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!