Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus 10" (SFTRI 271)

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"It's not that I'm passionate about Christmas as a holiday. Truth is, I'm not particularly fond of it at all. Christmas means more work and extra hassles and I've got enough of both already. It's the songs that I'm crazy about. Don't know why or how but somewhere along the way I've developed a place for them in my otherwise black heart. I like all Christmas songs. I like religious ones, I like traditional ones, and of course most of all I like the rock'n'roll ones. There's Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick," there's a version of "Frosty the Snowman" by the Ronettes that is so spirited it can almost make you forget that the world is so fucked up for a few minutes. And don't try and tell me that recording them is not cool cuz both Patti Smith and Keith Richards have turned in versions and Elvis recorded a whole album's worth.
This record may have turned into a slightly different beast than what I had originally envisioned, but all things considered, I think it's a pretty impressive collection. Included on this slab are ten new entries in the sweepstakes for Christmas classics of the future. Sure, maybe a few are a bit tweaked, but a couple of 'em are honest contenders. To hear just one of them one day somewhere down the road blastin' from a radio when Sympathy is nothing more than a bad memory and some boxes cluttering up my swank three-car garage would send this lonesome cowboy straight to moondoggie heaven. Here's hopin' that you'll enjoy a ffew of them today. And don't forget Christmas is Jesus's birthday! Color me... LONG GONE JOHN xx"

Side A:
Shitbirds - Christmas Is a Comin' (May God Bless You)
Junkyard Dogs - Brand New Bike
Claw Hammer - The Night Before Christmas
Devil Dogs - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
Rocket From The Crypt - Cancel Christmas

Side B:
Humpers - Run, Run Rudolph
Jackknife - Santa Claus Never Forgets
New Bomb Turks - Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
Red Aunts - Little Drummer Bitch
Monsieur Jeffrey Evans with Ross Johnson & The AMF - Mr. Blue X-mas (Cut Your Head On Christmas)

Fa la la la la, la la la la...

Prisonshake - Almost Christmas 7" (Scat Records - SCAT 11)

Side A: Almost Christmas
Side B: Hell, Hell, Hell / Almost Christmas (Midnight Twizzle Mix)

"This is a 7" given away gratis with Seven: Scat Records Quarterly #4"

Holly Golightly - Christmas Tree On Fire 7" (Damaged Goods - DAMGOOD 275P)

Side A: Christmas Tree On Fire
Side B: Hear My Call, Here

Picture disc. The original of Christmas Tree On Fire is by Tom Heinl.

Merry Christmas from the Black Lips and the King Khan and BBQ Show 7" (Norton Records - 45-138)

Side A: Black Lips - Christmas in Baghdad
Side B: King Khan and BBQ Show - Plump Righteous

Another swag of Christmas audio treats.

Since I'm working the next two days, I don't really have time to do little write ups for the following records, so just trust me that they're all gold.

The 5.6.7.8's - Rock and Roll Santa 7" (Norton Records - 45-120)

Side A: Rock and Roll Santa
Side B: Harlem Shuffle

Rock'n Roll Santa was originally performed by Little Joey Farr. Harlem Shuffle was originally performed by Bob & Earl and isn't a Xmas song, but it's still great and worth including.

Holly Golightly & The Greenhornes - Little Stars 7" (Damaged Goods - DAMGOOD 211)

Side A: Little Stars
Side B: I Don't Hear You

Both original Holly Golightly tunes. Recorded at ToeRag Studios.

Cedell Davis - For the Love of Jesus: Chapter Four 7" (Fat Possum / Sympathy For The Record Industry - FP/SFTRI 540)

Verse One: Keep On Snatchin' It Back
Verse Two: It's X-mas Time

Edition of 1000.

The Creamers - Bob Kringle / Father Christmas 7" (Sympathy For The Record Industry - SFTRI 100)

Side A: Bob Kringle / Father Christmas

Bob Kringle is an original, and Father Christmas is a cover of a song originally written by the Kinks.
Limited edition of 2000. Engraving by the Pizz on the b-side.

Now "sorry" won't do me no good, 'cause if Christmas can't bring you home, baby, nothing could.

Greg Cartwright. Enough said.

Reigning Sound - If Christmas Can't Bring You Home 7" (Norton Records)

Side 1: If Christmas Can't Bring You Home
Side 2: That's All I Want / Jingle Bell Rock (Live)

It's Christmas everywhere, but it's not Christmas in my heart...

Buck - Christmas in My Heart 7" (SFTRI601)

Another yuletide release from Sympathy, by another band fronted by a Lisa, but this time it's Lisa Marr (also in Cub, The Beards [with Kim from the Muffs, not the Australian band] and The Lisa Marr Experiment). And once again, as with the Candypants' "The Happiest Time of the Year", the title track is about heart break on Christmas. It features Dave Philips on pedal steel and is worthy of a hoedown.

Next is a re-working of the Xmas classic "Santa Baby" with new lyrics in which Lisa requests a Fender, a new roadcase, a platinum record (or two) and some speed for Xmas, amongst other things.

Finally on the B-side there's a punked up version of "Father Christmas" from the 1970s musical film "Scrooge" with guitarist Pepper Berry on vocals.

Christmas time, the happiest time of the year...

Well, hello there. Welcome to the first post of my blog. I've been meaning to start a blog for some time now... back in the pre-blog late 90's I had a website called Bastard Betty's Trashcan, which has long since disappeared from the internet, which contained ramblings, photos of bands that I'd snapped on my 'film' camera, as well as one whole page dedicated to cats and dogs in my life. This blog will probably be fairly similar but will also contain mp3s I've ripped from rare-ish vinyl in my record collection, and science-stuff because science is awesome.

Anyway to get things started, since we're only a few days away from Xmas, I thought I'd share some Xmas songs from my record collection. Check back over the next few days for more Xmas download treats from Holly Golightly, Reigning Sound, The Black Lips, King Khan & The BBQ Show, Buck, Prisonshake and more.

Candypants - The Happiest Time of the Year / Cold, Cold Winter 7" (SFTRI728)

Candypants have been a favourite of mine ever since I heard their song 'Dishy' on Sympathy For the Record Industry's "Alright, This Time Just The Girls" compilation, which came out back in 2000, shortly followed by their debut self-titled album.

Led by the adorably cheeky Lisa Jenio (ex-The Pussywillows / The Stool Pigeons) on vocals, Candypants present cute pop often with lyrics that are a lot dirtier than first impressions would have you believe.

As is their contradictory nature, "The Happiest Time of the Year" can be described as anything but happy, but Jenio's lyrical humour still shines through. On the flip side is a cover of the Pixies Three "Cold, Cold Winter".