like the best cherry kool-aid.

Peoples Temple: Looter's Game (mp3)

36. Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds

Sleaze funk noir, poured straight, get yr mutant groove on...trash can workout could've been the soundtrack to an Anton LaVey seminar if he was groovier and had a sense of humor:  Reverb dance party for the damned!

Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds: Loud and Proud (mp3)

35. Seasick Steve: Hubcap Music

The real Deep Blues, a seminal performer at the height of his powers, travelin' music for the backroads, muddy truck sprayin' dirt on the windshield, a voice as deep as the darkest bottomless ravine, sliding into backporch  firelfly lament: boogie down the burning barn and dance the road crusted with bottle and regret.

Seasick Steve: Hope (mp3)

34. Brett Detar: Too Free To Live

Back to the Country, pedal steel and fiddle sad, do-si-do hardwood dancing, a stomping and swinging rekkid, weepers and boot-scooters alike,  with a nod to the contemporary and a leg firmly sunk in the classic, a voice to watch, a honky tonk raver!


Brett Detar: Satan's Foot On My Neck (mp3)

33. Yo La Tengo: Fade

There is never a bad Yo La Tengo rekkid (most of 'em are better than anything you've heard all each year)...the most consistently great band of the last 30 years, seriously, here bringing the rawk and the beauty in the heart of sadness...A swirling, psychedelic,rawking, surging ,late night piece of beauty...Mr. Kaplan, Ms. Hubley and Mr. McNew (and they are truly a collaboration) run the range of music history and still produce a uniquely essential collection of tunes, timeless, raw, essential, and full of wonder: There is never a moment where we wouldn't sing the praises of Yo La Tengo, and will defend 'em 'til the end of days.

Yo La Tengo: Ohm (mp3)

32. Shannon and the Clams: Dreams In The Rat House


Surf trash, booze infused clam-bake scunge....party down on the shore at the end of the world!



Shannon and the Clams: Into A Dream (mp3)

31. Califone: Stitces

Crackling am/fm tuning, the sound between....a music junk-yarded with perfect static, feeding into the perfect moment amongst the hiss and burned out circumstance....the moment between the channels, a surging fuzz and cb fuckplosion. 

Califone: Movie Music Kills A Kiss (mp3)

Support the artists!!!  Buy independent! 

When The Bible Is A Bottle

Xmas is over...time for the world famous Big Rock Candy Mountain Favorite Records of 2013!!!!

This is the point where we usually give some kind of generic overview about our take on the rekkid industry.  Meh...we all like what we like, and great rekkids are being released all the time.  No need to depend on crappy lists from Rolling Stone (gathering moss daily) or wherever else to tell ya what you liked this year.  Perhaps the new Miley Cyrus rekkid really is the best thing heard in 2013.  Who knows????  Only history and time can tell us.

What we'd like to do is draw yr attention to some records that came out this year that we think are pretty swell.  And perhaps you'll like 'em too.  Most of these are on vinyl.  Some of 'em aint.  None of 'em, not a single one, are on anything resembling a "major" label.  And that's ok.  That sorta speaks to whatever quality control or overriding theme or taste y'all might think we have.

We don't call this list a "Best of"....we call it a "favorites".  Nobody gets to decide what's best right now, not in so short a period. 

But these are the records we listened to the most in 2013, in some kind of generic order (though the Top 10 is pretty accurate).

As ever, we're spreading this out over 5 days for maximum enjoyment (or torture...you decide). 

Enough rambling...let's hit it!

Presented below, in the first of five parts, are our "favorite" records of the year (and if you don't like what you hear here, stick around...it only gets better!)

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 50 Records of 2013 (Part 1)

50. Wild Billy Chyldish and the CTMF: All Our Forts Are With You

Well, it wouldn't be a list without a new rekkid from Billy Childish, the very true spirit of rawk'n'roll.  FTW, always the real deal.  Our hero, keeping the flame alive, and a good way to start out any list.

Wild Billy Chyldish and the CTMF: Musical Tribalist (mp3)

49. The Gospel Truth: A Lonely Man Does Foolish Things

Surging, sax'n'trash, heavy spoogedirt..organ and angular angst yowl!

The Gospel Truth: What Keeps You Up At Night (mp3)

48. Mal Thursday and the Cheetahs: It's All Going Too Fast

Glamboogie reissue, pure VU inspired rawk, the crusted streets of the city shining like diamonds in the rain.

Mal Thursday and the Cheetahs: Torn Up (mp3)

47. Human Eye: 4: Into Unknown

Swirling psych garbage, transporting the moon and the planets into wall of sound disease, listen loud on old-school turntable, headphones set to stun, a journey to the third eye.


Human Eye: Surface of Pluto (mp3)

46. Willard Grant Conspiracy: Ghost Republic

Deep desert prophet growling salvation amongst the rattlesnakes and cacti, far journeyed in dusty jalopy, the AM radio tuned towards static and snatches of transistor 'merica pedal and fiddle wind across the barren landscape.

Willard Grant Conspiracy: Rattle and Hiss (mp3)

45. King Khan and the Shrines: Idle No More


Rawk's greatest wild man, going soul root, still fuzzin' out the trunk junk for the trash can riddim'n' blues-sters,


King Khan and the Shrines: Bad Boy (mp3)

44. Becky Lee and Drunkfoot: One Take Sessions

Lo-Fi sleazy deep blooze truck ride, 2 parts whiskey and 1 part gin in a to-go cup, not stirred but surely shaken.


Becky Lee and Drunkfoot: Cook That Sugar (mp3)

43. Kurt Vile: Wakin' On A Pretty Daze

Ultimate sleepy-eyed slacker anthems, baked and sunshine-scorched on pavement, boarded up bodega love,  bonged-out afternoon ramble.


Kurt Vile: Wakin' On A Pretty Day (mp3)

42. Helen Love: Day-Glo Dreams

Punk rawk dreams in shiny beer-stained floors, 1978 all over again, with traded vocals and 3-chord shout along.  Oh, and also featuring our Song of the Year (see below)!!!!!!

Helen Love: We Are All the Lo-Fi Kids (mp3)

41. Bad Sports: Bras

Badly abused geetar buzzsaw overdrive, snotty and girl-obsessed, short sharp and fuck-all, get yr motor runnin'....

Bad Sports: Washed Up (mp3)




Support the bands!  See 'em live, buy some merch, or buy direct!  No substitute better than a real replacement for crappy mp3 samples!

Peace On Earth

And...here we go.  'Twas the night before Xmas....

Just a reminder that we'll be back the day after Christmas with the first of our "Big Rock Candy Mountain Favorite Records of 2013" and other assorted goodies.  So, make sure to tune in!

And so, today's Holiday post.  There are a couple of reasons we post the following two songs every year on Christmas Eve, besides the fact that they're our favorites.    One is the obvious...every year folks still grab the tunes (if the download count is to be believed).  Which means there's still folks who haven't heard the songs.  To those folks:  Enjoy!

The other reason "Fairy Tale of New York" and "Merry Christmas From the Family"  get posted every year at this time is that they represent to us the very best part of the Holidays.

We've been doing this site a long time in "blogger" years.   We used to post much more regularly.  The Christmas posts have always been the "big traffic" items, outside of our infamous Top 100 Drinking Songs list. There's a good reason for that...these are the posts where the "giving" takes precedence.  We don't generally go into our long-winded, over-the-top writing for these.  We merely want to entertain you and perhaps give a little joy during a season that can be very tough and depressing for a lot of folks.  We're not trying to sell you on anything.  We get enough of selling in the Holiday season, on many different fronts. 

The world's getting a lot nastier.  We argue over the trivial, and we don't much listen to each other. Sadness is a disease and Joy is scoffed at.  Rather than celebrate that which holds us all together, we revel in the petty and the cruel.  Hope and Love are in short shrift these days.  The bustle of daily life consumes and overwhelms, we lose ourselves and our humanity. 

"Fairytale of New York" reminds us of that glimmer of hope that once drew us together.  It could be anyone's story.  It could be our story.  It is beautiful and sad.  Funny and distraught.  A swelling Irish lilt against the backdrop of the impossible.  The story of promise and the tale of desperation.   And above all, it is about Love. And ultimately, it's not a Christmas song...it's a Christmas Eve song.  An important distinction, because Christmas Eve is all about the possibility of what's to come.  From Ireland's last great poet, Shane MacGowan, and featuring the very voice of the angels, Kirsty MacColl.  "I built my dreams around you", indeed.

"Merry Christmas From the Family" is hilarious.  And joyful.  And at its heart, full of Love.  Not content to mimic the "family values" of the media, it instead celebrates all the little things that make us who we are and revels in the humorous quirks that exists within all of us and those who we are connected with, whether by blood or by approximation.  Utter perfection, and full of what the Holidays should be about. Sounding like a drunken shamble, the mighty Robert Earl Keen brings us the best Christmas day ever!

Be good to each other.  And thanks for stopping by.

The Pogues: Fairytale of New York (mp3)

Robert Earl Keen: Merry Christmas From the Family (mp3)

Peace on Earth, Good Will to All.  

Lucky Xmas

Just a couple more days til Santa Shane brings us all the toys we deserve. 

Today, we're putting up the rest of our very special holiday mixes from years' past.  Looks like some of  y'all out there don't have 'em, so enjoy!!.

Special post tomorrow, of course!



A Big Rock Candy Mountain Stocking Stuffer Mix (download link follows track listing)

1. Watch Out Santa's Been Drinking (Tiger City Jukes)
2. Santa's Too Drunk To Drive (The Hot Rods)
3. All I Got For Christmas Was Drunk (Better Off Dead)
4. The Night Before Xmas Binge (Kay Martin and Her Boyfriends)
5. Champagne Of Christmas (The Fleshtones)
6. Christmas Behind The Wheel (The Saddle Tramps)
7. Santa's Boy (Del Reeves)
8. It's Christmas Everyday In Alaska (Hank Thompson)
9. Po' Folks Christmas (Bill Anderson)
10. Barefoot Santa Claus (Sonny James)
11. Papa Noel (Brenda Lee)
12. Chimney Top Twist (The Robin Sisters)
13. Something Funny In Santa's Lap (The Moaners)
14. Christmas 1979 (Wild Billy Childish)
15. Jesus Christ (Big Star)
16. Presents For Christmas (Solomon Burke)
17. It's Christmas (Marvin and Johnny)
18. Gotta Get Lucky For Christmas (Johnny Rabb)
19. Mambo Santa Mambo (Enchanters)
20. Kisses For Christmas (Marti Brom)
21. Mr. Santa Claus (Nathaniel Mayer)
22. The Empty Xmas Stocking (Lulu Belle and Scotty)
23. Santa Claus (Spectrum)



A Big Rock Candy Mountain Stocking Stuffer (mp3)

A Big Rock Candy Mountain Yuletide Egg Nog Mix (download link follows track listing)


1. Bundle Up (The Replacements)
2. Christmas Party (Brendan Hanlon)
3. Christmas Party (Eddie and DeHavalon)
4. Don't Plan No Party This Christmas (Mel Brown and the Homewreckers)
5. Wildest Christmas (The Rumbles)
6. Christmas Dinner (Tennessee Ernie Ford)
7. Christmas In Vegas (Dale Watson)
8. On A Christmas Day (Leadbelly)
9. Will Santa Come To Shanty Town (Eddy Arnold)
10. Xmas Blues (Harmon Ray)
11. All I Want For Christmas Is To Lay Around And Love On You (Chuck Willis)
12. Christmas Hell (Wild Billy Childish and the MBE's)
13.  It's Christmas Time (Yeah We're Gonna Rock) (Flat Duo Jets)
14. Santa Claus (Bo Carter)
15. Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby (Amos Milburn)
16. Shut In At Christmas (Charlie Louvin)
17. Can I Sing A Christmas Song For You (Dave Dudley)
18. The Old Christmas Truck (Red Simpson)
19. Xmas In Prison (Seasick Steve)
20. Did You Spend Christmas Day In Jail (Rev. J.M. Gates)
21. Christmas And No Santa Claus (Bumblebee Slim)
22. Country Christmas (Faron Young)

A Big Rock Candy Mountain Yuletide Egg Nog Mix (mp3)

Thanks for stopping by.

Santa Soul Baby

Gettin' closer.  Stockings are stuffed. 

We've noticed a few requests in the comments sections, and we're gonna get to all of 'em in the next couple of days.  If you haven't made yr request yet, get on it!

Special funky, funky Xmas post today!  (and our apologies for lack of subtlety)


Rose Graham lays down some hot soul butter over the yule log!  Some Deep Blues Xmas food porn a la Charlie Jordan!  The Harlem Children's Choir go deep groove on the Holidays!  James Brown tears the chimney of the sucka!  Donnie Hathaway brings the festive snow storm!  Yellowman knows what Santa's really all about!  The mighty El Vez  trashes the Holiday double entendre!  And Electric Jungle gets the tinsel swinging from the angel at the top of the tree to fat bottom presents underneath (heh)! 

As a bonus, yet another of our famous Xmas mixes, featuring tunes from Big Rock Candy Mountain Holidaze past!!!


Santa Refuses To Be Tied Down!


Rose Graham: Black Christmas (mp3)

Charlie Jordan: Christmas Blues (mp3)

The Harlem Children's Chorus: Black Christmas (mp3)

James Brown: Go Power At Christmas Time (mp3)

Donnie Hathaway: This Christmas (mp3)

Yellowman: African Christmas (mp3)

El Vez: Santa Claus is Sometimes Brown (mp3)

Electric Jungle: Funky Funky Christmas (mp3)

Bonus!!!!

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Junk Shop Christmas (link to file follows track listing)

1. Christmas Wish (Andre Williams)
2. Be-Bop Santa (Babs Gonzalez)
3. Mystery Tune
4. To Heck With Ole Santa Claus (Loretta Lynn)
5. Rocket Ship Santa (The Bellrays)
6. There's Trouble Brewin' (Jack Scott)
7. Santa's Doing The Horizontal Twist (Kay Martin and Her Bodyguards)
8. Empty Stockings (Floyd Dixon)
9. We Wanna See Santa Do The Mambo (Big John Greer)
10. Santa Done Got Hip (Marquees)
11. Truckin' Trees For Christmas (Red Simpson)
12. I'd Like to Have An Elephant For Christmas (Hank Thompson)
13. Put The Loot In the Boot Santa (Mae West)
14. My Last Christmas (The Dirtbombs)
15. No Christmas For John Quays (The Fall)
16. Christmas In Jail (The Youngsters)
17. Christmas Date Boogie (Big Joe Turner)
18. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus (Mabel Scott)
19. Rockin' and Rollin' With Santa Claus (Hepsters)
20. I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus (Brenda Lee)
21. Dasher With The Light Upon His Tail (Kitty Wells)
22. Old Toy Trains (Roger Miller)
23. Blue Christmas Lights (Buck Owens)
24. Lonely Christmas Call (George Jones)
25. Christmas Comes But Once A Year (Amos Milburn)
26. Good Times Are Coming (Eddy Clearwater w/Los Straightjackets)

Big Rock Candy Junk Shop Xmas (mp3)

Thanks for stopping by.  Be good to each other!

Breaking Up Xmas

Hey, now, Holiday humpers!!!!  We're just here to tell ya that Santa Claus can be whatever the hell "color" or ethnicity y'all goddam want him to be!!!!  Don't let any fussy folks tell ya different!


More preciously wrapped gifts for y'all today!!!  Can ya feel the tinsel and blinking bulbs?  We sure can!

We've been ignoring our Country fans, so let's break out the eggnog with a little Dwight Yoakam and Ray R. Jones, each giving us a unique (and occasionally hilarious, yet sadly so) take on just who Santa is and what he's rockin' out to.

Norman Edmonds continues the Holiday hoe-down with a breakdown of his own, "Breaking Up Christmas", a fiddle-fueled party, in and of itself!

Bar band Gods, NRBQ and angry young man Graham Parker dig deep into the stockings (pun intended) for some joyous and cranky seasonal cheer and jeer.


Proto-garage swirlers, Paul Revere and the Raiders carry on the tradition, with a low-key pych reading of "Mr. Claus".

And we round out the day's festivus sleigh ride (or should that read "slight" ride?) with a boozy little Irish ("drunk as a skunk" ) tune, courtesy of Paddy Roberts, where we drunkly wait for the nuclear end of all Xmases!


Santa's a Big Cow Poke!




Dwight Yoakam: Santa Can't Stay (mp3)

Ray R. Jones: Rockin' Santa Claus (mp3)

Norman Edmonds: Breaking Up Christmas (mp3)

NRBQ: Christmas Wish (mp3)

Graham Parker: Christmas Is For Mugs (mp3)

Paul Revere and the Raiders: Mr. Claus (mp3)

Paddy Roberts: Merry Xmas You Suckers (mp3)

Please give unto others, as it were!  Support yr local independents, support yr local charities!  If you can afford a gaming console, you can probably throw some dough to folks for whom a video game is just a dream, and a warm meal or blanket might mean all the world!

Glam Bam Santa

One week to go til the merry merry sleigh ride!  And we've been slacking this year.  Sorry about that, folks.  We're trying to make it up, and if we have to do it again next year, well, so be it!!!

Wanna thank our good friends Mark W. and Thomas M. who make killer xmas comps every year and send them out to us.  We steal liberally from 'em, and appreciate all their sharing!

So, let's dip into our Xmas stockings and see what we got today, with a special bonus at the end!

We're gonna go all power pop/jangly/glam to start us off today!  What could be better than a 1,2,3,4 punch of T.Rex, Cheap Trick, Dwight Tilley, and Don Dixon (the king of jangle and producer of early REM) to get us boppin' to the Holiday spirit?  Aw, yeah!

Country fans, don't despair....we've got Merle Lindsay and the Oklahoma Night Riders giving us an "Old Timey Christmas". 

Betty Lloyd satisfies our Soul Christmas cookie yearnings with "Six Days to Christmas". 

And for the indie kids...how about the progenitors of lo-fi, primal indie rawk, Beat Happening giving us a twisted candy cane take on Xmas day?  Yummy!

As a bonus, another of our world famous Xmas mixes, A Big Rock Candy Cane Xmas!!!!  Another classic compilation of some of the many great and essential tunes we've presented in years past.  If you don't already have it, grab it now!  Your Xmas Eve will never be better, if you're not playing this mix!!



Santa's a Boppin' Mad Man!


Cheap Trick: Come On Christmas (mp3)

T Rex: Christmas Bop (mp3)

Dwight Tilley: Christmas Night (mp3)

Don Dixon: Christmas Is Saturday (mp3)

Merle Lindsay and the Oklahoma Night Riders: Old Timey Christmas (mp3)

Betty Lloyd: Six Days To Christmas (mp3)

Beat Happening: Christmas (mp3)


Bonus Xmas Joy!

A Big Rock Candy Cane Xmas (link follows track listing)

1. Christmas Spirit (The Wailers)
2. Don't Believe In Christmas (The Sonics)
3. Reindeer Boogie (Hank Snow)
4. Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus (Pee Wee King)
5. I'll Be Your Santa Baby (Rufus Thomas)
6. Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas (The Staple Singers)
7. Santa Came Home Drunk (Clyde Lasley)
8. Beatnik's Wish (Patsy Raye)
9. Deck 5 (Saturday's Children)
10. We Free Kings (Roland Kirk)
11. Merry Christmas (Lightnin' Hopkins)
12. Christmas Day (Detroit Junior)
13. Feliz Navi Dada (El Vez)
14. Old Man Spivey's Egg Nog (The Dalheart Imperials)
15. Christmas Carols By The Old Corral (Tex Ritter)
16. Santa Santa Santa (Gene Autry)
17. Santa Got A DWI (Sherwin Linton)
18. Santa Stole My Whiskey (The Rimshots)
19. The Mistletoe and Me (Isaac Hayes)
20. Xmas In Nevada (The Willard Grant Conspiracy)
21. Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis (Neko Case does Tom Waits)
22. I Wish I Was Santa Claus (Merle Haggard)
23. Please Come Home For Christmas (Little Junior)
24. Christmas Past (Mike Ireland)
25. Christmas Eve Can Kill You (The Everley Brothers)
26. What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas (The Emotions)
27. Go Tell It On The Mountain (The Blind Boys Of Alabama w/Tom Waits)

A Big Rock Candy Cane Xmas (mp3)

Take care of each other this Holiday Season.  We're all we've got. 

Jailhouse Santa Rock

We're just a day and a week away from the miraculous birth of Shane MacGowan (December 25th to you heathens)!  Man, where does the time go?  Santa Pogue has got his boots shined and is prepping his drunken reindeer for the big run. 

Quick programming note:  After this Holiday madness, we'll be posting our world-famous and highly influential "Best Of 2013" list.  So stick around for that.  Hell, stick around anyway...there's a rumour we might be posting more often in 2014.  Isn't that exciting? 

A very special episode of the Big Rock Candy Mountain Holiday madness for y'all today.

As far as we know, there are no plans for us to spend the Yuletide season in lock-up, but perhaps we're one rye whiskey away, so here's to all the jailbirds Xmas time.

Of course, John Prine's ode to "Christmas In Prison" is a stone cold classic..so why not include the original, and a few  nifty cover tunes as well, courtesy of Christabel and the Jons, Doug Legacy and the Legends of the West,  and Emmy the Great and Lightspeed Champion? 

After that, two very, very classic boozy Xmas prison tunes, courtesy of the doo-woppy Youngsters and  the piano blues boogie of Leroy Carr. 

A little sobriety, then, from the right Reverend J.M. Gates, cautioning us all to the consequences of too much Yuletide revelry. 

And finally, even Santa aint immune from the long arm of John Law, the Fuzz, the Man.  Sherwin Linton knows where Santa's been and why...so if yr missing yr presents on Xmas day...well...

Santa's Got Stripes!


John Prine: Christmas In Prison (mp3)

Christabel and the Jons: Christmas In Prison (mp3)

Emmy the Great and Lightspeed Champion: Christmas In Prison (mp3)

Doug Legacy and the Legacy of the West: Christmas In Prison (mp3)

The Youngsters: Christmas In Jail (mp3)

Leroy Carr: Christmas In Jail (Aint that a Pain) (mp3)

Reverend J.M. Gates: Did You Spend Christmas Day In Jail (mp3)

Sherwin Linton: Santa Got A DWI (mp3)

Please support your local, independent chain gang this Holiday season. 

Christmas Ghosts

Getting closer to Christmas, and the birth of baby Jesus (aka Shane MacGowan).  We're under a blanket of snow, with more coming...what could be more festive!!!!

We got a Santa's grab bag of special presents for y'all today, including a re-post of a mix from years past (and thanks again to all who helped us out).  Oh, and Santa Claus can be whatever damn nationality he wants...fuck the haters, it's all about the love, baby!

A Western Swing tune kicks us off, courtesy of the legendary Bob Wills!  What could be better?  Well, stick around...

Huey "Piano" Smith brings the old school R'n'B , rollicking and horn-fueled!  How do we follow that up?  Well, with the most perfect pop band on the planet, The dB's, we raise the stakes, a perfectly beautiful holiday meditation. Then, it's J&M Chain inspired Raveonettes with a feedback/honey kissed ode to Holiday love gone missing.

Rounding it out,  a couple of hillbilly'n' psych inspired tales of loneliness, with sandy grit in lieu of snow.  Both are "traveling songs".   Jim White is stuck in a Greyhound station, with lost love.  And Frontier Ruckus are braving the snow on Xmas Eve, banjo-driven wintry night, full of AM crackle and reflection.

And, as a bonus...we're re-posting a classic Xmas mix we made lo these many moons ago (comprising previously posted tunes).  If y'all haven't heard it yet, grab it now!!!  And thank all of our regular visitors for helping us recover!  Look for it way at the bottom...You are the very air we breathe...

Santa's Coming With a Sleigh Full of Baggage!


Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys: Santa's On His Way (mp3)

Huey "Piano" Smith: Rock 'n' Roll Santa Claus (mp3)

The dB's: Home For the Holidays (mp3)

The Raveonettes: Christmas Ghosts (mp3)

Jim White: Christmas Day (mp3)

Frontier Ruckus: Christmas Eve, Driving Home (mp3)


Bonus Xmas post...A classic mix guaranteed to keep yr party jumpin'!


A Big Rock Candy Happy Hour Christmas

1. Poor Mr. Santa (Andre Williams)
2. Trim Your Tree (Jimmy Butler)
3. Mama's Twistin' With Santa (Mark Anthony)
4. Santa Looked A lot Like Daddy (Buck Owens)
5. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus (George Jones and Tammy Wynette)
6. Yulesville (Ed "Kooky" Byrnes)
7. Sometimes Santa Claus Is Brown (El Vez)
8. Santa Never Comes To The Ghetto (Yellowman)
9. Santa's Coming In a Big Old Truck (Red Simpson)
10. I Won't Decorate Your Christmas Tree (Loretta Lynn)
11. Merry Christmas Baby (Bellrays)
12. Merry Christmas From The Family (Robert Earl Keen)
13. Senor Santa Claus (Jim Reeves)
14. Santa Claus (Thee Headcoatees)
15. Six Tons of Toys (Dave Dudley)
16. A Real Live Doll (The Trashmen)
17. I Want My Baby For Christmas (Jimmy Liggins)
18. Dig That Crazy Santa Claus (Oscar McLollie)
19. Hard Candy Christmas (Dolly Parton)
20. They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose (Johnny Horton)
21. Christmas Time's A Comin' (Jerry Reed)
22. Holly and Her Mistletoe (Jim Lauderdale)
23. The Rocking Tree (Marguerite Trina)
24. Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney (Ella Fitzgerald)
25. I'm Gonna Tell Santa On You (Faron Young)
26. Santa Claus (Sonny Boy Williamson)
27. Gonna Wrap My Heart In Ribbons (Hank Thompson)


A Big Rock Happy Hour Christmas (mp3)

Please support your local, independent stores this Yuletide/Solstice/etc. season!  Otherwise...the Man has won!

Possum Santa

Special Xmas post today.

We would be remiss to not acknowledge the passing of "The Voice", "The Possum", one of Country's true legends, George Jones.  One of the towering figures in American Music, regardless of the genre.  The world's a little lonelier without him.

So today, it's an all George Jones Holiday!

Starting off with a song we haven't posted before, "Maybe Next Christmas" is a bittersweet tale of life on the road at the holidays.  Following, we can't post about George Jones without Tammy Wynette, and they both give us a rollicking yuletide duet, a true honky tonk rave-up, in "Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus", which mirrors their classic "We're Not the Jet Set".  Only with more tinsel.

Jones keeps the festive boot stomping going with "My Mom and Santa Claus", a boomchicka raver that'll keep ya twistin' 'til the eggnog's gone.

And, finally, "Lonely Christmas Call", one of his finest moments, the golden voice filled with sadness, but not pathos.  A fitting tinkling lights farewell to a legend. 

These tunes will only be up for 24 hours, and we're running a bit of risk in posting 'em, so grab 'em fast and go out and buy some George Jones rekkids.  They make perfect stocking stuffers!

Santa's Coming in a Big Lawn Mower!

George Jones: Maybe Next Christmas (mp3)

George Jones and Tammy Wynette: Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus (mp3)

George Jones: My Mom and Santa Claus (mp3)

George Jones: Lonely Christmas Call (mp3)

Please support the artists you enjoy.  Buy some rekkids (vinyl always sounds better, dontcha know)!  And have a merry merry!

Trailer Park Santa

Hey Rudolph!  Is it possible your nose is shiny cuz you drink too much eggnog?  Just wonderin' if that's the cat you want drivin' yr sleigh????

Colder than Mrs. Claus'...well, you know...

Let's hit it!

Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours unwrap our first package today, with a killer hoe-down 'n' accordion driven xmas tale in the vein of Robert Earl Keene's "Merry Christmas From the Family"

The Backsliders add some cowpunk merriment to the festivities, and the essential and mighty Yo La Tengo give their own unique take on Sun Ra's classic "It's Christmas Time". 

The Maddox Brothers and Rose, one of the great classic honky tonk bands, show us how to misbehave at the holidays.  The Singing Loins bring their, before it was cool, busker force to a sad little yuletide tale.  And frazzled and ragged Replacements true believers, Deer Tick, take us on a Tom Waits-infused journey to the dark end of the Santa Claus street, replete with tinkling glasses and glassy-eyed ho, ho, ho.

As a bonus (we've posted these before, way back when), two of the greatest Xmas songs ever recorded, courtesy of god's favorite band The Sonics and the mighty nor'western Wailers (not the reggae band).  Absolutely essential to yr Solstice party!!!!

Santa's Got A Mixed Bag of Goodies!

Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours: Christmas At the Trailer Park (mp3)

Backsliders: Christmas (Doesn't Have to Be So Sad) (mp3)

Yo La Tengo: It's Christmas Time (mp3)

Maddox Brothers and Rose: Mama Says It's Naughty (mp3)

The Singing Loins: Harbour Wall (Saint Ives) (mp3)

Deer Tick: Holy Shit, It's Christmas! (mp3)



Bonus Classic Xmas tunes!


The Sonics: Don't Believe In Christmas (mp3)

The Wailers: Christmas Spirit (mp3)

Give what you can this Holiday season.  Every little bit helps.  We're all trying to make our way in this crazy world!

Whiskey Claus

 Back in the sleigh, with snow on the ground!

Everyone's favorite producer, Jim Diamond,  starts us with a rockin' little soul garage combo, a stomper all 'bout the wastelands of Detroit at Xmas.  After that, a blast of boozy Xmas trashpunksleaze courtesy of the mighty 10 Cent Fuck Flicks.  Not, we repeat, not for the faint of heart. 

Too cool things off a little, legend Eddie Floyd (he of the mighty "I'll Be Your Santa Claus") throws us sweet and soulful "Christmas Party".

And then there's Country crooner Jimmie Selph, with "A Little Boy's Letter to Santa Claus".  It's a weeper, and y'all know how much we like our weepers, those classic Xmas tunes full of horribly delicious pathos and hilarious heart tugging. 

And on the weeper note...why not revisit two of the best?  What Holiday would be complete with the king, Red Sovine?  Our favorites then...The alcoholic haze of "Here It Is Christmas" and the greatest yuletide tune of them all, "Billy's Christmas Wish", who's ending can only be heard to be believed!

Santa's an Emotional Punk!

Jim Diamond's Pop Monsoon: Christmas in Detroit (mp3)

Ten Cent Fuck Flicks: Whiskey Claus (mp3)

Eddie Floyd: Christmas Party (mp3)

Jimmy Selph: A Little Boy's Letter to Santa Claus (mp3)

Bonus Weepers

Red Sovine: Here It Christmas (mp3)

Red Sovine: Billy's Christmas Wish (mp3)

Please give generously to all your favorite alcoholic Santa's the Holiday season. 

Santa Noir

Perhaps a little too much eggnog last night.  The Mountain is a bit under the weather today.  What better time, then, than to start re-posting some of our world famous Xmas mixes, that many of y'all were so kind to help us recover??  Figger some of y'all haven't heard 'em yet, so enjoy!

We'll make up for the lack of new stuff today over the next few weeks with some double posts or extra-loaded tunes! 

We're also more than happy to take requests (as long as we actually have the tunes)!

Santa's Got a Boogie Woogie Heart!


A Big Rock Candy Mountain Juke'n'Jive Xmas (mp3 follows track listing)


1.Christmas In The Congo (The Marquees)
2.Xmas Twist (Twistin' Kings)
3.Santa Claus (The Sonics)
4.Christmas Tree's On Fire (Holly Golightly)
5.Rockabilly Santa Claus (Wanda Jackson)
6.Christmas Boogie (The Barnstompers)
7.Bring That Cadillac Back (The Doc Bagby Orchestra)
8.Here Comes The Fattest Man In Town (Bob Chester)
9.Santa and My Semi (Dale Watson)
10.The Christmas Cannonball (Hank Snow)
11.Cowboy Santa Claus (Prairie Ramblers)
12.On A Christmas Day (C.W. Stoneking)
13.Santa's Secret (Johnny Guarnieri)
14.Christmas In Jail (Leroy Carr)
15.Christmas Lights (Wild Billy Childish)
16.Blue Grey Christmas (King Coleman)
17.Hey Santa Claus (The Moonglows)
18.God Rest You Merry Gentlemen (Rev. Frost)
19.Will Hell Be Your Santa (Rev. J.M. Gates)
20.Santa Claus Boogie (Hasil Adkins)
21.Christmas Boogie (The Davis Sisters)
22.Christmas By The Bar B Que (Lynn August)
23.Christmas In The Mountains (Faron Young)
24.Gone Home For Christmas (Red Simpson)
25.Santa To The Moon (Sonny Cole)
26.Jingle Jangle Jump (Dexter Gordon)
27.Christmas Rush (Dead Moon)
28.Let Me Hang Your Stockings In Your Christmas Tree (Roosevelt Sykes)
29.Santa's Messin' With The Kid (Eddie C. Campbell)
30.Zydeco Christmas (C.J. Chenier)
31.What Will Santa Say (When He Finds Everybody Swinging) (Louis Prima)
32.Christmas Time Blues (Roy Milton and His Solid Senders)
33.If We Make It Through December (Merle Haggard)


A Big Rock Juke'n'Jive Xmas (mp3)

As ever, support the artists, check out a show, buy some merch, buy the rekkids!  Artists have to buy presents for their family as well!

Secret Santa

Holy holidaze!   We want to thank each and every person who helped us out in recovering the Xmas mixes from years past.  We are humbled by yr generosity.  And it confirms what we've always believed:  regardless of religious affiliation or political stripe, we still think the holidays bring out the best in all of us.  From pretty lights in yr favorite dive bar to the gift of giving, there's something about this time of year that bands us all together.  That's what this is all about.  In the end, all we have is each other, external quibbles aside.  We're gonna be re-posting those mixes soon, plus a few new ones.  So watch out, Scrooges...it's all about the love!

We missed yesterday, so we'll try to make that up over the next few days.

So...organ drenched be-bop spirit from the Barbary Coasters!  The Boulevards bring the doo-wop to the tinsel hanging.  J.B. Summers and the Doc Bagby Orchestra give us some Rhythm 'n' Soul ornamentation.  And the Hipwaders rockabilly us on a never-ending Yuletide train!

As a bonus, two classic Xmas tunes from one of our favorite artists, Mike Ireland.  Possessing a classic Country voice, able to voice the epitome of sadness and beauty in the Holiday season.   These tunes are not to be missed!

Secret Santa doesn't believe in Himself!

 The Barbary Coasters: Secret Santa (mp3)

The Boulevards: I Don't Believe In Santa Claus (mp3)

J.B. Summers and Doc Bagby's Orchestra: I Want A Present For Christmas (mp3)

The Hipwaders: Santa's Train (mp3)

Bonus Xmas tunes from way back when...

Mike Ireland and Holler: Christmas Past (mp3)

Mike Ireland and Holler: Christmas From A Bar (mp3)

Take care of each other this Holiday season...the measure of each of us is in how we treat "the least of these". 

On A Christmas Day

Got a special Xmas request!  We lost all of our previous Xmas mixes (the mp3 ones).  We've still got the track listings, but the mp3 files are gone.  Anybody got some or all of 'em they can send us, so we don't have to try to re-create?  We'll have a special treat for ya, if you can help us out!

Ok, enough pleading.  Let's stuff yr stockings!!!


BR549, that classic honky tonk bar band, weigh in with one of our favorite holiday genres, the Truckin' Christmas song!!!!  They're making Red Simpson and Dave Dudley proud with this slice of  yuletide!  More truckin' Xmas to come!

Cactus Pryor and C.W. Stoneking kick it old-school jug-band style'n' Blues to rawk yr holidaze groove!

And The J's (with Jamie) slide into yr hipster xmas wrapping with a beatnik swing like nobody's business, daddy-o!

Santa's a Truckin' Fool!!!

BR549: A Truck Stop Christmas (mp3)

Cactus Pryor: Christmas Is A Very Merry Time (mp3)

The J's with Jamie: Cool Yule (mp3)

C.W. Stoneking: On A Christmas Day (mp3) (file removed)

Please support your local bell ringers and ringing bells!  

Stomp That Xmas

It's a ho ho ho's paradise!  Day 2 of our Yuletide insanity!  No preamble, let's stuff yr stockings!

The mighty Holly Golightly, one of our favorite artists, shakes off the punk for a vibes-drenched lounge-y xmas list.  Her noir vocal take is perfect for a late night, snowy twinkle of tinsel and yule-log crackle.  Break out the bear-skin rug!

Too mellow?  Well, then, the Black Nights and the Guitar Slingers FT will kick yr holiday ass all around the tree, a rockabilly present wrapped up in a grit-down bow!

And the mighty Hank Thompson finishes us off with the greatest Christmas wish ever!  (and one of our Top 5 fave rave Xmas tunes ever!)

Santa's a Stompin' Chimney Diver!

Holly Golightly: That's What I Want For Christmas (mp3)

Black Knights: Xmas Record Hop (mp3)

Guitar Slingers FT: Stomp That Christmas (mp3)

Hank Thompson: I'd Like To Have An Elephant For Christmas (mp3)


As ever, support the artists in any way you can.  The best Xmas gift you can give is help 'em out! 

Red Eye Santa

Well, 'spect its about that time.  The Holidays (suck it Palin) are upon us, and the world's ears tune into the mighty Mountain to help 'em through the nonsense.  We're here for you.  Daily Posting from now 'til Shane MacGowan's birthday on December 25th!

Did we mention "daily posting"???  Yes we did. 

This may be our last go-around, so we'll try to make it a little extra special. 

Gonna break out long-standing rule, and post some stuff we've posted before.  Lots of classics worth revisiting, and we've been doing this so long, that, well, why the hell not???  Fear not, there will be plenty of "new" tunes to slurp yr eggnog to. 

As ever, feel free to snoop around the archives and make a request.  We'll try to accommodate everyone!

And remember, if ya don't like what ya hear today, stick around.  No day is the same, no style or genre is sacrosanct.  We'll be changing it up daily.

Enough of the intro, let's hop in the sleigh!

Kicking things off is the mighty Untamed Youth, with a hot rod hootenanny, that happens to be one of our top 5 xmas tunes ever!    Television City follow up with a Yuletide ode to punk icon Johnny Thunders, who could be our Santa any day of the year.  Who else could save Christmas, indeed?

Dick Smith knows exactly how Santa gets through such a rough night.  And The Davenports throw down what may actually be our theme over the past 9 years of doing this.  No really. 

Santa's bag is hanging low!


The Untamed Youth: Santa's Gonna Shut 'Em Down (mp3)

Television City: The Night Johnny Thunders Saved Christmas (mp3)

Dick Smith: Red-Eyed Santa (mp3)

The Davenports: Whore For the Holidays (mp3)

Please support your favorite charity this Holiday season!