Santa's Lap

Guldurn, it's snowin' like a mofo 'round these here parts.  Good stuff.

It's Sunday, so it must be time for another swell Xmas mix of tunes previously posted  here at the 'Mountain Holiday blowout.  Not much to say about it...just pour yrself some spirits, kick back on the couch and watch the pretty lights spin around the Christmas tree.

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)

Please support yr local food pantry this Holiday season. 

Funky Christmas

Okey dokey.

After the Xmas noise-fest and outsider fun of yesterday's Holiday post, we're feelin' like a little Seasonal cheer.  How about a dance party?  Yup, get out yr best suit or little black dress, grab yr fella or lady, and cut a rug under the Mistletoe.  Indeed.

Helpin' us get into the Christmas jitterbug mood are  Electric Jungle, Voices, the legendary Little Joey Farr, and Milt Patrick!  Yeah, Santa wants you to boogie as the snow flies around you (at least for those of us in Chicago)!

No Re-Post Special again today.  And no post this Saturday.  We gotta have a day off, dammit!  And we'll hit the Re-Posts hardcore over the next two weeks.  Big time Holidays mix comin' on Sunday morning.  Stay tuned!  We ain't slippin'...we're just slidin'!  

Santa's a groovin' fool!

Electric Jungle: Funky Funky Christmas (mp3)

Little Joey Farr: Rock and Roll Santa (mp3)

Milt Patrick: Merry Twistmas (mp3)

Voices: Santa Claus Boogie (mp3)

Thanks.  Please stop by yr local, independent whatever for yr Holiday joy.

Christmas Stunk

Hey.  Merry Xmas.  And thanks for all the kind words from all y'all in regards to our 500th post.  My email box was flooded, which was a lovely Holiday gift.  Stick around, we aint goin' nowhere, nohow.

That said, y'all might wanna cover yr ears for today's batch  of Christmas cookies.  Seems every Yuletide, we feel compelled to post a post that's a little bit...errrm..."noisy".  Hey, we've got varied tastes (though you'll never find any 80's hair metal 'round these parts...we have our standards, dammit).  So today's goodies are gonna be a little difficult for the more delicately inclined.  Just sayin', and you've been warned. 

Starting off with a double blast of Xmas nihilism, then, from a couple of bands who currently (maybe?) share a record label we're real keen on.  We're talking about some nasty stocking stuffers here, folks.  We're talking about some Holiday scuzz courtesy of The Guinea Worms and El Jesus De Magico. 

Adding to that, we'll top off the tree with "angelic" tunes from "Country Mike" (aka Mike D. from the Beastie Boys), and the very, very legendary Wild Man Fischer.

Again, these aint tunes for the faint of heart.  We'll be back to the more traditional stuff tomorrow.   But we still think these are pretty kick-ass Xmas tunes.  Try 'em out!

No Re-Post Special today.  Back to normal on Friday...

Santa's a scuzz fan!

The Guinea Worms: Christmas Stunk (mp3)


El Jesus De Magico: Xmas At Wounded Knee (mp3)


Country Mike: Country Christmas (mp3)

Wild Man Fischer: I'm A Christmas Tree (mp3)

Please support whatever you can this Holiday Season.  We're all broke, of course.  But  some are more broke than others.  

Big Rock Christmas Mountain

This is our 500th post!  Break out the bubbly! (and check out our Re-Post Special below). 

'Course most folks out there in the world wide interwebs have probably achieved this milestone much faster than us (egad, it's been 6 years of Big Rock Candy love), but what can we say?  We give you our love when we can, and when the bar aint beckoning us away from our "bloggin'" responsibilities. 

'Spect we should be doing some kind of long-winded retrospective of where we started and where we've ended up, how we've changed and how we've stayed the same, through all the changes in the landscapes both musical and internet-related.  And maybe we will discuss it down the line (we've got a response to U2 manager Paul McGuinness' GQ and Rolling Stone article about "how to save the music industry" coming at the start of our "Best Of" list post-Holidays that might fit the bill).  But we're in the middle of our world-famous Xmas posting madness, which is what most of y'all are here for.  So to celebrate, we're gonna keep on keepin' on, as usual.

That said, we want to thank you all for stopping by.  Some of y'all are new here.  Some have been longtime readers.  Thank you, each and every one of you.  We do this for our love of music, in it's many forms.

We owe a particular big hug and thanks to a feller that may well be our oldest (not in age, but in duration) reader and commenter, and a gentleman who has become a very good personal friend, as well : "John From Milwaukee" (who is also a dj at the killer radio station WMSE ).  Thank you John, for all the years... This one's for you.

Ok, you're  here for the Xmas music.  Let's go...

We like two things more than any other.  Honky Tonk music and Drinkin' Songs.   Mickey Gilley gives us a little of both.  We've always imagined Gilley's as a place where it's Christmas year-round, what with the neon and gaudy rhinestone.  The following song pretty much confirms it for us.  And Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison (today's "George and Tammy"?) give us both a little Xmas honky tonk and a little Yuletide nip for the Holidays (ti's also a cover of a song by artist we dare not name).

As for our Re-Post Special....well...it's not a Christmas song.  It's the tune that  defines who we are, in so many ways.  And, it's the name of our site.  Thank you Harry McClintock. 

Viva The Xmas Mountain!

Mickey Gilley: Honky Tonk Christmas (mp3)

Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison: Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk (This Christmas) (mp3)

Re-Post Special (and theme song)

Harry McClintock: The Big Rock Candy Mountain (mp3)


Thanks again for visiting.  We'll do our best to make the next 500 even better.  And hey, it wouldn't hurt to give a little something to TOYS FOR TOTS this holiday season.  It's non-political, and it helps out kids...what's wrong with that?

Tex Kringle

Well, as we do every year on this date, let's all pause a moment to say Happy Birthday Mr. Tom Waits!  We love him, dontcha know...and we bet he loves us too.  Certainly.

Anyhow, now we're working our way up to Shane MacGowan's birthday on the 25th (any other celebrated birthdays we should know about on that day?).  So let's get going.

We're on the range today, with some proper good old Country and Western Holiday music for all y'all.  Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing every day, anyway?

Bill Monroe is Bill Monroe.  You know him, you love him.  He's got a couple swell bluegrassy tunes to ride yr Yuletide pony to. And singing cowboys Tex Ritter and  Jimmy Wakely have both got some jolly ho-ho-ho's to share.

Our Re-Post Special features Loretta Lynn and Asleep At The Wheel.  More Country goodness...my goodness.  

Yippee ki yi yay Santa Claus.

Bill Monroe: That's Christmas Time To Me (mp3)

Tex Ritter: Ole Tex Kringle (mp3)

Jimmy Wakely: It's Christmas (mp3)

Bill Monroe: Christmas Time's A-Comin' (mp3)

Re-Post Specials

Loretta Lynn: Country Christmas (mp3)

Asleep At The Wheel: Merry Texas Christmas Y'all (mp3)

Thanks for stopping by.  Please support the artists you can.  Preferably through independent means, or directly from the artist.  Go to a show.  String a bunch of lights around yr home or apartment, and have a listening party for Christmas.

Sanity Claus

Veering and careening our way through another Holiday season.  Just a reminder that at the end of all this we're gonna do our massively out of control Favorite Records Of The Year List.  Just looking at the list as it stands right now...well...yikes (and we just had to add the brand spankin' new Unholy Two rekkid, with more releases to come.).  Will we get everything listened to in time?  Who knows?  Stay tuned...

Today, we're goin' a little off-track (or off the rails, as some might suggest...).   The following songs aren't specifically Xmas tunes.  But they do reference Santa Claus and/or the Holidays, so they should fit right and properly on yr stereo when the time comes for yr stocking stuffing and whatnot.  Hey, this whole exercise is meant to be a bit "non-traditional", anyway.

So.  Butterbeans and Susie and Marvin Rainwater  want you to know (drunkenly, it seems) that if there is a Santa Claus, it aint them, and it aint anyone they know.  And The Cats And Fiddle remind us that every day's a Holiday if yr a swingin'  hepster. 

For our Re-Post Special, how about some of our favorite Country and Western artists (Including two Hanks), doing Christmas in the way that only they can.  Give it up for Hank Thompson, Hank Snow, and Ferlin Husky. 

Everybody knows there aint know sanity clause!

The Cats and Fiddle: Hep Cat's Holiday (mp3)


Butterbeans and Susie: Papa Aint No Santa Claus (Mama Aint No Christmas Tree)  (link removed by request)

Marvin Rainwater: Get Off The Stool (mp3)

Re-Post Specials

Hank Snow: Christmas Cannonball (mp3)

Hank Thompson: Gonna Wrap My Heart In Ribbons (mp3)

Ferlin Husky: In Santa's Bag (mp3)

Please support yr local, independent record store this pagan Solstice season. 







 

Yuletide Egg Nog

Don't know what that feller above is doin' takin' off his sweater.  Perhaps he's preparin' to give the lovely lady next to him a very special Xmas present.  Aint none of our business, of course, but it is Christmas, and the time for giving...and we're not opposed to spreading our love wherever it may be welcomed.  And who's not turned on by the present offered under that bouffant?  Good Xmas times, we're sure...

Well, that's done, so how about a brand spankin' new Xmas mix for yr next Holiday party.  Hell, collect 'em all (and maybe, if demand demands, we'll post all our previous years' mixes...you tell us what you want).  We're compilin' all our previous years' tunes into a series of mixes for yr listening enjoyment, consarnit!  Fill yr damn stocking with this, daddy-o....

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 Yuletide Egg Nog Mix (mp3)

Ok.  You've received plenty of free shit 'round the internets over the past year.    How about takin' the money you've saved and kicking back a little to those less fortunate than yourself this Holiday season? 

X Back In Xmas

Too much egg nog last nite, so we're not feelin' particularly wordy this round.  But the giving mood never ebbs! 

So, for yr listening enjoyment, we're gonna head to the garage, clear out the cobwebs and dig through the trash for some Holiday cheer of a more tribal nature.  

We've got chestnuts from some essential garage rawkers The Chesterfield Kings, The Fleshtones, and the mighty El Vez.  It's a wholly greasy affair, like last year's turkey. 

But first, a ribald little Christmas duet from Candye Kane and Country Dick Montana (of the Beat Farmers).  The song really is as good as it's title.

For our Re-Post Special, we're gonna continue the theme with a couple of  garbage-sleaze jolly old saint junkers from The Mono Men and The Honeymoon Killers! 

Saturday's gonna be a day of rest, but we'll be back on Sunday with another swell Xmas mix surprise.

Rawk-it Santa!

Candye Kane and Country Dick Montana: Let's Put The X Back In Xmas (mp3)

The Fleshtones: Christmas With Bazooka Joe (mp3) 

Chesterfield Kings: Hey Santa Claus (mp3)

El Vez: Poncho Claus (mp3)

Re-Post Specials

The Mono Men: Christmastime Is For Sinners (mp3)

The Honeymoon Killers: Back Door Santa (mp3)


Thanks for stopping by.  Please consider giving to yr local food pantry, soup kitchen, or toys for tots drives.  If you can, of course.  Things are pretty bleak out there...

Santa's Drinkin'

Is that damn Charlie Brown special on yet?

Anyhow, we'd like to believe that most of what we post during the Holiday season isn't mere "novelty", but legitimate kick-ass Xmas tunes that add to the season in a way that the usual fare can't any longer.  Do we really need another version of a traditional song as "interpreted" by Mariah Carey?  We think not.

That said, we've got a bit of a soft spot for some grand Christmas weepers, the kind of tunes that are both painful to sit through, yet revelatory in their sogginess.  We've done at least one of this each year.  What's the Yuletide without a little whine and cheese? 

Smiley Bates knows what we mean.  On his tune "Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas" (most assuredly NOT the Commander Cody tune), he's got a young lad's take on what it means for daddy to spend too much time at the bar during the Holiday season (with his girlfriend(s), no less).  Great stuff, and perfect listening during yr late-nite cocktail. 

Bill and Boyd, on the other hand, have more to worry about on Christmas day.  Apparently Santa aint coming due to natural disaster.  Yes, indeed.  This 'un will make you wish you had that drink that "daddy" loves so much in the previous song.

For our Re-Post Special, we're goin' barefoot for Christmas, courtesy of Sonny James and Little Jimmy Dickens.   Well, why not keep with a theme?  Barefoot?  In the winter?  Well, hell, you'd think Santa had better sense.

Santa's an emo little feller.

Smiley Bates: Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas (mp3)

Bill and Boyd: Santa Never Made It Into Darwin (mp3)

Re-Post Specials

Sonny James: Barefoot Santa Claus (mp3)

Little Jimmy Dickins:  Barefooted Little Cowboy (mp3)

Please support yr local kleenex manufacturer and emergency response technician this Holiday season.

Christmas Toy

Ho.  Ho Ho.  Ho, Ho Ho.

That felt good.

Just a reminder, to folks who are new 'round these festive parts.  Tunes will be active for 10 days only, then down they come.  It sucks, we know.  Sorry.

To make it up to you, we've got some deep soul Santa today.  Tasty treats even better than those cookies we all spend hours icing up, only to down in a single night's Yuletide depravity.  

First up is Chocolate Snow with "Let Me Be Your Christmas Toy".  It's a nifty little bit o' Xmas soul burner courtesy of the amazing re-issue gods, Numero Group. 

Ramping things up after that is a deep down gospel groove from Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth For Christ Choir.  Hoo, boy.  The song says it's Jingle Bells, but this aint no Jingle Bells you've ever heard.   In excelcis deo, indeed.

For our Re-Post Special, we've some stompin' Boogaloo Santa Claus from J.D. McDonald, and we've got Isaac Hayes.  Yep, we said Isaac Hayes, baby.    Do we need to say more?

All the ladies love a Soul Santa. 

Chocolate Snow: Let Me Be Your Christmas Toy (mp3)

Pastor T.L. Barrett: Jingle Bells Part 2 (mp3)

Re-Post Special

J.D. McDonald: Boogaloo Santa Claus (mp3)


Isaac Hayes: The Mistletoe and Me (mp3)

Please support yr local, independent go-go gospel choir this Holiday season.