Joy, Spirit, Sadness - This is Christmas, One Song at a Time ⁞ Part Six
Aliens and Zombies at Christmas? This one I have to dedicate to my best friend Laurie.
♫ I Want an Alien for Christmas - Fountains of Wayne
♫ Night of Christmas Zombies - MxPx
♫ Gotta Get Up - Five Iron Frenzy
♫ Merry Christmas I don't Want to Fight Tonight - The Ramones
♫ Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day (Well You Deserved It) - Sufjan Stevens
Joy, Spirit, Sadness - This is Christmas, One Song at a Time
I thought I would highlight the days passing through the holidays till Christmas with some of my favorite festive (or not so festive as the case sometimes is) songs.
Here's the king of non-traditional Christmas kitsch, “I Want an Alien for Christmas”. One of my long-standing favorites at almost any time of the year for it's sheer mix of catchy, pop-rock, brilliance. Asking Santa for “a little green guy about 3 feet high” may not be your heralding of the Christmas spirit, but I can't imagine it not bringing you a bit of fun and merriment. And if the guys belting this little rock gem sound familiar it's because you've likely heard the underrated band Fountains of Wayne sing the one-hit-wonder, “Stacey's Mom”. I believe IWAAFC originally appeared as a vinyl single (future Christmas present anyone?) and is hard to come by. But thankfully the song can be downloaded and heard for many more Christmas' to come.
The next song in my trek down the land of holiday novelty uniqueness is, “Night of the Christmas Zombies” by constant pop-punkers, MxPx. This one I heard for the first time just a few weeks ago, and it's bizarre mix of Zombies, Rock&Roll, and Christmas. Though not as hook laden as some of their album classics, it's undeniably original and something only them and perhaps a few other bands (The Cramps perhaps?) could pull off.
Both of these songs I'm personally dedicating to my best friend since grade school. A person who since grade school has wanted an alien for Christmas. Of course as she's progressed and grown in life, she'd now prefer the Klingon variety over the tiny green guys.
In the interest of moving things along, I'm adding a few other ruckus and joy songs to round things out. Five Iron Frenzy's “Gotta get Up”. A song so filled with child-like joy it's musically bursting it at the seams. And this one you can tap your toes to and dance around the Christmas Tree.
I've also added The Ramone's “Merry Christmas I don't want to Fight Tonight”. And to counteract, the jovial pretenses of putting aside differences for the Holidays, I've included Sufjan Steven's “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day (well you deserved it). It's best to approach Steven's somber and sad-sacked Christmas' songs by first reading some of his reflections of Christmas' past that are included in the liner-notes of Songs for Christmas.
♫ I Want an Alien for Christmas - Fountains of Wayne
♫ Night of Christmas Zombies - MxPx
♫ Gotta Get Up - Five Iron Frenzy
♫ Merry Christmas I don't Want to Fight Tonight - The Ramones
♫ Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day (Well You Deserved It) - Sufjan Stevens
Joy, Spirit, Sadness - This is Christmas, One Song at a Time
I thought I would highlight the days passing through the holidays till Christmas with some of my favorite festive (or not so festive as the case sometimes is) songs.
Here's the king of non-traditional Christmas kitsch, “I Want an Alien for Christmas”. One of my long-standing favorites at almost any time of the year for it's sheer mix of catchy, pop-rock, brilliance. Asking Santa for “a little green guy about 3 feet high” may not be your heralding of the Christmas spirit, but I can't imagine it not bringing you a bit of fun and merriment. And if the guys belting this little rock gem sound familiar it's because you've likely heard the underrated band Fountains of Wayne sing the one-hit-wonder, “Stacey's Mom”. I believe IWAAFC originally appeared as a vinyl single (future Christmas present anyone?) and is hard to come by. But thankfully the song can be downloaded and heard for many more Christmas' to come.
The next song in my trek down the land of holiday novelty uniqueness is, “Night of the Christmas Zombies” by constant pop-punkers, MxPx. This one I heard for the first time just a few weeks ago, and it's bizarre mix of Zombies, Rock&Roll, and Christmas. Though not as hook laden as some of their album classics, it's undeniably original and something only them and perhaps a few other bands (The Cramps perhaps?) could pull off.
Both of these songs I'm personally dedicating to my best friend since grade school. A person who since grade school has wanted an alien for Christmas. Of course as she's progressed and grown in life, she'd now prefer the Klingon variety over the tiny green guys.
In the interest of moving things along, I'm adding a few other ruckus and joy songs to round things out. Five Iron Frenzy's “Gotta get Up”. A song so filled with child-like joy it's musically bursting it at the seams. And this one you can tap your toes to and dance around the Christmas Tree.
I've also added The Ramone's “Merry Christmas I don't want to Fight Tonight”. And to counteract, the jovial pretenses of putting aside differences for the Holidays, I've included Sufjan Steven's “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day (well you deserved it). It's best to approach Steven's somber and sad-sacked Christmas' songs by first reading some of his reflections of Christmas' past that are included in the liner-notes of Songs for Christmas.