Xmas In The City

It's time to bake and ice the Xmas cookies.  Let's go, daddy-o!

Santa's a rawk'n'roller today, with help from The Jacobites (the late and much-lamented Nikki Sudden's band after Swell Maps), Jukebox Zeros (from a killer free comp by One Chord Progression...grab it now!), and Cincinnati's very own Buffalo Killers. 

Santa's got a guitar!


Jacobites: Teenage Christmas (mp3)

Jukebox Zeros: Christmas in the City (Aint too Pretty) (mp3)

Buffalo Killers: Secret Santa (mp3)

Please support the bands, the independent labels, the independent rekkid stores!

Funky Santa

Howdy.

We debated on whether it was appropriate to do an Xmas post today, due to recent events.  After some thought, and discussions with others, we've decided to go on ahead.  Figger the world needs as much joy as it can get these days, and we're a small corner tucked away, but hopefully we make at least of few of y'all smile now and again.  We're not remotely religious, and the majority of the world doesn't even celebrate the primary focus of our posts this month, at least not on a spiritual level.  We're all in this together, though, somehow and in some way.  Peace on Earth, indeed.

Now, on to the original post.

Playin' "Captain Obvious" today! A little sumthin' sumthin' to shake the tinsel off yr tree and get yr Santa suit a'quakin'!

Grab yr partner and groove deep down to the funky Xmas stylings of Count Sidney and His Dukes, Funk Machine, Graham Parker and Nona Hendryx (of Labelle), and his lordship, James Brown!

Santa's got a bag full o' Soul!

Count Sidney and His Dukes: Soul Christmas (mp3)

Funk Machine: Soul Santa (mp3)

Graham Parker and Nona Hendryx: Soul Christmas (mp3)

James Brown: Soulful Christmas (mp3)

Be good to each other.  We're all we've got.

Shakin' Santa

More merry madness!

If y'all haven't already done so, head on over to the great Aquarium Drunkard, where they've got a very special Xmas "mixtape", curated by yours truly!  Sort of a "greatest" hits, if you will.  We're pretty proud of the mix, and think you'll dig it!

Today we're gonna keep boppin' along 'round the aluminum tree with some jumped up Yuletunes courtesy of The Sabres, Paul Bain, and Blue Moon Special. 

Rockin', rollin' and wailin' Santa!

The Sabres: A Cool, Cool, Christmas (mp3)

Blue Moon Special: Flying Home For Christmas (mp3)

Paul Bain: Santa Claus Boogie (mp3)

As ever, please consider helping out those less fortunate this year.  Why not?

Jingle Twist

Bells a'jingled.  Hope y'all enjoyed the greatest Xmas song ever that we posted yesterday.

Time's runnin' short, so let's get a little stompin' and groovin' today, courtesy of Jimmy Reed, Alabama Red and Sammy Marshall!

Anybody else notice how there a ton of Xmas tunes out there with the same title, but aren't the same song?  Just sayin'.

Jimmy Reed: Christmas Present Blues (mp3)

Alabama Red: Goin' Home For Christmas (mp3)

Sammy Marshall: Jingle Mint Twist (mp3)

Thanks for stoppin' by.

A Very Special Xmas Episode

Now it's starting to feel like a Festive Season!

Today, we're gonna treat y'all to the very greatest Christmas song of all.  Courtesy of the master himself, Mr. Red Sovine, Words cannot even describe the brilliance of this song.  You have to hear it for yourselves, and stick around for the fantastic ending.  We promise it'll be worth your time.  The song is dedicated to our buddy Good John over at WMSE. 

Del Reeves and Jimmy Martin do their damndest to match Mr. Sovine's brilliance. 

If you grab one song from us this joyous season, this is the one you need!

Red Sovine: Billy's Christmas Wish (mp3)

Del Reeves: Christmas Is Lonely (mp3)

Jimmy Martin: Christmas is Everywhere Except in My Heart (mp3)

Thanks.

Holiday Hookup

Couple of new slabs of fruitcake to stuff down yr stockings today!

The Vanishers welcome guest Ginger St. James to help out on a rollicking cowbilly tune about...well, what else?  Nuthin' like a Holiday hookup...

Guitar, Country, and Rockabilly legend Cordell Jackson with a boppin' Xmas tune about them there youngsters and their hip, happenin' Yulesville!

Them bells is swingin'!

The Vanishers with Ginger St. James: Christmas Wish at the End of the Bar (mp3)

Cordell Jackson: Be Bopper's Christmas (mp3)

Thanks.

Rig Ridin' Santa

The Xmas rig keeps on a' rollin'! 

Couple of things...1) Songs are up for a limited time (about two weeks), so grab 'em while you can! 2) We're happy to re-post tunes from previous years' Holiday blow-outs, so if there's a tune you missed from yesteryear, let us know.  Re-posts from this year will have to wait til next year.  It's just a thing.

Now then...

Some of our tunes come from folks like you, who have been kindly sharing with us over lo these past 7-8 years!  Thanks to all of y'all!  And sometimes we run across a tune from the interwebs that is absolutely irresistible.  Today we're gonna feature both of those instances.

Feller named Thomas M. shared a shit ton of mixes with us yesterday, and filled a bunch of holes in our collection.  We're still going through 'em, but two great songs jumped to the top of the giftin' pile.  First is the Ramonas'  awesomely revved up and pissed off ode to Santa.  And then there's Hillbilly Casino's trashbilly ode to a very Southern Santa.

And finally, an Xmas truckin' tune, by Wayne Mayfield, we found over at the mighty Junk Shop Juke Box (which should be an essential daily stop for y'all), which we can't resist sharing here, given our well known obsession with all things truckin'.  It's ripped from vinyl, just the way we like it, and it's...well...it's a fascinating little tune (head on over to Junk Shop Juke Box to read their take on the tune).  Highly recommended!


The Ramonas: Santa's Got A GTO (mp3)

Hillbilly Casino: Blue Suede Santa (mp3)

Wayne Mayfield: Santa's Trucker (mp3)

As always, please support the artists in any way you can!  Go to shows!  Buy merch!  

Bongo Beatin' Santa Claus

Back on schedule, with a very, very special Xmas post for all y'all today!  "B" is for "Beatnik"!  "B" is for "Boogaloo"!

We've posted the mighty, hip, and groovin' Babs Gonzales before, with the essential "Be Bop Santa Claus", and here's two more happenin', hip, and jivin' beatnik Holiday tunes for yr pad!

Following those two finger poppers, Baby Jane and the Blenders weigh in with a screamin' good trashy girl group number sure to light up yr Xmas tree!

And what Christmas would be complete without a spooky little tune about everyone's favorite bad guys hijacking the holidays, courtesy of the "monster masher" himself, Mr. Bobby "Boris" Pickett?

Oh yeah, hepsters, this might be the greatest Xmas ever!

Babs Gonzales: Teenage Santa Claus (mp3)

Babs Gonzales: Rock and Roll Santa Claus (mp3)

Baby Jane and the Blenders: You Trimmed My Christmas Tree (mp3)

Bobby Boris Pickett: Monster's Holiday (mp3)

As ever, please consider donating to yr favorite charity this time of the year.  Hell, consider it all year 'round!

Wonderful

Ooops, was out a little late last night celebrating the Festive Yuletide.  But we haven't forgotten y'all.  Here's a nifty little tune from Nick Cave and Shane MacGowan to sip a little eggnog to, while preparing for our return to form tomorrow. 


Back to the true Yule Insanity tomorrow!

Mistletoe Mess Around

Good gravy, what if we put all this energy into posting all year 'round?  Regardless, it's Xmas!  Good times are coming.

Today's yule logs take a decided shift into bar band territory, with some nifty tunes that hang neon bar-lights around their Santa Claus suits.  Let's take a listen....

Danny Barnes used to be (or still is) in the seminal Bad Livers.  Here, his banjo expertise (of which he is an acknowledge master) is on display in a low-down, beats-driven Christmas lament. 

Star and Micey, who we got to see not too long ago, in a great show, go traveling and drinking on a Christmas Eve in one of our great cities.   

Marah, who recorded one of our favorite records of all time, "Let's Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later On Tonight", chime in with an Xmas ode to the greatest city in the world.

And Scott Miller, formerly of the V-Roys,  lends his Holiday voice in a rather suggestive number, where Virginia finds out there's a Santa Claus, and she's not disappointed.

Santa's a Banjo fiend.

Danny Barnes: All Alone For Christmas (mp3)

Star and Micey: A Memphis Christmas (mp3)

Marah:  New York is a Christmas Kind of Town (mp3)

Scott Miller: Yes, Virginia (mp3)

Thanks for stopping by.