O Come All Ye Rockers – A 30 Days Out Christmas

And so this is Christmas.  We’re going to sign off for the week with 30 holiday tunes; we’ll see you on the flip side of the holiday to help you get ready for New Year’s.  Thanks for sharing holiday music to Randy Fuller, Jeff Ash at AM Then FM, Heather Browne at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, Any Major Dude With Half A Heart, Deborah Harry, Bill Baird, Dan Dyer, WFMU and Satan.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Keep On Rockin’.

MP3: “Run Rudolph Run” by Creedence Clearwater Revisited

MP3: “We Three Kings” by Blondie

MP3: “Jingle Bells” by Wilson Pickett

MP3: “Party This Christmas” by Rockin’ Sidney

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Surfin’ To Town” by Soupy Sales

MP3: “The Lord Of The Dance” by Arthur Brown

MP3: “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by Twisted Sister with Lita Ford

MP3: “Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS” by Tiny Tim

MP3: “All I Want For Christmas” by Gerry & the Pacemakers

MP3: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by the Border Brass

MP3: Christmas Public Service Announcement by Pee Wee Herman

MP3: “Christmas In Jail” by Bill Baird

MP3: “Christmas In Southgate” by Ry Cooder

MP3: “White Christmas” by Otis Redding

MP3: “Christmas Cake” by Rilo Kiley

MP3: “2000 Miles” by Coldplay

MP3: “Christmas Time Blues” by Roy Milton & His Solid Senders

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Freaking Me Out” by Lord Weatherby

MP3: 1968 Christmas Fan Club Record by the Beatles

MP3: “Murder By Mistletoe” by the Felice Brothers

MP3: “This eXmas” by Dan Dyer

MP3: “O Holy Night” by Martha Reeves

MP3: “Joy To The World” by Bad Religion

MP3: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Lou Rawls

MP3: “Santa Claus, The Original Hippie” by Homer & Jethro

MP3: “On Christmas Day” by Brian Wilson

MP3: ” ‘Zat You Santa Claus?” by Smash Mouth

MP3: “Rock and Roll Christmas” by George Thorogood & the Destroyers

MP3: “Father Christmas” by the Kinks

MP3: “Christmas Message From Elvis/Silent Night” by Elvis Presley

Review: “‘Cause I Sez So” – New York Dolls

Bursting onto the scene with their self-titled debut in 1973, glam punk rockers, New York Dolls, paved the way for other punk rock acts like the Ramones, The Clash and Blondie. Even Sex Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones credits original member Johnny Thunder for giving him his onstage swagger. After breaking up in the mid 70s, the band re-formed in 2004 with lead singer David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain and bassist Arthur Kane. Kane died shortly after the reunion, but Johansen and Sylvain kept going and have just released the band’s second comeback album, ‘Cause I Sez So, and it’s pretty damn good.

Odds and Ends

      

Today we catch up with all the junk cluttering our in-box.  First, a couple of reissues: Blondie‘s Parallel Lines 30th anniversary set, and War from U2.  Blondie was one of the first American punk bands to make an impact at New York’s club CBGB, and they were probably the first to top the charts.  When Parallel Lines came out in 1978, Blondie was a slightly different band with a few more musicians but the spotlight remained on lead singer Deborah Harry.  And rightly so – Harry was an ultra-hot ex-model who put a beautiful face and a not-bad voice on these polished not-so-punk tunes.  “Heart Of Glass,” with its thumping disco beat, hit No. 1 on the charts.  And rockers “Hanging On The Telephone” and “One Way Or Another” were worthy follow-ups.  Anyhow, the 30th anniversary reissue of Parallel Lines includes extra oddities like a French-language version of “Sunday Girl” and remixes of some of the other songs on the album.  Oddly, they didn’t include the original (non-disco) version of “Heart Of Glass,” which appeared on previous CD reissues of the album.  Toss in a DVD of videos and you have a so-so package.  Unless you don’t already own the album that kicked off American New Wave, you can pass this one up.

MP3: “One Way Or Another” by Blondie