Festive!

Neotropic's Christmas greeting

2011-12-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

Dunno if I'm going to post many of the "hard" cards from this year, but I did want to share this groovy digital greeting I received from Neotropic.

Christmas 1972

2011-12-24T16:42:00.001-08:00

KEXP's Christmas Song of the Day

2011-12-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

My colleagues at the KEXP blog always do an excellent job curating the Song of the Day podcast, bringing fresh new music to listeners' in boxes five days a week. But they outdid themselves this past week, offering five brand new Christmas recordings by up-and-coming artists. I was especially excited to see Black Keys associate Jessica Lee Mayfield putting her own stamp on Glen Campbell's "Little Toy Trains." You can download each of them—and learn more about the recording artists—by clicking on the links below. (And while you're at it, please consider making a year-end gift of support to KEXP.)

Diamond Rugs - Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant
The Barr Brothers - Dear Mrs. Claus
Breathe Owl Breathe - Snow Blow
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Little Toy Trains
Brite Futures - Last Christmas

KEXP blog master Jim Beckman also compiled a comprehensive list of recent seasonal favorites by KEXP anchor artists like Damien Jurado, Fitz and the Tantrums, the Raveonettes, and more, under the banner "A Sleighfull of Holiday Songs." Don't miss local heroes STAG tearing it up on the Kinks' "Father Christmas."

Speaking of KEXP, I'll be broadcasting my annual Christmas music spectacular live on-air from 9PM to noon Pacific Time tomorrow. You can tune in via 90.3 FM Seattle or on the Internet at kexp.org.

Shelby Earl's "This Christmas Is For Us"

2011-12-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

Shelby Earl's full-length debut, Burn the Boats, was one of my favorite local albums of 2011, and she's also a delight to follow on Twitter. Her ascent in my pantheon continues with the release of "This Christmas Is For Us," an original song now available on her Soundcloud page and from better online music retailers. We asked Shelby to tell us a little more about this tune, and here's what she had to say.

First let me start by saying, I LOVE CHRISTMAS. The holiday was a huge deal in my family when I was young, and has remained so my entire life. To this day, no matter where my extended family members reside in the world, they will drop what they're doing, put work on hold, and travel to a chosen location (usually in Cali) to spend Christmas week together. It's SUCH an epic deal to me that in this, my 35th year, I've never missed a Christmas with my mom - not one. UNTIL NOW! It's been a wildly exciting year of music-making in Earl-land and in crafting my plans for end-of-year shows, tour, recording, etc. I realized that a week-long trip to California wasn't going to be viable (the list of reasons is long). Delivering the news to my family was tough, but everyone understood.

Then jump ahead to me sitting in my living room just a few short weeks ago, when first snowflakes were hitting the ground in Seattle. I was sipping a cup of tea, pondering how much I love my cozy apartment, how deeply I love and appreciate my community in Seattle, and it hit me: I AM ALREADY HOME. My parents and siblings might be in California for the week, but my PEOPLE are right here! I picked up my guitar and this song poured out of me. I'm not always lucky enough to write that way - other songs take a LOT longer to come around - but this one just flowed. It's because it came out of a genuine excitement to be with my Seattle friends and loved ones this year for Christmas. I wanted to tell them as much.

My bandmates were awesome about quickly rallying to learn and record the tune so we could get to sharing it. Then last weekend (the 2nd week of Dec.) a crew including: Barb Hunter (cello), Faustine Hudson (drums), Anna-Lisa Notter (vocals), Mike Notter (guitar), Ben Obee (bass), Fidelia Schoolcraft (vocals) and myself all got together for a few hours in Gabriel Mintz' living room to lay it down. We knew it would be a wee bit lo-fi, but it ended up having the EXACT right spirit about it. Gabe did a spectacular job recording and mixing it - and it gave him a giggle to be the "bad jew" who spent hours working on a Christmas tune. I told him he was lucky it wasn't all about wise men and angels and infant kings. :)

So here it is, my offering of love to my Seattle people this Christmas. It's my "thank you" for the AMAZING year you've given me.

Christmas with The Waitresses

2011-12-20T15:04:00.001-08:00

The following interview, conducted by Keith Lyle, originally appeared in issue #2 of FESTIVE!, way back in 1997.

Christmas Wrapping with Chris Butler: A Tribute to Patty Donahue and the Waitresses
By Keith Lyle

"Do you know how this whole thing started?" So says Chris Butler, former guitarist and songwriter of the Waitresses, as he watches the brightly-lit faces of tourists streaming towards the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. It's December in New York City, sixteen years since the Waitresses first hit the radio with their unexpected holiday ditty, "Christmas Wrapping."

It's a weird December for Chris. He's just set the Guinness Book's record for "World's Longest Pop Song" with his "The Devil's Glitch" recording. He's working harder than ever, delving full-on into a wide array of musical projects, from a newly released solo album on his own Hoboken-based Future Fossil label, to a forthcoming collection of new songs recorded using rare, antique equipment. For the self-described "workaholic," it's pure pleasure. But it's also been just about a year since Patty Donahue, lead singer with the Waitresses, succumbed to cancer at age 40.

The din rises within the Au Croissant as shoppers on parade stop in for a moment of java-induced warmth. Paper shopping bags rustle and snap when colliding with legs and chairs. The scene isn't too far removed from the visions of holiday madness that Chris imagined—and Patty sang of—in "Christmas Wrapping."

And what is it about that song? Charlie Frick, who wrote the liner notes for the band's recently released King Biscuit live album, refers to the track as "a rock version of It's A Wonderful Life." More than anything else, "Christmas Wrapping" is a story. Patty sings in the role of a young woman who's all on her own this year. Still, the song's narrator cheerfully faces up to the pressures of the holiday, as she proclaims her intention to celebrate Christmas within the true Peace-on-Earth of solitude.

As much as the music of "Christmas Wrapping" still rings across the airwaves every year, it's the theme that truly resonates. And while Butler is a man who prefers to keep his eyes on the horizon, "Christmas Wrapping" continues to make him smile every time he hears it. And this year, he even performed the track at the venerable club Maxwell's with the 1997 incarnation of Hoboken's holiday tribute band, Tipsy McStagger (which also included members of Jersey's Gefkens and Whatnots).

More than play the song live, Chris in pleased by the opportunity to talk: about the band, Patty, and Christmas in general. The stories flow with ease, complement by some theatric recreations and the palm-on-the-forehead exclaim that accompanies the sudden opening of deeply-filed memories.

In a December issue of Entertainment Weekly, "Christmas Wrapping" is placed at #10 in a ranking of the top 50 Christmas songs of all-time. The Waitresses even beat out Nat King Cole and "The Christmas Song." Not bad for the new wave band of Ohio natives that recorded the theme to Square Pegs. But how did it all happen? "If I may be so bold…" continues Butler, who takes one more swig of coffee before beginning his tale.

Chris Butler: It's August 1981 and we're on the road. We're on a label called ZE Records. ZE Records has a very strange roster: Kid Creole and the Coconuts, August Darnell, Alan Vega from Suicide, a lot of these very strange French people doing kind of heroin-laced songs… very bent, twisted. Anyway, out of this bunch, ZE gets it in their head that they want to make a Christmas record. So everyone rolls their eyes. And our band, we're touring like crazy just trying to get over. We didn't have time for this shit. I had some licks lying around and about three minutes to write this thing. We went into Electric Lady and recorded it, humored [label boss] Michael Zilkha, went back out on the road and forgot about it… until November, when I called my wife and she said, "Man, you're all over the radio. It's that Christmas song!"

FESTIVE! So the song first appeared on that ZE holiday compilation album?
Chris Butler: And then it came out again on an EP [I Could Rule the World If Only I Could Get the Parts] the next year, when we had been bounced over to Polygram. And since then it has been comp-ed to death. I have a list of mechanical licenses at home that must be… it's on Virgin's Christmas compilation, and Polygram's, too. It's been all over. When I get my BMI sheet, I get plays in Uruguay and countries in Africa and the Far East. If anything, it's overexposed.

FESTIVE! What's your reaction when you hear the song in December?
Chris Butler: I have a T-shirt that says "Jump! George Bailey, Jump!" You know, in It's A Wonderful Life, when [George] is gonna commit suicide and he doesn't? My sentiment has always been jump… so I don't have to watch this movie again. Bah-humbug! I'm usually in a sour mood and the song, I swear, blindsides me. I'll be out slopping around with bags and trying to do an urban Christmas and generally being in a very foul mood. And the song pops up and I just have to stop. A lot of people seem to be affected by it the same way. The song plays to that frantic thing and then resolves in a kind of cornball but sweet way. I'm absolutely convinced that I subconsciously wrote it to guarantee that I would have a kind of Christmas spirit… in order to be able to face the relatives every year.

FESTIVE! So after the success of the song in 1981…
Chris Butler: Polygram asked us if we had anything in the can [before Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?] and I said, in all honesty, "No." That's how much I dismissed this Christmas song. I wasn't trying to con them or anything. We completely forgot about it. Then Polygram was getting ready to release our first album and they give me a dirty look: "You've got a successful song that we don't even own." Needless to say, Polygram and Zilkha had to work something out so they could get the rights to do it. And from that time onward, "Christmas Wrapping" just kept cropping up every year. There's a line in there where [Patty] goes, "most of '81 passed along those lines...." If I had known it would be repeated, I would have written, "most of this year…." Who knew? I thought it was a one-shot.

FESTIVE! Was there ever a picture-sleeve 7-inch of "Christmas Wrapping?"
Chris Butler: They did an all-white single. The original 12-inch is on white vinyl, which is really pretty. I've got one or two, but they only made like a hundred or two hundred, strictly for radio stations.

FESTIVE! Writing for the Waitresses in general, it's interesting how you put yourself into this female character and could successfully relate stories from that point-of-view. Was that a big challenge?
Chris Butler: No. There are certain situations that are gender specific, but usually you try to talk about universals. It's not an impossible task and I'm not the first guy in the world to try and figure out women. It was a kind of interesting opportunity to ask a lot of questions and be more an observer under the guise of research. A lot of women were much more revealing about their personal thoughts because I was trying to do this stuff, than if I had been some bloke on the street. In a normal conversation in a social situation, there's a certain layer of distance that people like to keep. But because I was genuinely digging a little and they knew I wasn't hitting on them, women were a lot more open and genuine than in a normal guy-girl situation. I feel real privileged about that. And if I was able to turn that into some kind of song… great.

FESTIVE! What kind of woman were you imagining, as you wrote these songs?
Chris Butler: I wanted to come up with a female character… the coolest older sister that you maybe never had. Someone who would give you all the good stuff. I thought that it would be utterly irresistible to have a new type, someone who—for the time—told it like it is. I would have loved to cuss as much as Liz Phair and all these women today. I think Patty's character was a forerunner. I could have been blunter, if the times would have permitted and also, frankly, if Patty wasn't a nice Catholic girl. But when I hear Fiona Apple, I think "this is great." I see a thread going back to what we were trying to do. Maybe that's pretentious on my part.

FESTIVE! Not necessarily. Think back to a song like "I Know What Boys Like."
Chris Butler: Have you heard the new Jay-Z version? It's Jay-Z with, are you ready… I've got Lil' Kim saying "fuck" on "I Know What Boys Like." It is so raw, I cannot play it for my folks. That is so cool.

FESTIVE! What's the writing credit look like?
Chris Butler: Eighty-five people plus me. But it's Lil' Kim and let's just say, she's not advocating chastity. I think she's smart as hell.

FESTIVE! Didn't Shampoo cover that song as well?
Chris Butler: Yes, which I thought was going to be my retirement fund, but it stiffed so hard. In the history of British stiffs, [it was] a thud heard 'round the world. It wasn't a bad version, but it just died.

FESTIVE! And while we're talking about recent releases, there was also the King Biscuit live Waitresses album.
Chris Butler: I gotta say, that live version of "Christmas Wrapping" ain't bad. For a lower-to-middle level band that never got a chance to do what it was supposed to do… that song has pretty good staying power. It was just in an episode of Clueless.

FESTIVE! What is it that gets you into a sour mood at Christmastime?
Chris Butler: Where do I begin? I do a lot of work. The whole world shuts down… "Ah, get back to me after the first of the year," that's all they start saying the day after Thanksgiving. Nothing gets done. And that's usually the time when I'm most keyed-up and working really hard. I have a huge extended family. They're relatively well off. You can't get by on ironic New York gifts: a $10.00 deluxe edition video of Plan 9 From Outer Space would not do it for my in-laws. So it's the expense. It's the whole being-suckered-by-Christmas kind of thing. I always had lousy Christmases when I was little. We weren't a very wealthy family. It's not that I got charcoal or burnt toast, but it was quite obvious that I better be happy with underwear when everyone else in our neighborhood was getting mopeds or their second car.

FESTIVE! But there's something about the holidays you're able to get in touch with…
Chris Butler: Even in my old fart-itude, yeah.

FESTIVE! Thinking about Patty [Donahue], were you able to talk to her before she died?
Chris Butler: Yeah. We had bumped into each other off and on. I went back to Ohio and was going to a friend's wedding, a friend from Kent State. And he says to me, "Hey, Patty's really sick. Did you know that?" No, I didn't. She didn't let on. She was working for MCA music publishing, I think… which is ironic as hell, because she hated the whole music business with a passion. And we became phone buddies. I had been out of touch with all the band members for a long time. We all got together and tried to do something for her, but she was really sick. She had cancer of just about everything.

FESTIVE! So you were on good terms.
Chris Butler: I think so, yeah.

FESTIVE! What was it that made her such a special person and performer?
Chris Butler: She had a lot of spunk. I had written a lot of songs and was looking around for someone to sing them. I had been playing in this other band doing blues and R&B and experimental stuff, but I had these pop songs. I asked a number of people if they would be willing to do it, but she said yeah, thereby endearing her to me forever. Then I was in the group Tin Huey, and we got signed to Warner Bros. [and "stiffed majestically"]. That lasted a couple of years. In '79, I move to New York. I had some of the songs that she'd sung on and I spread them around to a bunch of DJs, who took them to A&R people. Then I called her and said, "Do you want to come to New York and be in a band?" She said yes, so I wired her my last fifty bucks; she got on a Greyhound bus, and we got to work. Patty was really good at this. She had a great sense of humor and sang a lot better than anybody gave her credit for. She was a natural. I think she fit that coolest big sister idea. I thought she was great.

There's a tape of us in England. We did Old Grey Whistle Test. A friend, who was one of the first people in England with a VCR, sent me this video. And we're at the end of the reel. There's everything from Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and Teardrop Explodes. It's a cross-section of British rock at the time. And each one is better and prettier than the next. And I dreaded it. "Oh God, we're gonna look so provincial and American." And we come to our slot, and Patty looks like Diana Rigg from The Avengers. She's just so cool. And it was okay. I dragged that out the day after Patty died.

She was a handful, I gotta tell you. But she could really do this. I wish she had done more because I think if she had wanted to have a showbiz career, acting or whatever, she would have done it. I miss her. She was a good buddy. I will not say we were the best of friends. We were really different in personality. I wish I had more of a goof-odd nature. Maybe that's what I learned from her… fuck-off more. The down side? She had no experience being in bands, no experience in music, and was not a terribly hard worker. She was a party girl and didn't know the pitfalls. Yes, there are evil people in the world: "Hey baby, sign this." Music business scum. It was the era when they were semi-ascended in New York. She didn't have the antenna, the bullshit detector, because she was totally green about the music business. So we—our attorney, sometimes members of the band, myself—did a lot of shielding, which she sometimes rebelled against. She was street, but she wasn't streetwise.

FESTIVE! How did you end up leaving the band?
Chris Butler: It was a big fight, a big mess. This is, of course, my side. We went to England to record and it was really hard and took a lot time. There was a lot of pressure and she didn't like it, so she split. And then we kind of got back together and she had a couple of really bad people in tow, which kind of ruined it for everybody. I threw up my hands. I walked away.

FESTIVE! Didn't you have Holly Beth Vincent from Holly and the Italians join?
Chris Butler: For like four or five shows. And then one day we did a show at NYU, and she didn't show. And I just said, "That's it. Fuck that." It broke my heart. It took a long time to recover from that.

FESTIVE! You all went through a lot together.
Chris Butler: And who knows… if we had stuck together, I think we could have become a better-than-middle-level band. Comparing "Christmas Wrapping" to the way a lot of songs from that era [sound], it's interesting that it doesn't sound dated. There's no synth drums going bing-bing-bing. None of the production stuff is dated. It's a regular drum set, real brass, real bass, acoustic piano, and guitar. Also, it just sounds great on the radio. It just kicks. I got something right… maybe.

FESTIVE! Do you think the fact that the song is telling a story that a lot of people can relate to, and that's it's about a time of the year when everyone has a lot of intense personal things going on, is what gives it a timeless quality?
Chris Butler: Even if you're not a Christian, you feel it. Maybe that's a new universal [sentiment], the dread of Christmas. And Christmas is a time when people focus in on what's going on in their lives. "Can I go home for Christmas? Have I made peace with Mom and Pop?" Or whatever. The song has achieved, not a fame, but a usefulness. And listen to the way Patty tells the story of "Christmas Wrapping." I believe her. That's it. Now, thinking about Patty, when you hear "Christmas Wrapping" this time each year, it has that much more poignancy.

Idelsohn 2011 Hanukkah Mix!

2011-12-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. And our friends at the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation ("who passionately believe Jewish history is best told by the music we have loved and lost") have all your musical needs covered with their easy-to-download 2011 Hanukkah Mix!, featuring Marlena Shaw, Ella Jenkins, Lionel Hampton, Woody Guthrie, and many more. And while you're listening, check out our 2008 FESTIVE! interview with Idelsohn co-founders Josh Kun and Roger Bennett. Mazel tov!

The Remix: "Christmas on Riverside Drive"

2011-12-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

If this weekend's post about August Darnell's "Christmas on Riverside Drive" left you eager to hear more of this holiday gem, your prayers have been answered. Our pal Eugene Tambourine has just uploaded a fantastic new remix of the tune to his Soundcloud page. Go grab it while you can!

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

2011-12-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

As if being a huge Christmas music geek wasn't embarrassing enough, the past few years have brought the onset of this disturbing phenomenon where I obsess over a particular Christmas song sung by a child. That's pretty low. Last year it was Brenda Lee's "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus," and before that it was "Santa Claus Is A Black Man." If this time next year I'm raving about "All I Want to Ask Santa Claus" by Ricky Segall & The Segalls, send out the men with butterfly nets. But for now, I'm stuck on "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas."

The original version of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" was recorded by Gayla Peevey, a 10 year-old local TV celebrity from Oklahoma, back in 1953. The song got to #24 on the charts. And guess what else? Gayla got a hippopotamus for Christmas! Wisely, she turned "Matilda" over to the Oklahoma City Zoo, who'd spearheaded the campaign to get her the damn animal in the first place.

You'd think most children would've quit there—after all, she got the hippo and a hit record, too—but not Gayla. In subsequent years, she churned out "Angel in the Christmas Play" (1954) and "77 Santas" (1955), but neither achieved the success of her signature song.

I stumbled across this earworm via a new cover by contemporary artist Anya Marina (available as a free download here). I don't know much about Marina, but I suspect music supervisor supreme Alexandra Patsavas had a hand in this one; Marina is signed to Patsavas' Chop Shop imprint, and heaven knows Patsavas has consistently demonstrated the kind of mouth-breathing music geek knowledge that fan boys like me drool over.

Talking "Christmas on Riverside Drive" with August Darnell

2011-12-17T09:46:00.001-08:00

Surely all FESTIVE! readers have deduced by now that A Christmas Record, originally issued by mutant disco/no wave purveyors Ze Records back in 1980, is the best Christmas album ever. Why else would I have gone to the trouble of interviewing most of its participants over the years? Was (Not Was), the Waitresses*, Cristina, James Chance... they've all chatted with FESTIVE!

This year I was lucky enough to interview August Darnell, aka Kid Creole, about his comeback album I Wake Up Screaming (you can read that article here). And you don't think I missed the opportunity to ask a question or two about his Ze holiday jam "Christmas on Riverside Drive," do you? Of course not.

FESTIVE! Tell me about writing "Christmas On Riverside Drive."

August Darnell: Interestingly enough, I don't like Christmas but I love Christmas songs. My two favorites of all time are Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby. Originally the song was called "Winter on Riverside Drive," not "Christmas on Riverside Drive." I was producing a group called Gichy Dan's Beechwood #9, this is back in the RCA/Victor days. And the singer of Gichy Dan was a Jehovah's Witness, and refused to sing the word "Christmas," so the song became "Winter on Riverside Drive." But then when I covered it, I said damn that, I'm going back to Christmas. It sounds better: "Christmas on Riverside Drive." And that's Cory Daye, of course, singing the bridge. I adore that song. And every time Christmas comes around, I think to myself, Someone, somewhere, is playing "Christmas on Riverside Drive." It was a big one for me, I love that one.

FESTIVE! So you were excited about the Ze Christmas album?

August Darnell: That was [Michael] Zilkha's idea, of course. Only Zilkha would've taken those artists and said "give me a Christmas song!" Everybody loved Zilkha, he was insane. But yes, I loved that notion. Of all those artists, I was the happiest one. The one who jumped up and went home and wrote a song that night. I love the songs of Christmas a lot better than actual Christmas. It's been warped, you know that. It's become something it shouldn't be. It's all about capitalism and materialism. And I'm not even going to go into how ugly that is. The love of Christmas should not even involve presents, and I'll leave it at that.

While we're on the subject, the revamped Ze Records is having its annual "buy one, get one free" Christmas sale right now, so you can pick up a classic like Cristina's Sleep It Off and get the Xmas disc gratis. Being a staunch purist, I'm have reservations about the "reloaded" edition they've been peddling since 2004, but you still get all the original tracks and that's what matters.

* Sorry, I still haven't converted this one to digital format. Soon, I promise...

The Real War on Christmas

2011-12-15T12:25:00.001-08:00

My favorite evangelical, Jim Wallis, just posted an excellent editorial about Fox News' annual "War on Christmas" campaign on the God's Politics blog. Here's just a snippet:

Last year, Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas. Clean water for the whole world, including every poor person on the planet, would cost about $20 billion. Let’s just call that what it is: A material blasphemy of the Christmas season.

Regardless of your religious affiliation, I think you'll find that Wallis makes some very salient and thought-provoking points. Read the whole thing here.

Princess Superstar "Xmas Swagger" video

2011-12-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

Nice to see Princess Superstar getting back to her East Village D.I.Y. roots in this charming new clip. It seemed like she was everywhere when I lived downtown in the first half of the 1990s, so this video brings back some pleasant memories for me.

Mary Gauthier's "Christmas In Paradise"

2011-12-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of Mary Gauthier since she released Mercy Now in 2005, and charmed the heck out of me during our interview for The Advocate (which can read here). Mary's former label, Lost Highway, put out a little holiday promo back then that included "Thanksgiving at the Prison" and "Christmas In Paradise" (the latter was originally included on her 2002 indie release Filth & Fire). This year, Mary is making the song available as a free download, and has also posted a video of a live performance from earlier this year.

A Christmas Gift To You, Zac Pennington

2011-12-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

As we've reported in the past, Portland combo Parenthetical Girls—and, in particular, Zac Pennington—are as geeky for Christmas as I am. This year, in a pleasant twist, the Girls' buddy Sam Mickens of the Dead Science has released the pay-what-you-will A Christmas Gift To You, Zac Pennington, a seven-song EP of holiday favorites recorded in 2010. Sam's eerie voice has brought me joy for many years (read what I wrote about TDS back in 2004 here), and his Christmas set is a welcome addition to the canon.

We asked Sam to tell us a little more about the genesis of this nifty little record, and he's what he replied:

My friend Zac, one of my very best friends in fact, has been as long as I've known him a real intense Christmas Music-ophile. Being newly presented with a friend and means with which to record music I was taken with the spirit to record this EP as a personal gift to Zac. I recorded it and mixed it all in one long night, aided by red champagne & jazz cigarettes. I feel it is one of the best and truest things I have ever made. Hark!

What are you waiting for? Name your own price and download A Christmas Gift To You, Zac Pennington, here.

Happy St. Lucia Day

2011-12-13T07:52:00.001-08:00

Next time one of your loved ones starts acting like a bloody Christian martyr because of holiday stress, tell them that post has already been filled.

Every December 13, folks in Sweden celebrate the life of St Lucia as the kickoff of the Christmas season. Lucia was a fourth century Sicilian girl who gave away her generous dowry to impoverished Christians. Her fiancee was duly pissed, renounced her as a Jesus-lover and turned her in to the authorities, who ordered her burned. (In some versions of the story, the bad guys gouge out her eyes first; St. Lucia is the patron saint of the blind.) Nuts. Since Dec. 13 was the Winter Solstice on the Julian calendar, the pagan festival of lights celebrated on that date eventually morphed into St. Lucia Day.

According to legend, Lucia would go about distributing her belongings to the poor illuminated by a wreath of candles in her hair, thus leaving both her hands free to carry—and give away—more. On St. Lucia Day, pretty girls in Sweden dress up in white robes and blazing headdresses (sadly, most are now battery-powered), and awaken the locals by distributing hot coffee and fragrant saffron buns known as Lussekatter (or Lucia Cats).

Toni Stante, "¿Mamacita, Dónde Está Santa Claus?"

2011-12-13T00:36:00.000-08:00

Today's holiday earworm, accompanied by a groovy homemade video full of vintage entertaining magazines. Bravo, SquirrelsDigIt!

Take a picture, it'll last longer

2011-12-11T11:08:00.001-08:00

One of the more creative Christmas trees I spied during my (fruitless) expedition yesterday to find the Shannon and the Clams' "Ruin Christmas" 7-inch. Seen in the window of Rare Medium, a Seattle art gallery and vintage camera store.

Collide-O-Scope Christmas Miracle Spectacular!

2011-12-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

Alas, I will have to miss this year's Collide-O-Scope holiday blowout—I'll be spinning holiday tunes over at Echo Party on Monday night—but if you're sick of seeing the same holiday TV specials dragged out year after year on ABC Family and the Hallmark channel, I cannot recommend this event highly enough.

Shannon and the Clams "Ruin Christmas"

2011-12-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

Oh dear lord... how did I not know until just a few moments ago that there was a Shannon and the Clams Christmas 45? And what are the odds I'll be able to find a copy in Seattle, rather than ordering one over the Internet? (As record geek friends will attest, buying individual 7-inches by mail order is vexing, since you usually end up paying as much—or more—for shipping & handling as the actual cost of the item itself.) Please enjoy this teaser below while I start making some frantic phone calls.

The Bandana Splits' "Wonderful Christmas Time"

2011-12-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Despite my love of all things girl group-related, and a perverse affection for the white bread pop music of the 1940s and '50s, I've not completely embraced the Bandana Splits. Why the reluctance? For one thing, I hate their punning band name.* And the concept isn't quite working for me either. What, exactly, are they offering that hasn't been done better by the Pipettes and/or the Puppini Sisters?

Well, here's something they've done quite nicely: updating Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time." I've never been a big fan of the original, though with the passing of years I've softened a wee bit. The ladies had the good sense to ditch the annoying synthesizer that dates McCartney's version, and abbreviate the song significantly, so its scant charms don't wear thin. If you enjoy the video below, you can download the track here for a short time.

* Besides, Bananarama already nicked their moniker from the Banana Splits, and they're the zenith of modern girl groups, so as far as I'm concerned, the topic has been exhausted.

Just like the ones I used to know

2011-12-09T17:34:00.001-08:00

My parents are getting ready to ~~die~~ move into a retirement community. Consequently, my mother has been purging the basement of all kinds of family mementos. The last carton of precious keepsakes she sent contained a big manilla envelope of old photographs, including a couple with Santa. The first is from 1970, when we still lived in Arcadia, California. I'm not sure when the second one was taken. Since I'm posed with my little brother, I'm guessing 1971 or 1972. I'm including the presentation folios cuz I think the graphics are pretty cool, especially the rather mod one from the latter snap. Enjoy!

"Pianist Recommends Using Christmas Music as Drug"

2011-12-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

This is an actual press release I received this morning. I can't make this s**t up, people. I can only add bold face type to highlight the bit that made coffee stream out my nose.

Research shows mellow piano music triggers soothing emotions and counters road rage

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With the holidays approaching, and as short-tempered shoppers and drivers start amassing in numbers, the addition of talk radio, heated political debates, and more bad news of unemployment, the economy and sex scandals can take a toll on even the most light-hearted.

For many, a responsible alternative to "alcohol consumption," and holiday depression, is Christmas music.

Research has shown music to have a great impact on us, with the ability to change and enhance an individual's mood. Major lawsuits against bands and record companies have "proven" through the legal system that music and lyrics can be responsible for all sorts of behaviors. Other studies have shown that music may even raise an individual's IQ.

But much of the Christmas music can sound the same. A walk through the mall reveals a typical sampling of pumped-up, pounding pop covers of Christmas Carols, designed to generate more frenzy, more shopping and more sales.

A refreshing alternative can be found in the solo acoustic piano album "Christmas Time At The Piano," available on iTunes. Pianist/composer Sam Sorensen has created an intimate, live performance, using state-of-the-art equipment. His interpretations of Mannheim Steamroller and Vince Guaraldi Christmas arrangements have been refined to perfection. In these tender renditions he captures a euphoric vibe similar to artists such as Enya and Loreena McKennitt. His pianistic skills are honed to impart the simple beauty of the arrangements, and lead one to transcend the mundane. A real remedy to the rush of Christmas traffic and easier on the nerves than inflammatory talk radio.

Enjoy the talents of Sam Sorensen, a world-class pianist, while driving in your car, or in the privacy of your home - a little ambience for your holiday festivities.

Share the gift of Christmas cheer. Pass along an antidote to "mellow out" holiday stress.

Slow down and smell the mistletoe.

Look, Ma... I'm an A&R guy!

2011-12-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

Some of you may recall that last year FESTIVE! showcased a Christmas original ("It Never Snows") by Seattle locals Exohxo, featuring my friend Michele K on vocals. This year she was invited to record another Yuletide selection with them, and turned to me for ideas. I recommended a few tunes I thought would suit her jazzy intonation—Jimmy Webb's "Whatever Happened To Christmas," Julie London's "I'd Like You For Christmas"—and she ultimately went with one of those suggestions: "Snow" by Randy Newman. You can check it out below, and download the new EP Exohxmas III: The Wreath of Khan here.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://exohxo.bandcamp.com/track/snow"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Snow by Exohxo (with Michele Khazak)&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

When Damien Met Santa

2011-12-07T15:36:00.001-08:00

John Roderick and John Vanderslice aren't the only indie rockers who like to dress up as Santa. Check out this great snapshot of Damien Jurado in his $7 Santa suit from Wal-Mart (submitted by esteemed shutterbug Sarah Jurado). Damien's holiday spirit doesn't end there. Earlier today, the folks at HitFix posted his recording of "Christmas Time Is Here," which you can download here. If, like me, you're a fan of Damien's earlier work, when he used his upper register more, you'll really dig his rendition of the Vince Guaraldi holiday classic.

Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum

2011-12-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

Oh goody! My beloved Gail Collins of The New York Times despises the song "Little Drummer Boy" as much as I do!*

* Yes, even the Bing/Bowie version. If I must hear "Little Drummer Boy," Marlene Dietrich and Joan Jett are my preferred renditions.

Open up and say "ho!"

2011-12-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Golly I love my twisted co-workers at Pony.

Rolling Stone "Greatest Christmas Songs" list

2011-12-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

The most recent issue of Rolling Stone, featuring yet another 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list, got my friends and I joking about how editorial departments pander shamelessly to the public's perceived affection for lists-as-features. Cue "100 Greatest Lists of Greatest Lists" gag now.

Lo and behold, what to my wondering eyes should appear when I click on RollingStone.com today to stream Jónsi's new soundtrack for "We Bought A Zoo" but—you guessed it—"The Greatest Rock & Roll Christmas Songs." *sigh* Most of it is as predictable as you'd expect from a magazine that only ranked two women among the Greatest Guitarists (Maybelle Carter who? The Duchess? Never heard of her...), but there are a couple surprises after you dig past the opening no-brainers.

Out of the WOODS

2011-12-01T14:34:00.001-08:00

Okay, I admit it: I've been having a lot of trouble mustering my usual holiday cheer this year (as evidenced by the paucity of posts). Like many folks, my family is faced with finance and health woes, the 24-7 news cycle seems hellbent on crushing whatever fleeing happiness I can muster, and two of my least favorite artists — Justin Bieber and Michael Bublé — are flogging Christmas albums.

But then, lo and behold, this mp3 shows up on the Internet today, and I feel a glimmer of hope. Please give a listen to this understated rendition of Vince Guaraldi's classic "Christmas Time Is Here" by the lo-fi dudes in Woods, and see if your spirits don't lift just a tiny bit, too.

Woods also put out a great new album this year, Sun and Shade. You might have heard me playing their song "Pushing Onlys" on KEXP. You can download that excellent tune here.

Christmas with STAG

2011-10-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

STAG is one of my favorite new bands, a Seattle power-pop combo featuring Ben London (Alcohol Funnycar, Sanford Arms) and Steve Mack (That Petrol Emotion). Their new video stars a trio of Emerald City rock luminaries, including Kurt Bloch ("the other Kurt B.") as "The Santa." Christmas starts at the 1:30 mark, but frankly, any video that features John Roderick as a hungover Valentine is a gift that keeps on giving.

She & Him "The Christmas Waltz" download

2011-10-10T17:24:00.001-07:00

You can now stream or download "The Christmas Waltz," the lead track from the forthcoming She & Him Christmas album, here. While I applaud the duo for opening with a less-common Christmas song, and I'm very grateful a portion of album proceeds will go to one of my favorite charities, 826 National, I'm not sold on Zooey's laidback-to-the-point-of-comatose mewing. Seriously, she makes Perry Como sound animated.

A "FESTIVE!" tight end

2011-09-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

You know that old saw, "Those who can't, teach... and those who can't teach, teach gym?" I've often said that "those who needn't make music, make records... and those who needn't make records, make Christmas records." Now, I don't honestly know whether former Indianapolis Colts tight end Ben Utecht can carry a tune in a bucket, let alone meet my tough criteria for holiday cheer (although the snippet I just heard while linking to his website was okay in a choirboy-all-grown-up kinda way), but I'm mildly intrigued by the prospect of his forthcoming Christmas album, Christmas Hope, if only because I'm always looking for an excuse to pretend I know something, anything about sports. Also, he has a nice chin.

Details on Ben's Christmas record below:

SUPERBOWL XLI CHAMPION BENJAMIN UTECHT

RELEASES CHRISTMAS HOPE ALBUM ON OCTOBER 11^TH

New York, NY – (September 8, 2011) – Most people are fortunate to have just one remarkable talent, but Benjamin Utecht is not like most people. One of the proudest moments of Utecht’s life came when the clock ran out at that fateful Super Bowl Championship game where he and his teammates in the Indianapolis Colts claimed a hard-fought victory over the Chicago Bears. His injuries (including a career-ending concussion) have since forced him into retirement from football, but his love of music and impressive vocal ability has helped to launch his childhood dream of a successful singing career.

While it has traditionally been difficult for athletes to crossover into the music world, the truth is that Utecht has been preparing for this transition for the past twenty years. Thus far, the passionate superstar’s astonishing voice has been featured alongside legendary pops maestro Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and gospel music legends Bill Gaither and Sandi Patty. Benjamin’s classical crossover style strikes a resemblance to Josh Groban and Michael Buble, but with the pop/rock appeal of U2 and the epic nature of cinematic scores. Utecht’s latest accomplishment was being named Jim Brickman's lead male vocalist on the multi-platinum artists’ upcoming Holiday Tour "A Christmas Celebration" kicking off on November 26^th.

As a man who is embodies hope, it seems only right that Utecht’s first release is a record celebrates the holiday season titled Christmas Hope. Featuring classic holiday songs and hymns as well as an original track called “Hope,” Christmas Hope is the perfect way to celebrate the season with loved ones. Available everywhere October 11^th, Utecht is sure to prove his place in the industry and introduce a new side of himself to fans across the nation.

TRACK LISTING:

The First Noel

O Come, O Come Emanuel

White Christmas

In My Dreaming

Christmas Eve

Christmas Time Is Here/O Tannenbaum

I Pray

Let It Snow (feat. Jaimee Paul)

The Coventry Carol

Hope

O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel)

Ave Maria

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

The album can be preordered here: http://tinyurl.com/benutechtpreorder

A Very She & Him Christmas

2011-09-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm on deadline right now, so I gotta keep this short and sweet (although I will resist the urge to abbreviate She & Him as "Shim," lest I offend my friends in the trans community). A few weeks ago, Zooey Deschanel tweeted about a pending She & Him holiday album. Today I received word that the record is in the can, and scheduled for an Oct. 25 release. I'm waiting to get my mitts on a copy, but here's the track list to whet your appetite:

1. The Christmas Waltz
2. Christmas Day
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4. I’ll Be Home for Christmas
5. Christmas Wish
6. Sleigh Ride
7. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
8. Silver Bells
9. Baby, It’s Cold Outside
10. Blue Christmas
11. Little Saint Nick
12. The Christmas Song

No doubt legions of smitten indie rock boys will get an illicit thrill pretending to be Zooey's snowbound partner-in-song on "Baby, It's Cold Outside."

Garage Door Santa

2011-01-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

I passed this cheerful fella while walking the dogs earlier in the week, and returned this morning to snap his photo. I don't know these neighbors, but their residence isn't one of the mansions of the über-rich that line the streets near Volunteer Park, so I'm tempted to knock on the front door and ask what the back story is. Maybe if he's still up in February I'll screw up the courage.

Queer Nation Christmas

2011-01-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

My partner Mark found this card in a box of memorabilia in his office Sunday. It was sent to him by his boyfriend Tom (RIP) 21 years ago. The AIDS crisis is not over.

Got Whiskers?

2011-01-19T09:28:00.001-08:00

You need to go spend a few minutes over at The Beardly.

"Rare Exports"

2011-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

FESTIVE! reader Colleen—who lives in Tasmania, where they have to wear gravity boots year round and Christmas is in the middle of summer—alerted me to the recent Finnish flick Rare Exports this morning. Somehow it had completely escaped my notice.* I immediately e-mailed our Hollywood correspondents, Alonso Duralde and Dave White. Alonso hasn't watched it yet (what? He had a very busy December!), but Dave wrote one of his typically brilliant reviews for Movies.com here. More musings after I've gotten my mitts on a copy and watched it.

*This actually isn't so remarkable. I'm terrible about going to films in theaters, where other people are likely to congregate and disturb me. Festival screenings aside, I think the last film I saw in a theater was Blades of Glory.

Best Christmas Cards of 2010

2011-01-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

As I tidy up the office and put away the last of the decorations, I wanted to take a quick look back at three of my favorite Christmas greetings from 2010.

Best Magazine Cover Parody

Best Activity Card for Snow Days

Best Family Photo

(Devotees of FESTIVE! may recall that this is not the first time the Bagley clan has claimed this prize.)

Vitamin C(hristmas)

2011-01-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

I wish more folks arrayed their Christmas lights into displays of healthy fruits and vegetables. Then again, I grew up in a household where Mom gave out raisins and Trident sugarless gum at Halloween, so I may have a slightly skewed perspective on what constitutes "celebrating" a holiday.

Malachai Xmas Mix

2011-01-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

As some friends know, lately I've been bugging out over the Anika record, which was produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead. But Geoff was also one of the first people to jump on Bristol band Malachai (he put out their very first single in the UK), who are poised to release their sophomore album, Return to the Ugly Side, in the US on February 22. Over the holidays, the Malachai guys put together a super-groovy holiday mix—it's only 16 minutes long, but crams in all sorts of fun Christmas bits-and-bobs from the Beatles, Biz Markie, Badly Drawn Boy, Wizzard and more (finally, somebody put all those odd segments on the Band Aid B-side to good use!), plus commercial spots and library music. Download or stream it here before it goes away!

Another Rough Guide to Christmas

2011-01-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I overlooked the latest edition of Parenthetical Girls "Rough Guide to Christmas" holiday mix. Mr. Zac Pennington's Christmas music collection rivals my own in weirdness and diversity (he's the only other person I know who owns the Golddiggers Christmas album), as represented by the two eclectic mixes found here.

On a related note, Parenthetical Girls have compiled all their original holiday singles, including last year's masterpiece "The Christmas Creep," into a digital album. Christmas is available from Bandcamp for the insanely reasonable price of six bucks, and comes with an additional download of Christmas music by pre-PG outfit Swastika Girls.

S. Carey Christmas

2011-01-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - S. Carey + White Hinterland from S. Carey on Vimeo.

S. Carey made one of my favorite albums of 2010, All We Grow, then took it to the next level by captivating a packed crowd of folks waiting to see The Tallest Man On Earth (who seems to be in danger of becoming the new Jack Johnson) at Neumo's by playing basically 50 minutes of avant garde classical music. *cheers* While researching another band (Wolf People, highly recommended) I just stumbled across this clip of the S. Carey boys collaborating with White Hinterland on a humble rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I love when the boys start "playing" the muted horn parts. God bless geeky music students!

Last call for holiday cheer

2010-12-30T15:09:00.001-08:00

Actually, that's not entirely true. I had a long talk with Alan Sparhawk of Low today about the band's forthcoming album C'mon, and sneaked in a few questions about the 2010 vinyl reissue of their Christmas album, so I'll post that excerpt from our chat ASAP. And I want to recap the year's best Christmas cards again, too. But expect the frequency of posts to taper off sharply in coming days. What? Don't look at me like I'm lazy: I posted more FESTIVE! items in 2010 alone than in all of 2008 and 2009 combined! Besides, I'm already laying the groundwork for a very special project for 2011 or 2012; stay tuned for details.

Il Est Nes, Le DIVINE... baby!

2010-12-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

Wondering what to get me for Christmas next year? I wouldn't say no to a copy of Issue 74 of In Touch For Men, like Marcus gave Ian this year. Christmas, Divine, and naked dudes from the pre-manscaping era? Sign me up!

"Christmas is a time we should be thinking of others!"

2010-12-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

I'm embarrassed that I failed to post info on how to send holiday greetings to recovering members of our armed forces in time for Christmas. But this morning's "Daily Rumpus" missive from my beloved Stephen Elliott of The Rumpus did direct me towards this holiday greeting, from a member of our military who is also suffering as a consequence of his service: Bradley Manning, the soldier who allegedly leaked documents to Wikileaks, has been confined in a tiny cell at Quantico for 7 months now, yet still hasn't been charged with anything. In spite of adverse conditions, Manning issued the following holiday greeting via his lawyer:

“I greatly appreciate everyone’s support and well wishes during this time. I am also thankful for everything that has been done to aid in my defense. I ask that everyone takes the time to remember those who are separated from their loved ones at this time due to deployment and important missions. Specifically, I am thinking of those that I deployed with and have not seen for the last seven months, and of the staff here at the Quantico Confinement Facility who will be spending their Christmas without their family.” — Bradley Manning

Learn more about how can support justice for Bradley Manning here.

Don't catch this one on your tongue

2010-12-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Colby Keller's blog "Big Shoe Diaries" is totally NSFW (unless you work at Falcon, Manhunt, or Babeland), but I adore his mash-up of hunky hardcore content with musings on art, design, crushes, whatever; it's an ideal mix of smart, sassy and sexy. He posted this snowflake picture a couple days ago, with little info save that it comes from Texas. I'm smitten. By the picture, I mean. (Having crushes on gay adult film stars—no matter how adorable—is fruitless, no pun intended.)

Shearwater's Randy Newman Christmas on A.V. Club "Undercover"

2010-12-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Shearwater covers Randy Newman

The cabin fever-inducing week between Christmas and New Year's Eve offers a perfect opportunity to catch up on all nine episodes of The Onion A.V.Club's "Holiday Undercover" spectacular. Much as I adore Andrew W.K. (friends of Baby Dee get automatic high marks from me), my favorite performance comes courtesy of a band that once literally made me cry at a show, so beautiful was their performance. Texas combo Shearwater covers Randy Newman... but not the song Christmas music buffs might expect. (Hint: If Claudine Longet ever assayed this tune, I've not heard it yet.) If you love late period Talk Talk or Bark Psychosis, and don't know Shearwater, I encourage you to spend part of one of those gift certificates on their 2008 masterpiece Rook.

(PS I'm sorry you have to watch that damn vodka ad every. single. time.)

"The Christmas Tree"

2010-12-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

Big kudos to my fellow professional homo, John Waters fan, and former Time Out New York colleague Smith Galtney for tipping me to this 100 seconds of hilarity. Ah, Christmas... how quickly the season comes and goes. Kind of like autumn (right down to the shedding greenery).

ZE Records keeps on giving

2010-12-26T09:49:00.001-08:00

I will concede that Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift to You is probably a more important Christmas album in terms of overall cultural significance, but for my listening enjoyment, I still give top marks to ZE Records' 1981 classic A Christmas Record. Over the years, the FESTIVE! staff has interviewed Chris Butler of the Waitresses, Was (Not Was), James Chance, and Cristina, about their involvement in this masterpiece, and it never ceases to bring me joy.*

In 2004, the revamped ZE Records issued a new version, which includes all the original tracks, bolstered with some more recent recordings. Lucky you, you can download the Christmas album for FREE until December 31 with the purchase of any other title in the ZE digital store. For novices, I recommend starting with the first two volumes of the Mutant Disco series (the third and fourth ones start getting into esoteric rarities and remixes, although Don Armando's cover of Irving Berlin's not-so-PC "I'm An Indian Too" is damn priceless). Otherwise, this is a great chance to snap up Sleep It Off or the excellent Lizzy Mercier Descloux career-spanning anthology Best Off and receive a swell "value add" to boot.

* On a weird, related note: One of my favorite cuts on A Christmas Record is "It's A Big Country," by Davitt Sigerson. Mr. Sigerson only made two albums for ZE, and has since gone on to become a novelist. Imagine my surprise, then, while watching the credits of It's A Very, Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, and seeing that the film's sole original, "Everyone Matters," is a co-write by Top 40 vet Desmond Child and... Davitt Sigerson. Nice to see he's still got the holiday spirit.

Mr. McAlmont's NEW Christmas ditty

2010-12-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Vinnie Vero (who knows so much about 80's music he makes me look like a rank amateur) for alerting me to this new Yuletide song by David McAlmont, "Merry Christmas Is You." In my estimation, David is one of the most underrated vocalists around. I love his 1996 album with Britpop legend Bernard Butler, his contributions to Duffy's Rockferry, and most importantly, his mind-blowing cover of "Diamonds Are Forever" with David Arnold. He's also been a good friend to my pal Patrick Fitzgerald (Kitchens of Distinction, Stephenhero), which merits gold stars aplenty.

For more Christmas cheer from David, seek out his 2005 cover of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" for MOJO, which would soften the heart of even the toughest friend of Dorothy. Or just tune into KEXP between 3 and 6 PM Pacific Time today—I'd wager it will make it on to my program again this year.

A very special birthday #2

2010-12-25T10:16:00.001-08:00

Nope, not that dude. Nor Merry Clayton, Bob Stanley, Annie Lennox, or Shane McGowan. I want to give a big FESTIVE! birthday shout out to my buddy Carolyn Mark. "The Lucille Ball of Country Music" was profiled in an chatty Q&A in the 2001 FESTIVE! (the "Joey to the World" issue, featuring my N*Sync slash fiction), wherein we learned that she doesn't like much Christmas music outside of "Santa Baby" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and that she and her friend Dave like to recreate the "Sisters" number from Holiday Inn. She also revealed that there's a modest upside to being born on Christmas Day.

FESTIVE!: Are you one of those unfortunate kids whose birthday sort of gets swept aside, or is it the best day of the year?

Carolyn Mark: Here's what happens: Christmas is over and noon, and then dinner is my birthday! The only side effect is that I want more out of everything.

So do you insist on two presents from everybody?

Well... I don't insist. But my parents are pretty good about it. And my friends are great about it. And it's good for me, because if I forgot to get anybody a present, I can just pretend they're giving me a birthday present, and nobody feels bad.

Carolyn's annual Boxing Day bash is something of a tradition in Victoria, BC—a much nicer one than watching Canadian shoppers claw over each other to snap up marked down televisions. You can learn more about her career via this No Depression feature I wrote in 2007. Here's a pic of Ms. Mark and my main man Tom Monday taken at Boxing Day 2002. Or maybe 2003. Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

A Familyre Christmas, Vol. 3

2010-12-24T11:03:00.000-08:00

The kindly folks at Sounds Familyre have slowly been rolling out their third annual Christmas album, a couple tracks per day, on December 14. Now all seventeen selections are available for FREE here. You can also poke around on the right hand side of the page, under "Discography," and grab Volume 1 (2007) and Volume 2 (2008), both of which feature tracks by Sufjan Stevens, for four bucks a pop.

On a related note, Danielson—the flagship act of the Sounds Familyre crew—is releasing a new album, Best of Gloucester County, on February 22. You can listen to a preview of the song "Grow Up" here. For more Danielson, check out my feature "A Wing and a Prayer" from the May/June 2006 issue of No Depression.

ButtryXmas

2010-12-24T06:55:00.001-08:00

I normally take a dim view on violence directed at Santa (although you could also read this particular episode as an attack on the Salvation Army, whose stand on homosexuality is hopelessly antiquated), but this clip stars Adé, my favorite blacktress—excuse me, "blacktor"—and my beloved Freddy, King of Pants as the street corner Santa, so I'm making an exception. Go Buttry!

"They think Santa Claus lives in Chelsea"

2010-12-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

From this morning's New York Times. Jim & Dylan seem like two of the nicest elves you'd ever hope to meet. This is not only a great Christmas story, but a touching look at a couple guys who obviously love one another very much. (You can view the story full screen by clicking the NYT permalink here.)

From the vaults: "Merry Cristina-mas!" interview

2010-12-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

This interview was originally published in the 2004 issue of FESTIVE!. Since then, Cristina has continued to keep a low profile (the album she was reportedly recording in France has yet, to my knowledge, to come to fruition), although she pops up briefly as a source in the 2006 unauthorized Anna Wintour biography Front Row. More importantly, her music is slowly garnering the critical recognition it rightfully deserves. Even Pitchfork loves her. Read on and find out why!

WE WISH YOU A MERRY CRISTINA-MAS!
The FESTIVE! Interview with Cristina Monet

One of the brightest highlights in a year filled with many for me was being asked to contribute a liner notes essay for the ZE Records reissues of the back catalog of Cristina. For those of you unfamiliar with Cristina's oeuvre… well, I haven't been a very good friend to you, have I? Cristina Monet, ex-wife of ZE Records honcho Michael Zilkha, made two amazing albums of theatrical pop music – one on a disco tip, the second more new wave/R&B oriented – in the early '80s, plus a couple of amazing singles, then vanished off the face of the earth. (For a more complete history of Cristina, including praise and insights from Don Was, Michael Zilkha, Doug Fieger of the Knack, Siouxsie Sioux, Richard Strange, and others, read my complete "linner [sic] notes" on the ZE website, or check out my buddy David's fan site.)

But why does Cristina merit cover girl status for this year's edition of FESTIVE!, I hear you ask? Why are you publishing almost your entire, hour-long phone interview, verbatim? (Lightly edited, of course.) Two reasons: A) Cristina wrote and recorded one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs, "Things Fall Apart," produced by Don Was, and included on ZE's recently expanded A Christmas Record, as well as one of the bonus tracks on the reissue of her second album, Sleep It Off, and; B) Her daughter, Lucinda Louise, was born on Christmas Day – putting Lulu in a rarefied pantheon which also includes soul great Merry Clayton and Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne.

Michel Esteban, who reactivated the ZE label in 2003, put Cristina and I on the phone together last summer, and we got on like a house on fire. Hmm... that reminds me of a song…

* * * * *

FESTIVE: I know you had a background in theater and literature – you won the History and Literature prize at Harvard, and attended London's Central School of Drama – but what prompted you to embark on a recording career? Did you aspire to be a pop star?

CRISTINA MONET: No, I can't say that I did. But first, can you tell me, are you a ZE fan? I hear you've been chronicling Michel's re-release of the ZE catalog.

FESTIVE: I'm a ZE fanatic. This whole project [writing liner notes for the Sleep It Off and Doll In The Box reissues] came about because I contacted him to find out the status of your catalog. More importantly, I'm an enormous fan of yours, and have been since Sleep It Off.

CRISTINA: Oh, I'm delighted that you know Sleep It Off, because I was livid when Polygram barely released that album in America. I thought "What's A Girl To Do?" would be the logical follow-up to the enjoined "Is That All There Is?" Are you a music critic in general?

FESTIVE: I am. I've been writing about pop music for fifteen years, and also have a background in classical music, as an opera singer.

CRISTINA: Do you? What's your register?

FESTIVE: I'm a lyric tenor. But I abandoned opera after college.

CRISTINA: But you still love opera?

FESTIVE: I still enjoy the opera, but my college education was a very bittersweet experience, so I prefer to take what I learned in music school and apply those lessons to other disciplines.

CRISTINA: How interesting. I'm a great opera fanatic. Always have been. I'm now vintage. Yesterday's kitsch is tomorrow's antique.

FESTIVE: So, why did you embark on a recording career?

CRISTINA: Honesty compels me to admit that, having had a literature and theater background, I was taking a year off from Harvard, and I met Michael [Zilkha]. And there was this fellow at Harvard named Ronald Melrose, who wrote "Disco Clone." He was the kind of guy – and remember, this is the '70s – who would wear a ruffled tuxedo shirt to the opening of his own production of "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" at the Loeb Theater. He directed me in a couple of undergraduate productions. And he thought, obviously, "Oh, great, I'm going to get in on clones and disco!" This is after Saturday Night Fever. So he wrote this song, "Disco Clone." And Michael bought the publishing, when he started ZE. He hadn't really started [the label] yet, he just bought that.

Michael had a great flair, a true passion, for the new wave. He used to take me to see Talking Heads all the time. Going back a bit, the way I met Michael was, I was taking a year off from Harvard, and he'd just finished at Oxford. And in those days, [Michael's father] Selim Zilkha owned The Village Voice, as well as New York magazine. And he had given Michael and I gigs as theater critics, Off-Off-Off-Broadway, at the Voice.

When Michael bought "Disco Clone," I said, "That is, without a doubt, the worst song I have ever heard. It is so bad that the only way you could do it – which would actually be quite fun – would be as a kind of Brechtian pastiche." And in those days, they weren't really doing spoken disco records. And he said, "Well, do you want to give it a shot?" Because he knew I loved Brecht and Kurt Weill. And I said, "Why not?" And off I went.

FESTIVE: How did you wind up working with Kevin Kline as your co-vocalist?

CRISTINA: We tried every sort of man we knew about town, but they all turned into pussycats in front of the microphone. And then I talked to Kevin Kline, who was, at that point, playing Bruce Granit in "On The Twentieth Century" on Broadway, and probably needed the cash. I nipped backstage and said, "Would you like to make some money, and do this Macheath-esque vocal on a disco record?" He agreed. And John Cale produced it, and then Chris Blackwell liked it. And, suddenly, I was a solo recording artist, on the newly-formed ZE Records/Island. Rather heady stuff at the time!

FESTIVE: Wow. Viola, you're the vanguard artist for a cutting edge label!

CRISTINA: I believe at the time it was only through sheer, playground, trust fund espièglerie. "Disco Clone" was probably the most expensive single ever made at the time.

FESTIVE: I know I own several different versions of the single. You recorded it more than once…

CRISTINA: It was absolute madness.

FESTIVE: I don't know how often you and Michael talk, but that record was on display in a museum here in Seattle for quite a while.

CRISTINA: Not true!

FESTIVE: Yes, at the Experience Music Project. The sleeve of "Disco Clone" was featured in their Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights exhibit.

CRISTINA: Oh, I love that [sleeve], the Norma Kamali disco dress. My favorite criticism, I don't know if it was of that single, or in regards to the first album, but someone said, "If Jackie Kennedy had made a record, it would sound like this."

FESTIVE: Was that the Rolling Stone review of Sleep It Off?

CRISTINA: No, I think that one was in regard to the first album, with the Marilyn [Monroe] vocals. I overdid the barking, tough kind of diseuse/chanteuse sound on Sleep It Off. I think some of it would have been more interesting with softer vocals.

FESTIVE: But you do use a softer voice, on "He Dines Out on Death" and "The Lie of Love."

CRISTINA: They lost the good mix of "The Lie of Love!" The surviving mix has too much echo on it. Anyway, that's the way that all started. And then, being an erstwhile underwear model and narcissistic little show-off – as one tends to be at that age – it was rather heady. And, also, I rather naively assumed that, if you're a good actress or what-have-you, and make a record that is theatrical, you can drift back into your area, not realizing that it doesn't work that way. If you can't act, but you have a chart-busting record, you can then make a movie. Yet if you can't sing, but you're a success… Well, I never wanted to make a movie, but I wanted to be a sort of classical character actress.

FESTIVE: Looking back, what do you feel does – and doesn't – work about the first album?

CRISTINA: I love Cristina [reissued as Doll In The Box]. I think it's great fun. But the second album is all my lyrics, whereas the first one was my concept, but then it's August Darnell's lyrics. It's got too many disco arabesques, August shrewdly using that [record] as a platform for his own great talents. But what I like about it is, it's the first theatrical, cinematic, nostalgic disco record, at a time when there wasn't a lot of humor in disco.

FESTIVE: I concur, although I don't think it gives you enough range as a performer as I would like.

CRISTINA: Well, no. It's August creating a blueprint for what would then become Kid Creole & the Coconuts.

FESTIVE: Whose idea was it to cover The Beatles' "Drive My Car?"

CRISTINA: That was mine. I can't remember why I wanted to do "Drive My Car," but I wanted to do a swing version, and August's brother, Stony [Browder], the original Dr. Buzzard, wrote the arrangement, which is great fun.

FESTIVE: Was imitating Marilyn Monroe's vocal style part of the original concept?

CRISTINA: Yes, that was always part of what I wanted to do with the song.

FESTIVE: Let's talk about something critics at the time often overlooked: Your lyrics. What was your lyrical process like? Did you always write lyrics, or only decide to write circa Sleep It Off?

CRISTINA: I always wrote these little, Dorothy Parker-esque pastiches. But at that point, I started to keep a notebook of lyrics. So they started as sort of prose-poems, if you will, and then I'd find the right music – I wish I wrote music – but I would have a definite idea [for the music]. I'm not very good at writing upbeat, positive lyrics. I've always said that I had neither the genius nor the gender, only the mother – like a Tennessee Williams saying. I always said I was a drag queen. No wonder [the label] dropped me. I had homosexual fan clubs in the theater departments of Ivy League schools. Ooh boy, that's chart-busting stuff.

FESTIVE: We'll sell dozens of records!

CRISTINA: I remember, when I had to leave Island, writing a sort of homage to a Nöel Coward lyric, about Marianne Faithfull, called "She's A Legend, She's A Classic," which I was rather proud of. But I never could get it played.

FESTIVE: So when it came time to write songs, would you sit down with Don Was or Doug Fieger or whomever, and shape what they composed?

CRISTINA: Yes, that's it. I always had this idea, based on Brecht & Weill – which sounds awful now because of all the sort of lugubrious, earnest people who murder Brecht/Weill, doing it too seriously – but you have a really gloomy lyric, and everything else undercuts it. A very bitter lyric, delivered in a very jaunty way; the jaunty tune would be undercut by minor discord.

The one [record] that was a one-off acting improv was "Is That All There Is?," which was then enjoined, as you no doubt know, as an unauthorized parody. Funnily enough, I believe the one who found it most objectionable of the two was [Mike] Stoller, and I think he was offended by the transposition of the melody. But my contention was that it wasn't an unauthorized parody, but a respectful reworking – nobody in the 1980s could get disillusioned by the circus at the age of twelve!

FESTIVE: Funny that they took such exception to your version, when they are so clearly parodying Brecht & Weill in their original.

CRISTINA: Well I agree with you. But, of course, it was the only hit I ever had, and it was stopped dead in its tracks. Listening back, in hindsight, it has a homogenized, comfort interaction. On some of [my] tracks, you can hear somebody ambitious, on the musical end, thinking that they've got to work with me, and pushing me around to the extent where I get swamped. But I think on that single, all the elements work well together. "What's A Girl To Do" was intended to be the follow up.

I think it was Bruce Garfield, or someone at CBS A&R said, "There will be a Cristina, but it won't be Cristina – she's too intellectual." And then it was Madonna. But in those days, you had people like Mick Jagger writing about the railroad tracks, while they tramped around with Jerry Hall or whomever. And I thought there were universal truths – this is not entirely pre-Madonna, but certainly before "Material Girl" – that were relevant. For instance, in "What's A Girl To Do," the lyric: "And once I had a lover/And I once had a profession/And once I laughed at nothing/And they called it a depression," I thought at that point, they were saying you had the right to have a career as opposed to a family, but what happens if what you're doing is working behind the cosmetics counter at Bloomingdale's, which is neither one nor the other? And I just felt that these, too, were valid. A lot of my lyrics were autobiographical. I said that it was more street of me to write with my references, than to transpose those references disingenuously to trailer parks.

FESTIVE: If your milieu is one of mink coats and tropical vacations, write about that, not something better suited to Boxcar Willie.

CRISTINA: That's what I thought. And also, "Don't Mutilate My Mink" wasn't so much about my mink coat. I just didn't think the punk panoply should be confided to a series of [slogans]. That song, musically, is a pastiche of the Clash, so I thought it was quite funny to have a Clash kind of feeling with that sort of lyrical reference. But most of the lyrics came to me, if you will, in situations from my own life.

FESTIVE: One thing I'm curious about on Sleep It Off – I can deduce why you covered the Brecht/Weill song ("Ballad of Immoral Earnings"), and even Van Morrison ("Blue Money"), but what in God's name inspired you to cover John Conlee's country hit "She Can't Say That Anymore?"

CRISTINA: I love Country & Western music, although not a lot of what they consider country now. Heavens, when I say "now," I'm so out of date. I love certain Tammy Wynette, certain Kenny Rogers, certain Johnny Cash. Anyway, I heard "She Can't Say That…", and I adored it. It has that in-the-heat-of-the-night [vibe]. I found the tune and the whole mood very evocative of screen doors and mosquitoes and sweat, Deep South depravity. I just loved that song.

FESTIVE: I confess, I only learned it was a cover while preparing for this interview.

CRISTINA: Well, we made it into more of a cabaret, German thing than the original. But I didn't know anything about that artist. Who was the original artist?

FESTIVE: John Conlee. He was a very popular, mainstream country artist right around the time you were in vogue. It was a #2 country hit, taken from his 1980 album Friday Night Blues.

CRISTINA: Then no doubt I heard it in passing, via radio airplay, and wanted to do it. Because it's got that irony.

FESTIVE: Do you think that, in the rush to pigeonhole you, the few critics that did take notice of Sleep It Off missed a lot of its subtleties?

CRISTINA: Well, it got a rave in Rolling Stone. I was very disappointed that it got such limited release here. That album just didn't get that much exposure, did it?"

FESTIVE: There were reviews in CREEM and Rolling Stone, and the New York magazine piece by Anthony Haden Guest…

CRISTINA: Oh, I hated that! [Laughs]

FESTIVE: It was funny, because I remember reading the feature in The Face, where you kept asking them to please discuss your lyrics, not your socialite status, and then that was all Anthony dwelt upon in his story.

CRISTINA: I had a sort of unerring nose for shooting myself in the foot. I remember John Paul Goude said that he'd [photographed] the ultimate large black woman [Grace Jones] and I was going to be the ultimate small white woman. So I basically severed that connection, saying, "No, I'm not a model to re-model." But if it pushes the product, why not? And frankly, I didn't pay my dues. I was a dilettante when I wrote "She's A Legend, She's A Classic." And I split with [U2 manager Paul] McGuinness, too. If I hadn't been [a dilettante], I would have gotten a small band together, and worked with a piano and a couple of instruments – which I can do.

FESTIVE: Did you ever perform live? The only shows I can find any record of are with Kid Creole, at the Squat Theater in Chelsea.

CRISTINA: Those were the only ones. And there, he had his baby, which was Kid Creole & the Coconuts. And, sort of awkwardly, shoved in-between numbers, they were supposed to back me up.

FESTIVE: Speaking of having babies, I know that chronologically, your Christmas song, "Things Fall Apart," can't be an homage the birth of your daughter, even though it would make sense, thematically. What was the inspiration for that song?

CRISTINA: I really wanted to have my baby on Christmas day. I've got this whole thing about Christmas. That lyric, "Besides, she's lost her wing/My mother said…" I've always adored Christmas, and it never seems to work out. I've got this whole involvement with Christmas, that I've always had. It was a lyric that came from the heart, even though it was written a couple of years before I got pregnant.

FESTIVE: And, lo and behold, Lulu [Lucinda Louise] really was born on Christmas.

CRISTINA: She really was.

FESTIVE: So now you have something to celebrate, regardless.

CRISTINA: No, now it's a nightmare, because I don't have any relatives, so we're always dredging up the waifs and strays to keep the day. The thing is, I'm really not a socialite, so to speak. I've always said I didn't have any shoulders to put the chips on. I'm definitely kind of a mixed bag. And Christmas is the one time we tried to have the beautiful ornaments and the whole picture. Plus, I was born in January.

FESTIVE: And yet, unless you ordered in, there was no big turkey dinner?

CRISTINA: Oh no, we always had roast beef. Always. It's that whole French-Catholic thing of keeping Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is the holiday, and we always had roast beef.

FESTIVE: What was the recording of Sleep It Off like? Producer Don Was makes it sound like it took a long time, and that you were thrust into an alien landscape.

CRISTINA: I chose him. He's never kept up with me since. Now, that was a long time ago, but at the time I was quite hurt that the friendship ended. I worked with a lot of people, and then chose Was (Not Was) to make that album with. So the Detroit thing wasn't entirely out of left field, because you can't separate them from that setting at that time.

FESTIVE: Did working outside of New York help your creative process?

CRISTINA: I enjoyed it. How does Don feel about that record?

FESTIVE: He said has very fond memories of it. He enjoyed listening to it with me and discussing it, and said he'd be delighted to talk to you again someday.

CRISTINA: I really did like him. He's very intelligent.

FESTIVE: That's funny, because he admitted to me he felt cowed, intellectually, by you.

CRISTINA: Oh, good grief.

FESTIVE: He said that after your first dinner meeting together, he got up and thought, "I need to quit smoking pot and resume reading books."

CRISTINA: [Laughs] Well, that's a very intelligent thing to think. I really enjoyed working with him. And also, I thought it was wonderful that he got in all those black session singers from the past. He has a really authentic sound. And there was a lot of irony to their music. I thought Was (Not Was) were extraordinary.

FESTIVE: And so, to the dénouement: Why did you stop recording? You made a consummate record, but then never made music again.

CRISTINA: I always had this work ethic-guilt complex, that I was just a dilettante who'd fallen into music because of Michael's trust fund. And then, at a point when I was really insecure, that point was driven home to me. And then we got married, and then I got pregnant, and then we had to move to Houston. So what with one thing and another, I just never had the chance. I did want to make other records. I would have liked to have done something in a more cabaret kind of setting. Not in the artsy-fartsy sense. I just didn't get that much feedback from that record, except when it was being made. Even now, a lot of people talk to me about things like "Jungle Love" or "Is That All There Is?," but I don't hear that much about [Sleep It Off], as if it rather got lost.

FESTIVE: Did you know that "What's A Girl To Do?" appeared on a mix CD last year?

CRISTINA: No, I had no idea. Heavens.

FESTIVE: A popular electronic quartet from Sheffield, England, called Ladytron, put out a mix CD, Softcore Jukebox, that features "What's A Girl To Do?"

CRISTINA: Nobody told me about this. Wait… do they have a member from the former Soviet Union?

FESTIVE: Yes, they do.

CRISTINA: Oh, I met her, through Gary Mulholland, the rock journalist. We had a drink together. I thought she was very bright. She's a biochemist. So they're doing well?

FESTIVE: Yes, they are. But I'm curious you know nothing about this, since the notes at their website mention they might be collaborating with you at some point.

CRISTINA: Well, when I met her I thought she was absolutely charming. Very beautiful and interesting. I guess it must have been last autumn when we met. We may have spoken about [working together].

FESTIVE: Well, besides Ladytron, there's also a gentleman named Alex Gimeno – who records under the moniker Ursula 1000 – who I know would love to work with you, too.

CRISTINA: I'd love to meet him. Even now, I must say, I was very disappointed, way back when, when that Hal Wilner compilation of Kurt Weill songs [Lost in the Stars] came out – which I thought was very sugary – and I was not asked to participate. So tell me, do you have your own radio show or something, or do you just stick to journalism?

FESTIVE: I DJ at several Seattle-area venues, including a leather bar, where I like to play cuts from Sleep It Off, and also a supper club-type venue, where I favor "Drive My Car" or "Blame It On Disco."

CRISTINA: But your heart is with Sleep It Off?

FESTIVE: Yes. Your Don Was period is my favorite. I love all of those singles. I have never felt as passionately about Cristina as I have about Sleep It Off.

CRISTINA: Oh, I'm so delighted. Obviously, one would do certain things differently now. Sometimes I think some of my vocals [on that] are unpleasant to listen to. And, in terms of what I can do with my voice as an actress, I can do much more. I tried to read books on tape, and I sent a cold submission to this [audio-books] company, but they turned me down because I'm not a classical stage actress, and they only use Royal National Theater vets. But I can do any accent, and all sorts of things with my voice. So sometimes I get irritated at the technical ineptitude of some of the vocals on Sleep It Off, although it was so long ago. I stand by the lyrics but some of the vocals… ugh. Like, I think "Rage And Fascination" is a bit awful.

FESTIVE: Did Don ever coach you on your vocals?

CRISTINA: No, my vocals were always entirely my own. Again, I think that I should have developed as a singer. Anything that I had problems with would have solved itself organically if I'd had a band that I worked with, and we had developed things together. Sort of the way a theater repertory company develops a chemistry. I'm not saying you shouldn't have session players on an album, but it would have been better if I had had a situation where I wrote with someone regularly. and a group of musicians with which to develop the material.

FESTIVE: Right, even if you'd just had a regular accompanist or a vocal coach.

CRISTINA: Although I like a lot of the work that [guitarist] Ben [Brierley] and I did together. I wrote a song for Ben called "Where Am I Sleeping Tonight?" That was the only song I wrote for a man, which I loved. We liked working together very much. But I guess nobody has the demo of that song.

FESTIVE: Apropos of bonus tracks, can you shed any light on "Deb Behind Bars" or your cover of Prince's "When You Were Mine?"

CRISTINA: I did "When You Were Mind" with Robert Palmer. I spent most of my time at Compass Point cooking and cluttering up the studio with casserole dishes. But I like "When You Were Mine." I hadn't listened to some of those things in a while. And there are some I don't like. But on that one – I'm not sure about the mix – but the delivery is very deadpan. It's quite strong, it's got this Gidget-goes-decadent feel, which was the intention.

And "Deb Behind Bars," well I guess that line – "Deb Behind Bars" – is a bit camp. I think that line is there because, alliteratively, it sounds like bullets pummeling something. I like the way it jabs at the ear, with all those Bs. But as a line it's a bit weak. But then, when I listened to it again, I wondered what made me decide not to use that track. It's strong. I like that song a lot.

FESTIVE: Alliteration and assonance are very particular to my own songwriting, as well as internal rhymes. The sort of devices that folks from the moon/June/spoon school tend to gloss over.

CRISTINA: Yes. Oh, and also, I hate that icky-poo stream-of-consciousness nonsense. I just went to see my friend Richard Strange in that opera. I don't like Robert Wilson, but that piece with Marianne [Faithfull], "The Black Rider," and I couldn't believe it. It was unspeakable. I like Tom Waits, but I thought it was embarrassing.

FESTIVE: Richard Strange has nice things to say about you in his autobiography, Strange: Punks and Drunks, Flicks and Kicks.

CRISTINA: I'm very fond on Richard. His book is very, very amusing.

FESTIVE: I have a copy of his pseudo-live album he made for ZE, and some Doctors of Madness stuff, but nothing else.

CRISTINA: He has two recent songs that I think are very clever. We don't have the same taste in theater, though. I can't stand Robert Wilson. I thought that show was embarrassing and I told [Richard] so. But he's got a few new songs that he's written that are marvelous. One is called "Dumb," and another is called "He Was The Very First Guy That Ever Kissed Her There." But you haven't heard "Deb Behind Bars" yet?

FESTIVE: No. Michel [Esteban] seems to be running the label single-handed, so I haven't gotten advance music yet.

CRISTINA: I don't see how he can make any money off of this. He seems to be doing it as a labor of love. I don't understand how people are going to know that the product is out there.

FESTIVE: Well, the cult of the ZE label is very large, and people are tired of buying the albums on used vinyl or bootleg CDs. But no, I don't think Michel is making beaucoup bucks. Lord knows, I'm not charging him full price, but I wanted to do this project because I worship you.

CRISTINA: Well that's so kind. I'm honored.

FESTIVE: I've been waiting almost 20 years to speak to you.

CRISTINA: Oh God! You could have just picked up the phone.

FESTIVE: What, are you like Celeste Holm? Are you just listed in the New York phone directory?

CRISTINA: I should think so… probably under Zilkha.

* * * * *

POSTSCRIPT – Shortly after this interview was conducted, Cristina did, in fact, hook up with Ursula 1000. The two recorded a new track, "Urgent/Anxious," which appeared on his album Here Comes Tomorrow. "She's a real character and a super cool lady," reported Alex Gimeno via e-mail. She also reconnected with Don Was at a Was (Not Was) concert in New York. No word on that Ladytron collaboration... yet.

"Just like the ones I used to know" - Back issues!

2010-12-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned back when this blog launched, FESTIVE! began life as a physical fanzine back in 1996. I recently unearthed a very modest cache of select back issues, mostly 2005 (John Waters interview, Freddy King of Pants comic), 2004 (Cristina, the Long Winters interviews), 2003 (James Chance, Flaming Lips interviews, making trifle), and 2001 (Margo Guryan & Saint Etienne discuss "I Don't Intend to Spend Christmas Without You," They Might Be Giants Q&A, John Wesley Harding explains Boxing Day to Americans).

All of these contain material unpublished on the Internet incarnation of FESTIVE!. If you are interested in getting your mitts on a copy—in exchange for postage or some kind of trade (mix tape, your zine, handmade caramels, etc.) please e-mail me via eltoro@kexp.org and we'll work something out. Supplies are very limited, so don't delay.

Snowed In, Pt. 3: Batting Cleanup

2010-12-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

Some of my colleagues at other blogs (not cool Christmas ones like FaLaLaLaLa, who actually do some serious legwork in pursuit of Christmas esoterica) including Paste and Pitchfork have been compiling lists of assorted free "holiday" mp3s. The latter is doing a better job than the former, although the Paste crew includes some Americana-type artists that Pitchfork overlooks. (Paste also lumps in several free Amazon downloads by Superchunk and Fleet Foxes that aren't really Yuletide tunes at all, but who are we kidding: Paste has been treading water for ages now.)

Anyway, I didn't post this to bash. I posted it because if you go take a gander at their roundups, you can find links to a few more of the Christmas songs I officially endorse, including the Crocodiles/Dum Dum Girls collaboration (ooh, someone heard the Best Coast/Wavves duet and got jealous!), Kanye West's buzzed-about "Christmas in Harlem," and all five versions of Atlas Sound's "Artificial Snow."

Christmas Broadcast, 1957

2010-12-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

My friend David and I first connected on the Internet via our shared loved for another FESTIVE! favorite, ZE records disco diseuse Cristina. It turns out we also both worship Siouxsie and Kate Bush. David has an incredibly cool job (you know how much I love librarians and archivists), an adorable son, once worked as Angelyne's personal assistant, and, when I asked him once about reconciling the Christian faith with my homosexuality, sent back an e-mail saying (and I'm paraphrasing) "I'm not sure I can offer much advice, my church is the gayest place I've ever been that didn't have go-go boys." David also has a thing for the Royal Family, which is why I found myself watching this clip at 3:00 AM. Up until she starts talking about colonialism and new members of the Commonwealth, her words are still very applicable. Plus I love watching a world leader speak without a teleprompter!

Dave White "An XXXmas Carol"

2010-12-22T14:21:00.001-08:00

I have said it before and I will say it again—hell, I'll probably say it at least once a week until the day I drop dead—but Dave White (Exile in Guyville, movies.com) is the most amusing writer I know. Don't believe me? Become his buddy on Facebook. You won't see Dave White trying to jack fans for twenty-two bucks for a trumped up "funny animals" book.

Dave had a piece ("My Arm The Porn Star") in the first issue of the Los Angeles literary mag Slake and will be appearing in issue 2 as well. However, since his story is topical, but new Slake won't be out till early 2011, the editors are running it now on their website. "An XXXmas Carol" offers another terrifying, gut-busting glimpse into Dave's life, where he routinely puts up with the kind of bat-shit craziness that ordinary mortals can barely read about without wincing.

Dirk Powell "A Fret-Free Christmas"

2010-12-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing overindulging in Christmas music isn't as hazardous to my health as some of the other things I enjoy, or I'd be in the emergency room right now. Earlier this morning, our esteemed colleague Devon Leger of Hearth Music, sent us a copy of Dirk Powell's killer new album of seasonal favorites, A Fret-Free Christmas. Here's how Devon put it to us, reprinted verbatim cuz the enthusiasm is so contagious:

It's all Christmas carols on a drop-dead gorgeous fretless banjo. I can't really explain it, just somehow he manages to transcend even the most tired and boring carols. It's sublime. For serious. Dirk Powell's well known for his work with T Bone Burnett, Jack White, Loretta Lynn, Ralph Stanley and many more.

You can stream and purchase the album here. This ranks right alongside Sean Smith's excellent new Christmas disc in the annals of noteworthy new instrumental Yuletide albums. Big Christmas kudos to Dirk (and Devon) for this one.

Ronnie Spector talks Xmas w/ T magazine

2010-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

My colleague Andy Gensler, one of the nicest dudes I ever met during my more, um, madcap days in the 90's heyday of the music industry, conducted a savvy "Asked and Answered" Q&A with Ronnie Spector for The New York Times' T Magazine yesterday. It's a very charming chat and I recommend it highly.

Holiday decor at PONY, pt. 2

2010-12-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

Well, not decor per se, just Marcus' Christmas card. Fills me with delight, nevertheless.

Poly Styrene "Black Christmas" video

2010-12-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

This one's a bit grim, but it complements the song ideally. And it does end on a cheery note, so Christmas isn't ruined.

Dancer & Prancer live on KEXP

2010-12-20T10:38:00.001-08:00

Holiday-core quintet Dancer & Prancer stopped by KEXP's "Sonic Reducer" on Saturday night, and the guys were nice enough to let me shoot some footage. You can learn more about the band—and brush up on your Christmas jokes—at their hilarious website. And don't miss them live at the Crocodile this Wednesday, December 22 with Unnatural Helpers and The Intelligence. It's FREE!

Warning: 2nd clip filmed in nausea-inducing Fest-i-Vision.

Billy Bragg's Got a Brand New Bag

2010-12-20T09:06:00.000-08:00

I think the world of Billy Bragg. I saw him support the Smiths back on the Meat Is Murder tour (yes, I am that old) and immediately combed the county for an import copy of Life's A Riot with Spy vs. Spy. It took some doing, but I found one. (You kids with your Amazon, you don't know how easy you've got it. *shakes fist*) That was 25 years ago, and we're still an item. Billy already had good Christmas karma in my book, since he was close buddies with Kirsty MacColl—who has two Yuletide classics in her catalog*—and, more importantly, is one of the kindest, most socially conscious people on the freakin' planet. Forever and ever, amen.

As he explains the clip above, Billy finally got around to writing a holiday tune this year. It is everything you would want it to be, which is to say it will make your heart ache and glow simultaneously. Bonus points: Billy is accompanied by cellist Ben Sollee, who also shot the video. I've been a major Ben booster since his "Peddling Against Poverty" odyssey last year. How can you not love a cellist who tours by extended frame bike to reduce his carbon footprint?

You can download a mp3 of Billy's song for free here. He asks for your e-mail, but, true to form for this artist, it's not mandatory.

* I have decided that "Angel" from Titanic Days counts as a Christmas song, since it was inspired by a Christmas greeting Kirsty received from Holly Johnson. It also doubles as a suitable World AIDS Day selection, though I'd just as soon stop compiling my list of those, thank you very much.

Heidi Klum "Wonderland"

2010-12-19T23:44:00.001-08:00

How did I not know about this song until this evening? The host of Project Runway records a friggin' Christmas song, and I'm oblivious for five years? *sheesh* Thank God I work in the gayest gay bar in Gayville (aka PONY).

STILL Snowed In: 7 more cool freebies for your Yuletide playlist

2010-12-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

Naturally, as soon as I finished last Monday's epic post, more cool Christmas downloads started popping up in my in box. With The Big Day now less than a week away, I simply vetted the candidates for quality and made thumbs up/thumbs down calls. Less editorial content this time. (Like you need to read more of my long-winded prose in the first place.)

1. "Sister Winter" (Sufjan Stevens cover) by Tracey Thorn: Everything But the Girl wrote one of my favorite seasonal couplets ever ("Every day's like Christmas Day without you/It's cold and there's nothing to do" from "Come On Home"), but to my knowledge neither Ben nor Tracey has taken the plunge till now. This song originally appears on the first of Sufjan Stevens' eight(!!!) Christmas records, Noel: Songs for Christmas, Vol. 1 (2001).

2. "The Christmas Waltz" by The Giving Tree Band & Nellie McKay: One of two tunes (both included in the download file) recorded at a 2009 benefit for Mercy Animals. I've always thought this Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne tune (originally written for Frank Sinatra) felt half-baked and gimmicky, but Nellie gives it an understated reading that I prefer to other renditions I've heard.

3. "Traigo La Salsa" by Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe: Sadly, it doesn't appear La Lupe ever made a Christmas disc, but several other artists on the formidable Fania catalog did. This comes from the recently reissued 2CD Deluxe Edition reissue of Asalto Navideño by Willie Colón con Héctor Lavoe y Yomo Toro

4. "Practically Immaculate" by Crystal Stilts (via Pitchfork): Oh thank goodness, something else to keep the cooler-than-thou kids at Pitchfork busy once they've exhausted that Best Coast/Wavves Christmas single from Target.

5. "No Cure for the Common Christmas" by Saint Etienne (via RCRDLBL.com): You snooze, you lose. Saint Etienne's 2010 holiday album, A Glimpse of Stocking, was a limited edition of 3,000 copies, available only at their website until the end of November (or a handful of live shows, for those of you overseas). But since the band loves Christmas as much as I do (don't forget, Bob Stanley was born on December 25, just like my beloved Merry Clayton), they're giving away one of the album's new tunes gratis.

6. "Frosty the Snowman" by Banjo or Freakout: Banjo or Freakout is Alessio Natalizia, an Italian multi-instrumentalist and producer based in London. He's done super-cool remixes for some of my fave bands (LCD Soundsystem, Soft Pack) and is releasing a new full-length in 2011. He actually has an entire free holiday album (his second) available for download here, but I just went with my favorite selection from it. Sue me, I'm a minimalist.

7. "Christmastime Is Here" by Mayer Hawthorne: Stones Throw has already earned my undying loyalty with their their eclectic Badd Santa anthology from a few years ago. Now rising star Mayer Hawthorne adds to the canon with his rendition of this favorite from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

(Photo of Troy & Cody of The Young Evils w/ Indie Santa 2010 by Laura Musselman)

Me and Santa Vanderslice

2010-12-19T09:59:00.001-08:00

Check out the whole Flickr album of Laura Musselman pix from the Three Imaginary Girls "Imaginary Holiday Office Party" here. Make sure to scroll through page 1 for the photos of shirtless Troy and Cody from The Young Evils looking very, very uncomfortable on Santa's lap.

"A Christmas Card from Don Van Vliet"

2010-12-18T10:59:00.001-08:00

The good Captain didn't record a holiday song that I'm aware of, but this bit of poetry up on one of the Beefheart fan sites is credited to him with the above title:

The Ocean
Gave me Oysters
The People Watching it
Gave Me Ulcers

When the Ocean
is Wounded
it Takes the
Whole World to Heal.

Godspeed, Captain Beefheart. Thank you for making the world a much weirder place.

That thing ain't sitting in my lap

2010-12-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Contemporary Krautrock act Fujiya & Miyagi (I'm sorry, but Neu! beat = Krautrock in my world... at least when I'm lazy) are releasing their third full-length, Ventriloquizzing, on January 25. I've listened to it several times and it's got the El Toro stamp of approval. As part of their overall promo campaign, they've crafted this freaky clip, which takes something a lot of people love (Christmas) and mashes it up with something a lot of people fear (evil ventriloquism dummies), and creates this very disturbing—but short—video Christmas card. Make of it what you will. I still recommend the album.

The Futureheads "Christmas Was Better in the 80's"

2010-12-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

Perhaps a better title for this seasonal single from the Sunderland quartet would be "Christmas Was Better in My Childhood (in the 80's)," since there's nothing specific in the lyric that actually sets the song in the Reagan/Thatcher-era. Frankly, I was hoping for a nod to the fact that the 80's produced some of the greatest Christmas pop songs ever: The Pretenders' "2000 Miles," Wham's "Last Christmas," "Fairytale of New York," "Thanks for Christmas" by the Three Wise Men (aka XTC). C'mon, boys! You've proven your ability to celebrate this time period better before, with your knockout 2004 cover of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love." The home movies are cute, and the chorus is catchy enough, but I don't think this will go into regular rotation on my Christmas playlist.

Bing vs. Bowie, take 2

2010-12-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy with Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly from Will Ferrell

I've always thought the famous Bing Crosby/David Bowie Christmas duet was horribly overrated, getting by mostly on sheer WTF value and little else. Then again, this opinion was formed in my early teens, when I saw crooners like Crosby as the enemy of punk rock—and frowned at the notion of my high holy David Bowie consorting with such old fogies, no matter how much Bolivian Marching Powder he'd rammed up his snoot. The whole thing seemed like a cynical cash-in by a couple of schemers. (It doesn't help that, as I've mentioned often to anyone who'll listen, "Little Drummer Boy" is one of my least favorite Christmas songs ever.) Yet watching Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly recreate the whole historic debacle? That's a celebration I can definitely get behind.

The Imaginary Holiday Office Party

2010-12-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

If you need me tomorrow, I'll be in Columbia City for The Imaginary Holiday Office Party, presented by our friends at Three Imaginary Girls. This year they have an amazing line-up of talent, including the Tripwires, the Young Evils (who made one of my favorite local records of 2010), Jose Bold, and John Vanderslice. "The Slice" will be doing double-duty as indie rock Santa (apparently J-Rod is too old to support the youngsters in his lap any more), and you can get your photo snapped with him by Laura Musselman at the fete.

My KEXP colleague Greg Vandy will be providing the soundtrack in the Bourbon Bar throughout the evening, and if you're unfamiliar with any of the bands, you can sample their wares here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed Santa Vanderslice will favor us with some selections from his forthcoming album White Wilderness (out 1/25/11 on Dead Oceans), which is already in heavy rotation avec chez Toro.

Want more incentive? I have two words for you: Teen Feed. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit this superlative Seattle charity. Pick up yours from Brown Paper Tickets now, before they sell out. See you under the mistletoe!

Mister December

2010-12-14T15:08:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned last week, since taking FESTIVE! online I've made the editorial decision to curtail "adult" content. But I'm willing to play fast and loose for Colton Ford, our holiday model pictured above. I've actually never seen any of his X-rated films, but I was an admirer of his singing before and after his brief career in skin flicks, and found him to be a fun, candid interview when I profiled him for The Advocate in 2005. Here, read for yourself:

"The first time was really uncomfortable," admits Colton Ford. "You feel so exposed." Ford, 42, isn't talking about his initial foray into adult films. Or even residing at the Live and Raw Hotel, where Internet patrons paid $25 or so a month to watch Ford and other models—including his lover, Blake Harper—in intimate interaction. Nope. What gave him butterflies was his first film festival screening of Naked Fame, a new documentary chronicling his adventure of leaving the adult entertainment business to rekindle his music career.

Prior to his adult film work, Ford was signed to Virgin Records (twice) and he worked with DJ-producer Frankie Knuckles, but had nothing to show for it due to label politics. Since the completion of Naked Fame, he scored a club hit with Pepper MaShay covering Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and is finishing new material with producers such as Mac Quayle (remixer of Madonna and Britney Spears) and DJ Bill Bennett.

"The biggest challenge for adult film stars who desire to cross over into music has remained the same for years: the need to be taken seriously and respected as an artist," says Michael Paoletta, dance-music editor for recording industry trade Billboard. "It's almost as if an adult film star has more to prove than a less talented singer who has not appeared in adult films." But Paoletta has heard Ford's unreleased material and says some of it is top-notch. "He comes across as a blue-eyed soul singer."

As documentaries go, Naked Fame is no Triumph of the Will, nor is it even as titillating Unzipped. Yet despite low-budget cinematography and uneven pacing, key components click. Foremost is how supportive and loving Ford and Harper are of each other, whether they're signing autographs at a circuit party or moving into a new apartment (without webcams).

"In most people's eyes, we are a couple who lived the extremes of the gay experience," Ford reflects. "Yet you can see that we're down-to-earth, genuine guys who are just trying to figure life out."

While he continues to make inroads as a recording artist and performer, Colton hasn't—how should I put this?—cut off his dick to spite his vocal cords. Working with photographer Kevin McDermott, he's assembled a very handsome 2011 wall calendar that's on sale HERE via our friends at Peace Bisquit. It'll make a great stocking stuffer for the all the muscle buffs and silver fox hunters on your Christmas list.

Snowed In: 22 new songs for your Christmas music mix

2010-12-13T12:21:00.001-08:00

This is the big one, friends. I've been working on it for several days. You might want to heat up some cocoa or hot buttered rum before you dive it: You're gonna be here a while.

One of the side effects of being both a Christmas geek and a professional music critic is that come October, I begin to be deluged with holiday albums and songs from not only artists I adore, but ones I've previously dismissed or never heard of. And I listen to them all... so you don't have to.

After much deliberation, here are 20 new songs (plus two oddities from the vaults) available as free downloads that I heartily endorse. Not all the new seasonal titles I love are represented—Annie Lennox didn't make anything from A Christmas Cornucopia available gratis, for instance—but hopefully you'll find much to enjoy as you trim the tree, swill mulled cider and open presents.

Disclaimer #1: Many of these downloads will require you to surrender an e-mail address. Some people (I'm looking at you, Robin Pecknold) find this practice more odious than others. As someone who has to engage in relentless self-promotion on a regular basis, and grew up assuming the phones were tapped, I don't mind. Just add the band/label to your spam filter after you've nabbed the song and be done with it.

Disclaimer #2: After some deliberation, I cut Summer Camp's version of the Waitresses "Christmas Wrapping" (which a few other blogs have already plugged). Like Kate Bush's "December Will Be Magic (Again)" and the Pogues & Kirsty MacColl's "Fairytale of New York," I feel strongly that "Christmas Wrapping" is one of those rare holiday sides where the personality of the original performer is too formidable to be overcome by a mere mortal. Plus Summer Camp's version is, well, dull.

Disclaimer #3: Two of these tracks are pulled from a free holiday music sampler from Target. I generally do not patronize Target, as I'm not a fan of big box stores, unless absolutely necessary. I am well aware that they made contributions to a political candidate who oppose gay marriage during the 2010 election, and yes, that pisses me off. But the songs in question are both superlative, and free, so while I feel conflicted, I have opted to include them.

Okay, fire up the Internet connection, here we go...

1. "Black Christmas" by Poly Styrene (via RCRDLBL.com): I already flagged this earlier in the season, but it's so killer it bears repeating. The former X-Ray Spex front woman, who is prepping a new solo album for release in 2011, meditates on the spirit of the season over a reggae groove. This one mixes very well with Low's 2009 single "The Coming of Jah."

2. "Mazinka" by 11 Acorn Lane: This New York duo's album Happy Holy Days is one of my seasonal favorites of 2010. You can read more about it in my MSN Music holiday round up here. Very Arling & Cameron-meets-Perez Prado.

3. "White Nights" by the Golden Filter (via RCRDLBL.com): My KEXP colleague Alex turned me on to experimental disco-house act Golder Filter pretty early on, and they've not disappointed me yet. This cover of a Psychic TV tune, which explicitly mentions Santa Claus, is no exception.

4. "Le Cantique de Noël" by Röyksopp: Pristine instrumental rendition of "O, Holy Night" (for those of you who don't like too much Jesus all up in your Christmas. *whatever*) by the Norwegian electro-pop duo. Five will get you ten you can convince your Dad this was originally released on Windham Hill. And that's not a slight; I still love those George Winston Christmas albums.

5. "It's Snowing - I Love You" by Wheat: I really dug this Boston area indie rock outfit's self-titled album back in 1998, but hadn't thought about them for ages. When you "buy" their free Christmas single (the whole download process is a little counter-intuitive, but it's worth it), you also get their version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas," which sounds a bit like Weezer collaborating with Tranquility Bass, but I prefer the original on the b-side.

6. "It Never Snows" by Exohxo: Michele K, another KEXP colleague turned me on to this one. In fact, she sang the vocals! When my Mark heard her jazzy tones coming out of my laptop speakers, he initially thought it was Tracey Thorn, but overall this ditty is more robust than Everything but the Girl. Although this is the only original composition, the whole Exohxo Xmas EP is worth downloading (and yes, that includes their stab at "Christmas Wrapping," which shows the good sense to be as faithful to the oddball original as possible).

7. "Winter Song" by the Fairways: The first of three songs here courtesy of Matinée Records, one of the labels that made me fall in love with twee all over again. If this one doesn't make you bop your head, see a masseuse about that tightness in your neck.

8. "Dear Father Christmas" by Neil Innes: Perhaps best known as one-quarter of "the Prefab Four," the Rutles, this British musician and humorist made bank parodying John Lennon as "Ron Nasty." But this 1984 pastiche isn't mean-spirited; it pokes fun at Christmas singles (which are an especially big deal in the UK) but its sentiments are wholly sincere yet never cloying (well, there are children singing at the end...).

9. "Holiday Face" by Dent May (via Paste... or what's left of it): Yes, I know, I initially called him "the poor man's Jens Lekman." Then I reversed my opinion. This one features some lovely Beach Boys-esque harmonies. No magnificent ukulele, though, unless it's buried under all those cheesy synthesizers.

10. "Santa's On His Way" by the Pipettes: Speaking of artists I've flip-flopped on... I loved We Are The Pipettes, but after the group revamped its line-up and sound (trading girl group sass for slick, ABBA updates) I wrote them off. This superlative Christmas original just might make me give them another second chance. (For some reason, this mp3 is very quiet; bump up the volume however you see fit.)

11. "All I Want Is Truth (for Christmas)" by the Mynabirds: They had me at "whatever you do, don't turn on the news," as my beloved husband watches more CNN/MSNBC than I can stomach (which, admittedly, is less and less all the time) five nights a week. This country rocker from the Saddle Creek act features some fine slide guitar, too. (Postscript: The vocalist reminds me of Eleni Mandell, which is a good thing indeed.)

12. "Got Something For You" by Best Coast & Wavves: No two ways about it, that fuzz-drenched, sunny surf rock sound was one of the biggest musical trends of 2010. Here, two of the leading proponents team up on a very charming Christmas tune. More sleigh bell!

13. "Toy Jackpot" by Blackalicious: Holiday hip-hop can be tricky. There are some great entries—Curtis Blow's "Christmas Rapping" and Run DMC's "Christmas In Hollis" immediately spring to mind—but don't even get me started on cynical cash-ins like Christmas on Death Row. (For the record, I do think it was unfair Snoop Dogg's cameo was excised from It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.) Blackalicious knocks it out of the park with this one, and it's even FCC-friendly!

14. "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" by Slow Club: A Ravonettes-style redux of Darlene Love's showstopper from A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, which is still the Rosetta Stone of holiday rock and roll platters.

15. "Joy to the World" by the Infant Kings: I already blogged about this one. Where have you been?

16. "Fruitcake" by the Superions: Ditto. I must say, while I admire the invention Fred Schneider and his comrades show throughout this kooky album, the record is best appreciated in bite-sized pieces, and this silly hip-shaker is the tastiest one.

17. "Santa's a Hippy" by Don Sneed, Jr.(via WFMU's Beware of the Blog): While working a wedding the other night, I mentioned to my favorite A/V guy, Kelly, that I'd just scored a copy of the Bonnie Guitar Christmas album, and how important it is to me to represent the Pacific Northwest in my holiday programming on KEXP. He suddenly remembered this regional hit from his childhood in Spokane, and wouldn't ya know it, the geeks at WFMU's "Beware of the Blog" were already on the case!

18. "Christmas All Summer Long" by Deer Tick: A gritty garage rocker with a top note of "Subterranean Homesick Blues." If you're looking for more rockin', rootsy Christmas tunes I'd encourage you to go seek out "Here It Is Christmas Time" by the Old 97's and X's version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (recognize that opening riff, LA punk rock fans?), both of which are easily available on iTunes.

19. "Santa Needs A Holiday" by Strawberry Whiplash: I am a sucker for breathy female vocals. Fold this one into the batch with your favorite holiday tunes by Claudine Longet and Saint Etienne, or perhaps Louis Phillippe's "13th Day of Christmas."

20. "When It Was Winter" by the Windmills: Another freebie from the good folks at Matinée Records. At this point, it's time to encourage you to support independent music and spend a few shekels on the Matinée Holiday Soiree EP, which also includes seasonal offerings from Seattle's own Math & Physics Club, Bubblegum Lemonade, Northern Portrait, and Champagne Riot.

21. "Last Christmas" by the Puppini Sisters: I prefer their rhythmic retrofit of Elton John's otherwise rotten "Step Into Christmas," but of the two free downloads available from Christmas with the Puppini Sisters, I think this one shows off their savvy Andrew Sisters-style arrangements to better effect than "Santa Baby." It also underscores that, unlike many '80s Christmas songs, George Michael created a holiday hit that lends itself to new interpretations. (I'm a sucker for the GLEE version, too.) Again, this is one even the old folks shouldn't grumble about.

22. "Winter in the Pub" by Kissing Party (via Denver Westword): This Denver, CO combo made one of my favorite faux C86 albums in a year that was, frankly, lousy with baby bands that cited the Shop Assistants and Close Lobsters as influences. Naturally, I was ecstatic when they sent me a mp3 of their Christmas song. The lyrics are pretty hard to decipher but the song's bittersweet vibe rings out loud and clear.

A very special birthday

2010-12-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

No, not that one. Not yet. Today is the birthday of Brenda Lee, the artist responsible for no fewer than three Yuletide essentials: "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day," and this gem, "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus."

Despite the fact that the original Decca single for the above tune bills the artist as "Little Brenda Lee (9 Years Old)," Little Miss Dynamite was actually 12 years old at time. That's a big difference in child star years. (When Mark first heard this song, he asked, "How long had she been smoking by then?") Brenda turns 66 today. Hmmm... I might have to track her down for an interview next year.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Clip Reel

2010-12-11T02:09:00.000-08:00

If, for some unfathomable reason, you still haven't purchased one or more copies of Alonso Duralde's must-have holiday reference guide, Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas, just watch this clip reel and marvel at the wondrous scope of flicks covered therein... and then buy his damn book!

You know who else has a new book in stores, too? ME! Admittedly, United States of Americana doesn't have as much Yuletide content as Alonso's fine tome (although I do discuss The Nutcracker burlesque "Land of the Sweets") but it makes an excellent gift.

MSN Music Christmas album roundup

2010-12-09T23:24:00.000-08:00

My annual round up of Christmas albums for MSN Music went live earlier this week. For reasons I don't entirely understand, what was supposed to be a standard feature became a photo gallery. Regardless, it's a quick (and, I hope, entertaining) survey of most of the year's big new holiday titles. Did I miss one of your favorites? Look for FESTIVE! exclusive write-ups of Saint Etienne's A Glimpse of Stocking, Hip-O's new complete James Brown Christmas double-disc, and a few others before the big day.

On a related note, since I give a thumbs up to the Glee Christmas album: I finally watched the A Very Glee Christmas episode this evening. No spoilers, in case anybody hasn't seen it yet, but it lived up to my expectations (as all Brittany-centric episodes do), and I only cried once.

Cupcakes for Christmas

2010-12-09T17:14:00.000-08:00

Like most early adopters, I've burned out on cupcakes (although I admit that Megan Seling's Bake It In A Cake project has piqued my interest, especially her recent fruitcake-in-a-cupcake recipe). Regardless, today I had some unfinished business to attend to from last year: Reviewing Cupcake Royale's seasonal offerings. Rum Ball is a dark chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate rum buttercream and candied walnuts, and Eggnog is... well, you know what eggnog is. The Cupcake Royale interpretation features a white cake base (almost an Angel Food, but denser) and eggnog-flavored frosting with a dusting of nutmeg.

I'm generally wary of rum balls, due to a bad childhood experience. Great Aunt Frata (may she rest in peace) had purchased a tin of them from the Shriners or the Elks or the KKK or whomever came door-to-door in Central Indiana selling rum balls as a fundraiser, and gave one to five year-old me. Turns out they were so boozy they bordered on toxic. Seriously, it burned my mouth. Even my Mom couldn't finish one. But Cupcake Royale's version has reaffirmed my faith in rum balls. The buttercream has a bold, full-bodied flavor that doesn't overstay its welcome, and the crunchy topping provides welcome contrast to the gooey frosting.

I found the eggnog cupcake a bit dull, but Mark actually preferred it. "The rum ball is probably a 'better' cupcake," he conceded, "but there's something so offensively good about the eggnog. The idea is more gruesome, and the frosting is extra sweet." If you like the taste of eggnog but not the heart-attack-in-a-glass feeling that often accompanies the real deal (not that store bought crap in a carton), this should satisfy your taste buds.

Christmas at Jive Time

2010-12-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Our friends at Jive Time Records in Fremont have set aside four bins dedicated exclusively to Christmas gems (in all genres), and there are some treats in there for the discerning shopper. I just picked up Rod McKuen's New Carols for Christmas and an odd Rhino comp called Hillbilly Holidays at very reasonable prices. And they have duplicate copies of the only essential Yuletide rock full-length not produced by Phil Spector, the ZE classic A Christmas Record.

Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas)

2010-12-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

Longtime FESTIVE! fans may have noticed that as we've matured (i.e. grown older), we've actually gotten less "adult." Back issues of the original zine included my holiday-themed slash fiction about Joey Fatone of N*Sync, or my treatment for a pornographic film starring Donnie Russo as Santa Claus. You're less likely to find such content since FESTIVE! went digital; I'd rather not be remembered for celebrating that kind of "blue" Christmas in a such a public forum. Lord knows, I've embarrassed myself being "naughty" online enough in the past. But since Dategirl gave FESTIVE! a nice plug in the Seattle Weekly online today, I thought I'd post the above, just so I could feel like I had some *ahem* sexy content on the site.

The best Christmas movie I saw last week

2010-12-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

You need to put Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in your Netflix queue now! It has shot to the top of my list of movies I feel were made with, well, me as the target audience (right up there with Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three, Gods and Monsters, The Pillow Book, and Starstruck). Thanks to Alonso Duralde and his excellent holiday tome Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas for this blessed gift.

Holiday decor at PONY

2010-12-05T22:01:00.001-08:00

When I showed up for Tiny Tea Dance at PONY this evening, Marcus had been doing some holiday decorating. There are some mighty festive new additions to the walls and ceilings, but I think this is my favorite.

Christmas with 826 Seattle

2010-12-04T13:17:00.001-08:00

If you are planning on making charitable donations this holiday season, please consider a gift to 826 Seattle. They do amazing work encouraging young people to write. Also, they really need a new Christmas tree.

How to Enjoy "The Nutcracker in 3D"

2010-11-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

By all accounts, Dave White and Alonso Duralde's discussion of The Nutcracker in 3D is infinitely more entertaining than the film itself, an exercise in movie-making reportedly so execrable that critics had to sign a waiver promising they would not discuss it, in any capacity—no Twitter, no Facebook, no blogging, no water cooler gossip, nothing—before they were subjected to watching a press screening. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Rest assured, Hollywood, if we couldn't drag our lazy gay asses out to see Cher and Christina Aguilera bulldoze through Burlesque this weekend, we certainly weren't going to go out of our way to shell out hard-earned cash to suffer through Nathan Lane as Albert Einstein singing the great melodies of Tchaikovsky, retrofitted as hip-hop pop songs with lyrics by Tim Rice. (No, we have no idea what that has to do with the original source material either.)

The mind reels. Listen to what the esteemed experts have to say over on Dave & Alonso's hilarious weekly podcast Linoleum Knife.

Black Narcissus

2010-11-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

Mark and I watched the 1947 film Black Narcissus this evening. I could list a lot of fine reasons to add this movie to your Netflix queue, but I'm going to limit myself to three:

1. Christmas! A Christmas eve scene, complete with singing of two carols, and featuring both Sabu (star of the 1942 version of The Jungle Book and a drunken David Farrar. This is the only sequence in I recall in the film where Farrar's character, Mr. Dean, is wearing more than a pair of shorts and a battered sun hat.

2. Crafts! Deborah Kerr does some very elaborate needlepoint in one scene. Crewel, from the looks of it.

3. Punk rock! Okay, not really. But if this film is to be believed, wearing red eyeliner induces psychotic breaks. Some of the shots of Kathleen Byron as her Sister Ruth character goes off the deep end are breathtaking. Rarely has madness looked so glamorous.

Christmas with David Bazan

2010-11-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite holiday traditions, right up there with spinning music Christmas Day on KEXP, is the annual arrival of a new Christmas 7-inch from Seattle singer-songwriter David Bazan (the artist formerly known as Pedro The Lion). Starting with the original rendition of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" back in 2002, almost every year Bazan has teamed up with his friends at Suicide Squeeze to issue a limited-edition, colored-vinyl single featuring a pair of seasonal offerings, ranging from traditional fare ("The First Noel") to Bazan originals.

This year David returns with his own thoughtful composition, "Wish My Kids Were Here," accompanied by yet another pass (his third!) at "I Heard the Bells." In the midst of scurrying around for a family portrait sitting, David took time to chat about his ongoing Christmas project with Festive!—a conversation we both realized was long overdue.

FESTIVE! Have you ever been coerced into dressing up as Santa?
David Bazan: I haven't yet, but I imagine that's on the radar. My booking agent joked that that was part of contract for a college show that I'm playing in December, but I don't believe him.

It's going to be embarrassing if you show up unprepared. Although you could just run out to a drug store and buy some construction paper, string, cotton balls and a glue stick, and whip up a Santa hat and beard.
I like that version of Santa Claus a lot.

I look forward to your Christmas 45s every year. Are there plans to compile them onto a single album someday?
That's been the plan for a little while. Originally we were going to do that this year, but I ran out of time to make it happen. So we're going to do one more 45 next year, and the compilation will be available too. That's the plan.

When do you have to have the Christmas material in the can in order to make a holiday street date?
If it's just a 45, then late July or early August. When we were going to do the compilation record, that deadline was May… and I missed that [deadline] by a lot.

Tell me about the writing and recording of this year's A-side, "Wish My Kids Were Here." Had you been nurturing the song for a while? Was it triggered by a specific inciting incident?
The inspiration for that song is a little messed up. This last year, a couple of friends—or acquaintances—of mine and their wives, who my wife is pretty close with, got divorced. And they had kids. And the way in which the dads detached from the kids, standing them up on Saturdays when they were supposed to get together and things like that, really blew my mind, having kids myself. I'm gone from [my kids] a fair amount, at least a third of the year. And there's a lot of longing and a little anxiety about that: Am I messing them up by being gone so much? So when these acquaintances would act in this way, or clearly have other priorities in their lives besides their kids, it perplexed me. That was the impetus for the song. I started writing it out of a slightly mean spirit. I'm not sure… sort of accusatory. Even though I was adopting their viewpoint, it was sort of skewering them to a degree. And then once I got in it, to do any subject justice, you have to take it seriously. And I started sympathizing, and even empathizing. I could see me, the screw-up, in them.

I wondered at what point you were going to tell me this turned into a cautionary tale directed as a possible self.
That's what happened. So there is a sense now where [the song] is both of those things. It is meant to skewer people who just aren't taking these sorts of things, that later are going to cause a lot of regret and really deep sadness, seriously. But a lot of these things turned into cautionary tales for me, that I then tell myself every time I sing it. With the Christmas songs, I sing them less than other songs, but that's been a common thing that's happened with my work.

When you sit down to write the Christmas originals, do you have a very specific plan and a deadline? Or do songs just sort of manifest themselves throughout the year, and if something seems appropriate for Christmas you earmark it for later?
It's more like that first scenario: "Okay, it's time to write a Christmas song." Or it's time to figure out what songs are going to be on the single. Sometimes there's just one that's been rolling around since last Christmas. Like when I did "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," I'd been wanting to do that one. That was just a natural fit. This year there wasn't any real obvious choice, and I had this idea for [an original] song, so there a came a time when I said, 'Okay, I've got to do this now.' That was in May, and I didn't get it done until another month or so.

You covered one of Low's Christmas songs a few years ago ("Long Way Around the Sea"). Have you guys ever discussed collaborating on a Christmas project? Are you going to jump up on stage and do a number with them when they play their Seattle Christmas show at the Tractor?
It's possible. I think I'm going to go to the show and have dinner with Al and Mim. Often, if Al is around for my shows, will just kind of jump up and sing. But I don't have the chutzpah that he does. But I think those guys are amazing and the idea of collaborating with them on anything would be pretty exciting.

Don't make me start an Internet rumor that you're going to get up on stage with them. Then people would be disappointed if you punked out.
That happened the other week! John Roderick told Eli Sanders that I would be at a Patty Murray thing when I had no plans to do that.

You've recorded the new B-side, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," a few times now. What prompted you to revisit it again?
I really liked the second rendering. I've never really been happy with the first one. The feeling of it wasn't quite right, I was going for something that I just didn't quite nail. So when I did it again for the Maybe This Christmas Tree compilation, I liked that version a lot more. And I want that version—or something similar—to appear on my compilation. But Nettwork Records owns the rights to my version that I like. So if I wanted it on my compilation, I realized I'd have to do it again in some form. And since the last time I did it… the ending of the original Longfellow poem, which always really resonated with me and was hopeful, wasn't as hopeful. It didn't leave me feeling the same way anymore. So for a year or so, I've been trying to think of a way to change it a little bit so that it communicated the hopefulness that I feel now. That was the reason why I did it again, this year. So those two factors caused me to want to revisit it.

With all the tumult in your life over the past couple years, did you ever consider abandoning the Christmas singles?
There was a year in there where I didn't do one. But in general, no. Partly because I love David Dickenson [of Suicide Squeeze] so much, and this is a way of being associated with him, a way to maintain our association. It's been a tense project on some levels. It wasn't an easy fit from the beginning. My relationship with Christmas music has been strained. It's gotten less strained over the years, where I've gotten a lot more comfortable with the idea of doing Christmas music for the sake of ambiance. And I've really enjoyed that tension; each year, it's been tense all over again, to figure out a way to be myself and make a couple of Christmas songs that are true to my tastes and what kind of resonates with me about the holiday.

If you were somebody whose aesthetic was less spiritually and philosophically grounded, you could get away with interpolating a lot more holiday material into your repertoire. But at this point, for you to do "Santa Baby" would be wildly inappropriate.
That's what I felt. I feel like I'm inching towards a little less self-seriousness, as far as how the releases are perceived. But that would be a pretty big jump. I would have to do another 8 or 10 of them before I was able to get that far.

It certainly has been interesting to watch the Christmas singles evolve as your relationship with Christ has evolved.
Yeah. And there was one 45 a couple of years ago that had straight hymns. I didn't monkey with the lyrics at all. And I used a synthesizer to kind of obscure, or imply tension, when certain lines would come down the pike. It's been interesting for me, too. Honestly, that's why I keep doing it. It forces me, every year or so, to sit and think about that. And I'm so glad that I went through the process this way, on accident, rather than just making a Christmas album. Because the thought process would have been longer and been more intense, but it would've only happened one time. This is an on-going meditation of sorts. I may be bummed when I'm not doing it every year.

I hope it won't stop! I assumed that the compilation album would close a volume of the story, but that you would continue making the 45s.
I hadn't consider that I would keep on. But now that I'm thinking about it, I really would rather keep doing it.

Why would you stop?
I don't know! I'm not really a planner, so I don't think that far ahead.

You're not going to stop loving David Dickenson. And even if your relationship with Christ took some radical turns, there would still be room to explore those twists in music. There are so many themes you can explore at this time of year.
I agree completely. And [my relationship with Christ] has changed about as radically as it could, I would think. And there's still so much to ponder and think about. I'm far enough from that change that I'm far less hostile, far less defensive, about the superficial aspects of Christmas or religion or whatever. Now it's just endlessly fascinating.

The weird thing about it is, when I was younger, my escape from the commercialism of Christmas was the nativity, and the real deep sort of idealism and hopefulness that came out of how that story is handled within Christianity. When that was gone, I didn't really have the same escape from the commercial aspect of Christmas. So it's been interesting to find a substitute for that, so that there's something to really cherish every year about it, and escape from the over-commercialization of the holidays.

Do you feel like having children has aided you in that pursuit?
It has. It complicate it. Part of the over-commercialization was so fun as a kid, getting presents and the sheer excitement of all that. And I don't want to rob them of that, but I want it to be balanced, too. Having kids makes everything more vivid. The stakes go up. Just focusing on family, in spite of all the conflict that comes along with that, that's really what I like now: That's kind of my escape. That and It's A Wonderful Life.

You're scrambling around to do a big family photo today. Is that a holiday tradition in the Bazan clan?
No, not necessarily. My parents live in California, and my sister and her husband and child, and my wife and children and I, we all live here. So periodically when we're all together, somebody will come up with the idea and we'll try do something like this. When we have people over for Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is a time when we all pile up around the couch and my wife sets up the automatic camera, and we all do that. But not in a studio.

You were talking about Christmas as a child. Did you delineate very strictly between sacred and secular Christmas music as a youngster?
No. Because in no other sphere of my life was secular music allowed, so I didn't really make that distinction with Christmas music. My strongest memory of Christmas music is just riding different places in the car. At a certain point in the year, there would be all this Christmas music. My wife is kind of Christmas crazy. The iPod with 1,001 Christmas carols comes out about this time. Last year it was Halloween. This year she waited. So it's reminiscent of that part of my childhood, and I just have the most warm feelings listening to Judy Collins and whoever. She really stands out as having the sweetest presentation of that material. But that Alvin and the Chipmunks song, and all the classics. If I wasn't married to my wife, I wouldn't be consuming them as much any more. But she insists, and I like it.

(Photo of David Bazan by Lyle Owerko, courtesy of Barsuk Records.)

"Ten Thousand Points of Light" 20th anniversary DVD

2010-11-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Somehow, despite my own mania for "the most wonderful time of the year," as well as being amigos with Alonso Duralde of Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas, I'd never heard of this documentary until a few months ago, when my pals at Dust-to-Digital announced they'd be reissuing it. I watched an advance screener a few days ago, and this collision of Christmas, Elvis, and three generations of family drama is thing of wonder, joy, and curiosity.

The DVD contains the half-hour feature film with audio commentary tracks by the documentary subjects and director. The DVD is packaged in a digipack with gold foil stamping on the cover and a booklet that has an interview with the filmmaker.

Shot on VHS tape in 1989 and 1990 by director George King, Ten Thousand Points of Light is available on DVD for the first time.

"Kitsch alert! Worshippers at the shrine of Elvis and followers of pop culture take note. Ten Thousand Points of Light is a wry, understated and terrifically funny look at the Townsends, a suburban Atlanta family who, every holiday season for eight years, transformed their Stone Mountain area brick ranch house into a meteoric blaze of Christmas lights. Known as both “the Christmas House” and the “the Elvis House”, the Townsend’s home was visited yearly by vast numbers of people, many of whom viewed a trip to the land of a thousand tchotchkes as an annual pilgrimage. — Linda Dubler, Creative Loafing

Slayer Christmas Lights

2010-11-23T09:22:00.001-08:00

Please go check out this breathtaking post at Boing Boing, featuring a house with Christmas lights synchronized to flash to the music of SLAYER!

Guilty Pleasures

2010-11-18T18:28:00.001-08:00

I am sorry to report that nothing on Wilson Phillips new Christmas In Harmony is a fraction as entertaining as this 1993 single by Carnie and Wendy Wilson. Look, they actually appear to be having fun! At least, sometimes. In sort of staged, artificial way. And isn't that really what this season is all about: Convincing others that you're not writhing in agony until Boxing Day?

Annie Lennoxmas, pt. 2

2010-11-18T10:49:00.001-08:00

Freaking brilliant. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a vigorous dose of The Wicker Man and having visions of... yourself as an angel.

Susan Boyle enters US charts at #1

2010-11-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

My editor at MSN seemed surprised, but after the performance of Josh Groban's multi-platinum Noël, which climbed to #1 and was the best-selling album of 2007, I rather expected it. I listened to the album in its entirety last night, and can completely see its appeal: It's an album for people who don't really like music much. The doughy Scot's glacial reading of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" is, for the record, hardly the most grievous selection on the program. At least it showed imagination, which is more than I can say for trotting out Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" yet again.

Official press release in full below. Read it and weep.

NEW SUSAN BOYLE ALBUM, THE GIFT,

ENTERS BILLBOARD 200 AT NUMBER 1

WITH BEST SELLING DEBUT FOR A HOLIDAY ALBUM

IN SOUNDSCAN HISTORY

Record breaking Susan Boyle has made music history again by becoming the first female artist ever to have the double No.1 album spot in the US & UK, twice in less than 12 months.

The only other act to have achieved this in the history of music were the Beatles in 1969.

The highly anticipated album 'The Gift' from international singing sensation Susan Boyle has entered the number one spot in the Official UK chart and the US Billboard chart making it the fastest selling Holiday album on both sides of the Atlantic, in the SoundScan era.

In 2009 the Britain’s Got Talent star’s debut album ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ became the biggest selling album in the world and fastest selling album in the history of the charts – selling over 10 million copies - and breaking all pre-order sales records on Amazon.

Simon Cowell said; "I'm thrilled for Susan, she has once again defied the odds. She is my superwoman".

Susan Boyle said; “I’ve never felt happier in all my life. This is an amazing result and one I never expected”

Steve Barnett, Chairman of Columbia Records said; "The overwhelming positive response to Susan's new album is a powerful testament to her unique talent. She's able to touch the hearts of her fans around the world who continue to show their loyal support and devotion."

God Save the Infant Kings

2010-11-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

Festive! began life when I moved to Seattle in 1996, and I was thrilled to discover that two of the folks I kinda-sorta knew best when I arrived appreciated Christmas music, too. Those gents were drummer/label boss/record store mogul Nabil Ayers and bassist/producer Bill Herzog (Citizens' Utilities, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter). These guys had their mitts all over Jingle Up High, Jingle Down Low..., the sole release by the Infant Kings, basically a nom de Noelle for the Model Rockets.

There's something to be said for doing a kick-ass, no-frills job with the classics, and that's what these instrumental garage/surf versions do. Nabil has decided to make the long OOP album available digitally this Christmas, and I'm delighted. Sample their raucous "Joy To the World" and I think you'll understand why this tidbit of news fills me with holiday cheer.

Jingle Up High is available digitally from The Control Group on November 30.

Poly Styrene "Black Christmas"

2010-11-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

I seem to be on a downer Christmas music binge this morning. And yet, I'm oh-so-glad to be unhappy. First I wallowed in the new Suicide Squeeze Christmas 7-inch "Wish My Kids Were Here" in preparation for Tuesday's Festive! interview w/ David Bazan. Then I stumbled across this freebie from the legendary Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex, a Yuletide offering that contrasts rather dour lyrics with a jaunty reggae groove. This tune makes me excited for her forthcoming solo full-length, Generation Indigo, due out in March 2011.

Saint Etienne: A Glipse of Stocking!

2010-11-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

After years of teasing and tantalizing fans with limited edition holiday releases, preeminent UK pop trio Saint Etienne is finally releasing a complete Christmas album. A Glimpse of Stocking features a mix of old and new recordings (including one of my personal favorites, their cover of Claudine Longet's demented "I Don't Intend to Spend Christmas Without You," which Bob Stanley graciously discussed with Festive! back in our ink-and-paper fanzine days).

This is a strictly limited edition release (3,000 copies) and only available directly from the band. More info here. Don't delay!

Annie Lennoxmas, pt. 1

2010-10-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't gotten my promo of Annie Lennox's Christmas Cornucopia yet, but my expectations are modest. I love Eurythmics' reading of "Winter Wonderland." I appreciate that her cover of "Put A Little Love in Your Heart" with Al Green has its fans, and winds up on the occasional Christmas mix, thanks to its inclusion in Scrooged. And yet, she hasn't made a record that truly filled me with joy since 1992's Diva. Adult contemporary Annie just doesn't do it for me.

This promo doesn't completely allay my fears (when the opening piano arpeggios rolled under footage of a passing minivan, I thought I was viewing a car commercial before the actual clip, but no... that's someone's idea of "setting the mood"), but the participation of the African children's choir does give me hope that she changed the usual chestnuts up a bit. And I am a sucker for "Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant." Now if she'd just get a makeover, or at least wear "dress-up" clothes for picture day. Dear God, she looks like she just came back from a casting call for Nurse Jackie.

Pink Martini Christmas, pt. 1

2010-10-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

I just downloaded my promo copy of Joy to the World, the new holiday album by Pink Martini (in stores 11/16). I know the whole big band/cocktail lounge-at-Christmas thing can feel played out, but we're talking about a band that covered "Song of the Black Lizard" on its debut album, so my expectations are high. Until I can post a review, please enjoy this table-setting demonstration from bandleader Thomas Lauderdale. It's equal parts Martha Stewart and Pee-Wee Herman, and pure delight.

Not-so-great Scott

2010-10-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

As if this galling performance on Leno last year wasn't bad enough, today I noticed that Amazon has a listing for a forthcoming holiday album by Scott Weiland. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is scheduled for a late November release. However, there's no album art or track listing, only the briefest of summaries, and no mention of the disc (yet) on Weiland's official web site (golly, it must be fun to be that webmaster). There is, however, this news item from September, in which Scott promises the "very traditional" disc will include a reggae version of "Little Drummer Boy." Really? Let's leave Reggae Christmas to Count Floyd, shall we, Scott?

Fruitcake!

2010-10-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the video for the first single from the aforementioned Fred Schneider Christmas album.

There are already a ton of new Xmas titles piling up on my desk (Shelby Lynne, the Puppini Sisters, Cameo-Parkway holiday singles comp) so expect the reviews to start coming fast and furious soon.

Fred Schneider's Christmas album

2010-08-04T06:58:00.001-07:00

It seems misleading to call Destination Christmas, the forthcoming album from Fred Schneider's other band, The Superions, a new record. When I interviewed Fred back in 2007 for the B-52's Funplex press bio, he admitted the material was already five years old. At the time, he described its sound as "trashy and traditional."

At long last, fans can decide for themselves: Destination Christmas is slated for release on October 26, 2010. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it (it's the 21st century—we don't wait for anything). Check out the album sampler below to get a taste of the eleven original selections. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can get Fred on the horn and schedule a proper Festive! interview.

Other People's Xmas pt. 6

2010-07-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

No info on the photo, but that oversize, polka-dotted dog is causing me some serious Stuffed Animal Envy! Also, since the kids appear to be outside, I'm guessing this was taken in Southern California or somewhere in the Southwest.

"Come and trim my Christmas tree..."

2010-07-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

I think I found the ideal fabric for a new tree skirt this morning.

The cashier at Pacific Fabrics seemed strangely uncomfortable with the interest Mark and I showed in this bolt of fabric (which, it should be noted, was displayed right by the cash register). What, does she really think the dudes shopping at a fabric store are heterosexual?