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Creators & Guests
What is Record Store Society?
It's time to visit your favorite local record store; a place where music fans spend countless hours flipping through records, discuss the minutia of favorite b-sides, best live albums, and anything else music-related. If you have any questions, you can always find Tara and Natalie behind the counter ready to give a recommendation or tell you about a recent discovery. Join Record Store Society, a music podcast, biweekly to see what’s new or just to hang around for some music talk.
0:00:01 - Tara
Hey everybody, it's Tara. This episode you're about to hear is our fourth episode ever from all the way back when our good friend Seth used to work in the store. It also includes our great friend Scott Leeds, who is an amazing writer, and we discuss our favorite Christmas songs. If you'd like to hear more Seth, check out his podcast, rusty Needle's Record Club, and be sure to tune into the next episode where we chat with Scott about his new book, shraders Chord, and talk about some very disturbing songs. Happy holidays and thanks for tuning in.
0:00:37 - Speaker 2
Welcome to Record Store Society. A production of iHeart Radio.
0:00:41 - Seth
I mean it's a little cold out, it's really hot and all that kind of stuff. But oh, hey, hi, welcome to the Record Store. You are literally the first customer we have seen all day. Welcome, I'm Seth. This is Tara. Feel free to look around and just give us a shout if you need anything. There's no one else here, so you can have 100% of our attention. Anyway, tara is today like a voting day or a I don't know. Oh, hey, scott. Question to you. Sir. First of all, hey Scott, how's it going?
0:01:19 - Scott
Oh, only night. I'll tell ya it's been a good day.
0:01:24 - Seth
My question to you is why is everything so dead? You've obviously been out on your little mail route delivering mail and whatnot. What's going on in the city today? What's today? Today's Christmas day?
0:01:36 - Tara
Oh my gosh.
0:01:39 - Seth
We probably didn't have to show up today, Tara.
0:01:40 - Tara
We probably couldn't have called today off.
0:01:43 - Scott
Yeah, there's nobody out there.
0:01:44 - Tara
I guess it should clock out.
0:01:46 - Seth
Scott, what are you doing here? You're a mailman.
0:01:50 - Scott
Yeah, I just want to come out and hang out and talk records and I don't have a family, so we are family for today.
0:01:59 - Speaker 2
Okay.
0:02:02 - Seth
We should probably leave Tara, but instead I could go for maybe a high fidelity game like Top 5 Christmas Albums. Sound like fun in honor of the day. Oh yeah, let's do it. So, tara, you go first, you go grab some records. I'll talk to Scott about candy canes or something.
0:02:20 - Speaker 2
Oh, that's going to take too long.
0:02:22 - Seth
You got a favorite candy cane. Scott, you got one you like a whole bunch.
0:02:25 - Scott
Well, see, now here's the thing. You can go with the multi-colored fruit candy cane, you can go with the mint candy cane. But the real truth of the candy cane is whether your tongue can whittle it down into a lethal knife. And that's all candy canes. No, some of them crack before that happens.
0:02:40 - Seth
Those are the cheap candy canes. Oh no good. I like a classic Bob's peppermint.
0:02:46 - Scott
That's my favorite candy cane, oh yeah.
0:02:50 - Seth
Alright, Tara, it looks like you got a stack of records there. Are you ready to give us your Top 5?
0:02:55 - Tara
Oh yeah, yeah, I'm ready. It was tough, it was very tough, but I think I got it Alright. So number five probably you're going to be like whoa already, but yeah, mariah Carey, merry Christmas 1994.
0:03:22 - Seth
Wow, a classic.
0:03:24 - Tara
That's a good one.
0:03:25 - Seth
Starting off the list very strong and very iconic.
0:03:28 - Tara
I like this album. Obviously I wouldn't put it in Top 5, but I mostly had to put it in Top 5 because of the one song that everyone knows, some people hate and people love, and it's like one of the best Christmas songs to ever come out of the 20th century, to be honest, and that's all I want for Christmas. Is you, or however that's titled? Yeah, exactly.
0:03:52 - Seth
There's some parentheses, there's lots of them.
0:03:55 - Tara
Yeah, but yeah. So that's why it's number five, mostly just because of that song. That's why it's in the Top 5, but it's a total banger. It's so fun, it's a love song, it's a Christmas song. Maybe it's a little sad too, if you think about it.
0:04:12 - Seth
Yeah, yeah, I could see that I've never explored the lyrics of that, because I'd never really explored the lyrics of anything. But, yeah, you saying that it does make me immediately think of someone that has absolutely nothing and all they want is just the attention from one person.
0:04:27 - Tara
Yeah, exactly, or maybe the company of one person.
0:04:29 - Seth
Like I said, I've never paid attention.
0:04:31 - Scott
It also has, like that inherent replayability that all kind of Christmas classics have, which is surprising given how late into the 20th century it came out, because it really is a Christmas classic. You can listen to it a thousand times. You know kids.
0:04:43 - Tara
Yeah, totally Even.
0:04:46 - Seth
I bet if you put that song in just a perfect loop again and again, and again, it would take a long time for anyone to notice that it's been playing for an hour.
I actually did that once when I was in high school. I worked in a skate shop in the mall and back to school season is, of course, very popular in malls. All the kids are buying their new clothes and you know whatever, backpacks and whatnot, and my boss, he, decided that it would be very funny to play Motley Cruz. I'm a hot for teacher on a loop for as long as we could until someone would notice.
It took hours before anyone noticed. So we just kept listening because we had decided we weren't going to stop until someone said something Sure, it was ours.
0:05:37 - Tara
That's a fun yeah.
0:05:39 - Seth
It's like the end of the song loops back to the beginning of the song very easily because it ends with like this weird little like drum beat that kind of sounds like a motorcycle idling like and anyway, that's enough for my crew. We're talking Mariah Carey.
0:05:56 - Scott
Well, they have the same initials.
0:05:58 - Tara
I mean, oh wow, that's true. It sounds like a very fun and also very annoying game to play, yeah.
0:06:08 - Seth
Yeah, I mean, we were a skate shop in the mall, so we were an annoying group of kids. I'll tell you that.
0:06:14 - Tara
Yeah.
0:06:16 - Seth
Very good stuff.
0:06:17 - Tara
Yeah, and also, did you know that it's the fifth best selling Christmas album ever, after Kenny G and Elvis Presley, and then also, of course, now that's what I call Christmas.
0:06:29 - Seth
All right Now. You blew my mind with one of the blue my mind. You blew my mind with one of those. That's an odd sentence. You blew my mind with one of those, which was Kenny G.
0:06:37 - Scott
Kenny G, yeah, yeah.
0:06:40 - Seth
Because I totally get the now. That's what I call Christmas. That is like a, that's a classic. Basically, that's just like the shortcut to a.
0:06:46 - Tara
Christmas, the greatest tits of Christmas, yeah.
0:06:48 - Seth
Yeah, I totally understand that. I had that album. You know everyone had that one at some point, not me, not me. Kenny G is the one I don't understand.
0:06:59 - Tara
Yeah, I was a little surprised.
0:07:01 - Seth
I don't think against the guy, but that's, that's odd.
0:07:03 - Tara
I know I was a little surprised by that one as well, and also Josh Groban is ahead of her too, but I guess, like he has that very, I guess sort of angelic male singer voice that people want to hear for Christmas, Well, it also.
0:07:16 - Scott
It seems that, like a Josh Groban Christmas album would probably be more playable as a full album than Mariah Carey. I mean, it's a great Christmas album that Mariah. Mariah, I can't talk, it's too cold outside, all our lips are frozen. But yeah, like, that whole album is great, but I think that one song gets so much attention, whereas, like if you listen to Josh. Groban or you're like what's your favorite Josh Groban Christmas song? I guess you'd be like I don't know all of them.
0:07:44 - Tara
Whereas Mariah Carey A Holy Night or something.
0:07:46 - Seth
Yeah, exactly Interesting. Yeah, I bet. If you went down to singles, I bet Mariah Carey has sold the single. All I Want for Christmas is you a bajillion times more than anyone. Yeah, in terms of album sales, I bet you're right.
0:07:59 - Tara
Yeah, I mean, and it's like six times platinum or something crazy like that, yeah, huh.
0:08:04 - Seth
Nice, well, if that's your number five.
0:08:06 - Tara
That's number five.
0:08:07 - Seth
Where are you going from there?
0:08:09 - Tara
A number four is a compilation. It's called Soul. Christmas Atlantic put it out in 1968. It's just a stacked lineup of classic soul singers and groups and like Otis Redding is on it Donnie Hathaway, luther, vandross, bercati and the MGs. It's so good, it's so good.
0:08:42 - Seth
Nice. Yeah, you said that was 68? Yeah, 1968.
0:08:47 - Tara
Wonderful, and there's like original songs on there, like there's a song called Back Door Santa, which is funny.
0:08:55 - Seth
I know that song yeah.
0:08:57 - Tara
But then they also have, you know, classic Christmas songs covered by these. You know giant soul singers, and it's also kind of jazzy in certain parts too.
0:09:08 - Scott
Was the Donnie Hathaway song this Christmas. Is it that one?
0:09:12 - Speaker 2
I'm trying to remember.
0:09:14 - Tara
No, that was Stevie Wonder.
0:09:16 - Scott
Unless he covered it.
0:09:18 - Tara
I don't know if he covered it, but it's not that one.
0:09:21 - Scott
I think the Donnie Hathaway song starts with those horns, and those horns are Merry Christmas.
0:09:25 - Tara
No, that's Otis Redding.
0:09:26 - Scott
Yeah, it's a really hot horn section there.
0:09:28 - Tara
Yeah, the whole thing is very horny. Lots of horns on that album.
0:09:34 - Scott
Definitely the hoardiest Christmas album that's ever been said.
0:09:38 - Tara
Oh, except for maybe, like Mannheim steamroller, I don't know.
0:09:42 - Scott
That's a horny Christmas album.
0:09:45 - Tara
Wait, are those like synthesizers, though? Maybe?
0:09:47 - Seth
Mannheim steamroller. I think it's a combination right.
0:09:51 - Tara
I have no idea. My mom loves them, though I feel like I'm a Steemaheim Steemroller.
0:09:54 - Seth
And there actually is like a real electric guitarist out front. They're actually, like you know, foot up on the monitor, really Just melting faces, yeah.
0:10:02 - Scott
Holy moly I had no idea. Tommy Iomi, what's his name? The guitarist guy.
0:10:06 - Seth
I'm sure it's. Buck Ahead, I'm sure it's.
0:10:09 - Tara
Oh my gosh, I always imagine them to just be like synth on synth on synth, just playing these like I think that's there too.
0:10:16 - Seth
I definitely think that's a part of it, and what's the other one? That's like a manhime Steemroller, but not you know what I mean. Trans -Siberian.
0:10:23 - Tara
There's two super. No, that's the one Trans-Siberian.
0:10:26 - Seth
That's the one. That's the one. So yeah, that's the other one where it's. I'm surprised those aren't like number one on the.
0:10:32 - Tara
Christmas charts. Actually, yeah, well, I think manhime Steemroller was there, but I can't remember like what number, and I when I last Googled that.
0:10:41 - Scott
Well, it was interesting to watch like the progression of manhime Steemroller Cause. When they first started it was, I think, back in the 60s or 70s, and so they sounded very Wendy Carlos Like. So when you listen to the early stuff it sounds very small. And then the 80s hit and they got like Roland, juno, sixes and all kinds of stuff and it just got real big.
0:10:59 - Tara
I just imagined that there's that like GIF. I think it's from a music video of a guy which is like towers and towers of synths and then he's just like dancing around playing all of them. Have you seen that?
0:11:08 - Seth
Yeah, yeah.
0:11:09 - Tara
That's what I imagined.
0:11:11 - Seth
All right, wait, wait, hold on a second. So. So remind me the name of this album again, cause I've never heard this one.
0:11:16 - Tara
So I want to check it out. It's just soul Christmas.
0:11:19 - Seth
Nice, I'm definitely going to look this one up.
0:11:21 - Tara
I have it on vinyl. It's a great one.
0:11:24 - Scott
It's S O U L Seth, not S O L E. I know you're alone. Thank you Very welcome.
0:11:30 - Seth
I was headed down to my shoe salesman. I was going to ask for this record. But now I'll go to a record store. Oh hey, look where we are.
0:11:39 - Scott
I almost went all the way to South Korea Looking for that Christmas record, that's solid. I got some good word play. I think we exercised every soul.
0:11:50 - Seth
Yes, Well there's also a fish. We could try that one. I was going down to the fish salesman, the Seattle market. Gonna have them throw a fish. Throw this record at me, but no Anyway.
0:12:04 - Scott
It's a good thing, you don't have any customers today.
0:12:08 - Seth
All right, Tara. How about your number three?
0:12:11 - Tara
All right, okay. So number three this one is probably going to make you guys laugh, but I super was obsessed with it in the 90s and I still love it now because you know, when you grow up with a Christmas album that you love, you kind of just always love it and that is a very special Christmas. Number three Santa baby, just flip a pants and wonder battery from me A 98, comparable Nice.
0:12:40 - Seth
Those are solid compilation. They're so good, I think I can definitely speak for myself. I definitely grew up with those of very special Christmas compilations too. Scott did you as well. Oh, yeah, yeah. So please fill me in, tara, which one is number three, cause they all kind of blend together to me.
0:12:55 - Tara
So this one is from 1997 and just preface. This compilation series was put out as a benefit for Special Olympics, but this one is super 90s. Like I said, came out in 1997. And there's some super cheesy songs on it. I keep saying the word super, but whatever, who cares? There are some cheesy songs, right, there's some cheesy songs on here, but some stand out tracks I would say are Santa baby by Rev Run and the Christmas All Stars, which feature Mace and Puff Daddy and Snoop Dogg and Salt Peppa.
0:13:32 - Scott
I remember that and actually this 1997.
0:13:35 - Tara
Yeah, and that song was actually written. Well, it had a bunch of writers, but Lauren Hill and Y Clef were actually two of the writers for that song.
0:13:45 - Scott
Oh, wow.
0:13:46 - Seth
And then that was the Fuji Zara.
0:13:48 - Tara
Yeah, exactly. And then another one that's really fun is, by no doubt, and it's called Oi to the World, and it's sort of like ska punk number about Haji.
0:14:02 - Seth
I think Haji was a punk. I had completely forgotten about that song until you said those words just now. So that means that somewhere in my head in hibernation was the knowledge of Oi to the World. That was just resting back there until you just jostled it loose Tara. So where'd it go?
0:14:21 - Tara
It's such a good Christmas song. Honestly, it has a really good message about Haji the punk kid and he was like gonna fight this other kid, I think Trevor from the Skins and anyways. They ended up pulling out the num chucks and repelling down walls and stuff and then I think they decided to get along. I can't remember, but they bought each other bourbon at the end and Oi to the World Everything's great again. Everybody wins. That song is so good.
0:14:57 - Speaker 2
No doubt.
0:14:58 - Tara
And then, oh yeah also, who can forget the Smashing Pumpkins song that came from that album, christmas Time?
0:15:03 - Seth
Yeah, yeah, no, I completely agree. I actually spent a long time today wondering whether or not I was gonna buy the new Smashing Pumpkins album. Like I was putting it in my checkout cart, taking it out Wow.
0:15:20 - Tara
Like legit. Legit like a new, new, new one.
0:15:22 - Seth
It just came out Is it good. I haven't heard it, it's got like a really iron-randy in cover.
0:15:28 - Scott
It looks like the cover would be on Atlas Shrugged, but this is apparently the sequel to Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness.
0:15:35 - Tara
What Can they do that?
0:15:37 - Seth
Exactly, I agree. Wait, can you even claim that? Because obviously this is just a ploy.
0:15:43 - Scott
That's like Dumb and Dumber 2. It's been too long, guys, just making a new album.
0:15:48 - Seth
But I got an idea. I mean, they're like what works for us.
0:15:50 - Tara
Let's go back to the thing that works for us.
0:15:53 - Seth
I have not been able to pull the trigger and actually buy it yet, but it at least has me interested. And part of it too is that everyone except Darcy is back. So James E Haas back, chamberlain is back. It's as close to a Smashing Pumpkins reunion album as we can get, but anyway.
0:16:12 - Scott
I haven't listened to it. Yeah, who's the bass player? Is it Melissa Aftermur again, oh, or is it Paz from?
0:16:19 - Tara
Paz from Perfect Circle and Pixie Jude.
0:16:23 - Seth
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Man aren't we just a bunch of record store nerds?
0:16:27 - Tara
We really are.
0:16:29 - Seth
All right.
0:16:33 - Tara
Okay, so that was the worth. No, actually I just have to do a special call out, because Hootie and the Blowfish is also on that album.
0:16:41 - Seth
Thanks, they deserve every bit of credit that they got.
0:16:46 - Scott
They were actually review mirror, whatever it was called. That was an album they had me, I mean, yeah.
0:16:52 - Tara
So number two is Christmas by Lowe, the band Lowe. Yes 1999 apparently was released as a gift to the fans and what's interesting maybe we could talk about this because Christmas being a very religious holiday, and then a lot of bands that we listen to are just not religious at all, and I think that's a really good thing. I mean, I think that's a good thing, and I think that's a good thing, I think that's a really good thing, and that's a good thing. You are just not religious at all. They are actually Mormon.
0:17:30 - Seth
Yeah, so they actually believe what they're singing about on that Christmas album.
0:17:35 - Tara
They aren't heathens like their fans Right.
0:17:42 - Seth
And it has to be said that song just like Christmas, holy shit. That to me is the best Christmas song period Like. I love that song I would agree.
0:17:52 - Scott
It's so good I mean it's like it's singing about.
0:17:55 - Tara
Norway and shit. It's like, yeah, like a standout track for me is one called If You're Born Today, and it's you know, there's signature, minimal sound, but like harmonies and simple guitars, and there's some chimes which make it very Christmasy. Yeah such a good album. Maybe a little, yeah, maybe a little depressing sounding for the holiday season, but you can't have happiness and jingle bells all the time. Yeah.
0:18:24 - Seth
You can't have the seasons without seasonal depression.
0:18:27 - Tara
Exactly oh my gosh.
0:18:28 - Seth
That's so true.
0:18:29 - Scott
Hand in hand True.
0:18:32 - Tara
So true yeah, sometimes you just need to get drunk and listen to the low Christmas album.
0:18:37 - Seth
Yeah, yeah. No, I was about to name another one that makes me really sad, but maybe it's on one of our lists, so I won't say it yet.
0:18:44 - Tara
Okay, well, we'll have to revisit that if it's not Cause. I really would like to know.
0:18:49 - Seth
I'm gonna write it down. I'm gonna shoot a paper right now, so I remember to say it again later. Yeah, okay.
0:18:55 - Tara
All right, so okay, drum roll. The very last one Number one on my list is the Vince Giraldi Trio 1965, a Charlie Brown Christmas.
0:19:10 - Seth
This is going between happiness and cheer it has to be. It doesn't get better than that, yeah, and plus you got a little sadness on there too.
0:19:22 - Scott
There is a nice slice of.
0:19:24 - Tara
Christmas time this year. Nice slice of sadness on that album.
0:19:30 - Seth
Yeah.
0:19:31 - Tara
Yeah, have you guys heard the story of how Vince Giraldi came to do this whole thing?
0:19:37 - Seth
I don't believe, so I've heard various things, but here, here it's telling your story.
0:19:40 - Tara
Yeah, so apparently this producer guy he was looking for music for this documentary called A Boy Named Charlie Brown and I guess he was just driving back from a meeting with Charles Schultz, as everyone knows is the creator of Peanuts and Charlie Brown and all those kids. Well, he heard on the radio Vince Giraldi's like next biggest hit, which is Cast your Fate to the Wind, and they're like, oh, we got to call this guy and so they call this guy. Anyways, the documentary didn't end up happening, but they loved everything that he came up with so they kept him on for the Christmas special, which actually came out on Thanksgiving on TV. But yeah, so that's how they did it. And man, I feel like, aside from like the pink panther, you rarely get like a composer that defines the sound of like a cartoon.
You know yeah for sure, he is for sure. Like Peanuts, the sound of Peanuts.
0:20:39 - Seth
Yeah, I mean, I'm a big fan of the strip in particular, but also of the animated shorts, and I have to say when Vince Giraldi died it was in the 1980s I want to say the last one he did. I'm probably wrong about this, but there's the information in my head that the last one he did was it's Arbor Day, charlie Brown, or is it? It's the Flash Beagle, charlie Brown.
0:21:04 - Tara
It's not a good one. No, he doesn't. Does he do the? I thought there was a disco thing.
0:21:09 - Seth
Oh it is. I'm saying like there's one that was like, that was like the turning point when they stopped using him, obviously because he wasn't alive anymore. Yeah, and they really took it, took it, took a tumble.
0:21:18 - Tara
Like the vibe, just really corrects without Vince Giraldi.
0:21:21 - Seth
You need him.
0:21:22 - Scott
You know Even the like the stupid Joe Cool song. I still kind of like it.
0:21:26 - Seth
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:21:28 - Scott
No, I completely agree.
0:21:30 - Seth
They go hand in hand and it's rare that you find that chocolate and peanut butter combination in the world. You know it's rare, but yeah, no, no, no, no. Tara, when you're listening to this album, do you? Has it separated itself from the holiday special for you, or is it? It reminds you?
0:21:48 - Tara
of yeah, yeah, and even now, sometimes it reminds me more of the Royal Tenenbaum's which is weird oh yeah 100% like when she's sitting there eating her ice cream yeah, yeah yeah, or arrest development too. Yeah, but also so yeah, I just had to go back to Flash Beagle because I think Flash Beagle is freaking epic.
0:22:10 - Speaker 2
Oh, it is and.
0:22:11 - Tara
I remember that whole dressing room scene where he has the hair blow dryer and his ears just blowing the wind and he's wearing the cut off sweatshirt. Anyways, yeah, that is not Vince Corralty.
0:22:23 - Seth
No, I didn't think so. I believe it's Arbor Day. Charlie Brown is his last one. Anyway, I'm just gonna throw in an allegedly there. That way no one in the store can sue me.
0:22:33 - Tara
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I just had to say that Flash Beagle was the jam when I was a kid, but yeah, Nope. So yeah, that's my number one and I'm sticking to it.
0:22:44 - Seth
Beautiful stuff. Well, I am not prepared for this, so let's all take a coffee break, so.
I can run around the store, figure out what my top five is, and then we'll come back and go through my list Sound good, sounds great, Perfect. Okay, we're back together to remind everyone we're doing top five Christmas albums and I wasn't really sure what my criteria was gonna be for this one. I was trying to figure it out in my head, like, what do I care about? Is it just like? I don't know what I'm gonna do with this? I don't know. I don't know what I'm gonna do with this. I don't know what I'm gonna do with this. What do I care about?
Is it just like the nostalgia stuff, like is it the things that I care about most, or like what's been with me my whole life? Or then it came. When it came down to it, I was just like all right, musically, musically, which ones do I appreciate the most? So my number five. I actually put this on our employee recommendation shelf, like just a couple of weeks ago, but whatever, it is my number five. So here it is. It is a Freddie Christmas album by Altered Crates, and this came out in 2019. That's Wee. May your seas wither like a lad dog.
2020 kept a nigga loose. Murder was the case.
That's if a nigga tasted chili juice cause, then we gon' be riding us a bullshit.
0:24:08 - Scott
Oh, that old chestnut, you know that classic.
0:24:15 - Seth
So Altered Crates basically made this. It's an illegal album. There's nothing sanctioned or official about this. It's all the instrumentals are from Amerigo Gazaway from his hip hop instrumental album a Christmas album and all the vocals are from the Freddie Gibbs and Madlib album Pinata. So yeah, this isn't real. In fact he got it kicked off of Bandcamp not too long ago. He's been in trouble with Bandcamp a lot over the years, cause you know he does this all the time. Like he has this amazing one called Phela Sol, where it's Phela Kuti and De La Sol mashed together. Oh, oh, what.
0:24:53 - Tara
It's amazing. So it's because he doesn't have permission to use these artists' music and he's selling it that they're kicking it off.
0:25:02 - Seth
Yes, yes, Even though he's creating something different with them. Yeah, no, no.
I mean personally.
0:25:11 - Seth
I feel no qualms about recommending him, but I do feel qualms about giving him money. So, for example, you can listen to all of his stuff on his SoundCloud page for free. I highly recommend that. I think you should everyone in the world. But it's a wonderful album. Just the vibe and the beat and just musically it just has a very original, simple flow that is cheerful, and all the samples that Amerigo Gazaway used in his original Instrumentals album are really just slightly off the beaten path so they don't sound too trite, because obviously there are a lot of same old Christmas songs that we've heard a million times. He cherry picks just these slightly off-center choices and it makes the whole thing just have like a really fresh new vibe and you can buy that legitimately. That's a Christmas album by Amerigo Gazaway and, yeah, just go to his band camp or something, and that's really great too. But I like a Freddie Christmas album even better because it's got those Freddie Gibbs vocals on top, which is just gravy on those mashed potatoes. It's fantastic.
0:26:19 - Tara
Yeah, okay. So now I'm thinking of I know that I heard you recommend it before, but now that I'm thinking of it like as an actual Christmas album, I'm like, wait, do those Freddie Gibbs lyrics talk about Christmas at all?
0:26:35 - Seth
No.
0:26:36 - Tara
Not at all.
0:26:37 - Seth
Interesting. By context they start to kind of feel Christmasy. But no, but no, not at all.
0:26:45 - Tara
Oh, that's interesting. So it just sounds Christmasy from his like instrumentation, or however you-.
0:26:50 - Seth
The instrumentals are very Christmasy. The lyrics are 0% Christmasy.
0:26:56 - Scott
Cool, well, yeah. Well, next time I'm in Target I'll see if they have it. All right.
0:27:02 - Tara
We don't carry it here either.
0:27:05 - Seth
To go slightly more mainstream, and I mean ever so slightly. I apologize, this is 2010. It's kind of a compilation, kind of an album, and it's called Warm Forever by Candy Claws and Fire Breather. What, what Is that? A cartoon.
0:27:28 - Tara
That is 100% Christmas. So here's the deal. I'm going to get a little boring, I apologize. Wait, no hold on Before you get boring, did they? Actually sing about because I've listened to that record.
0:27:36 - Seth
A lot did they sing about Christmas. Are the lyrics Christmasy? 100%, yes, 100%, I mean they are definitely-.
0:27:42 - Scott
I gotta listen to the lyrics, I mean they're definitely not Christmasy. They're not Christmasy, they're not Christmasy. I mean I'm not sure about that. I mean it's not Christmasy. I mean I'm not sure about that.
0:27:50 - Speaker 2
I mean they are definitely not traditional songs, I gotta listen to the lyrics too.
0:27:53 - Seth
Yeah, but so here's the deal. So Candy Claws is now the band Sound of Ceres who's on Joyful Noise, one of my favorite bands, Love them. Before that they were a band called Candy Claws and now it's Ryan and Karen. Back in Candy Claws it was Ryan and Kay. Okay, so Kay, her spin-off band was a band called Fire Breather and but when she played with Ryan it was Candy Claws. Anyway, very uninteresting, but the point is they both had a tradition of writing a new Christmas song every year. So magically, after like four years of this, they had this little EP with eight Christmas songs and it's just, it's delightful as hell. I love Candy Claws so, so much. I love Sound of Ceres, and the songwriting and the instrumentation and the production and just the overall kind of like feelings that they can evoke are just wonderful, and I don't expect either of you to have anything to say about this, because no one listens to this but it's wonderful.
0:28:59 - Scott
Well, it's a really pretty record. I just never knew it was a Christmas record.
0:29:02 - Seth
And they actually have continued it to release a Christmas single every year and they're all great. They're all really really great. I recommend it, yeah.
0:29:12 - Tara
Yeah, I've never heard of that. I'm gonna have to check it out for sure.
0:29:15 - Seth
Well, now I'm gonna say something that we'll all actually understand and recognize, you guys ready.
0:29:20 - Scott
So John Cage went in and recorded a series of churches around the world, but just the silent churches. But one of them was done and knocked in December, so it's a Christmas record. Yeah, it counts.
0:29:31 - Seth
It's when they released on wax cylinder and you know, even then no, I'm going more mainstream, at least for our little three person crowd here. The year is 1999. The EP is called Christmas and it's by Lowe.
0:29:45 - Speaker 2
It was just like Christmas. It was just like Christmas.
0:29:57 - Tara
Oh yeah, I'm glad there's some overlap there.
0:30:00 - Seth
Oh, definitely, and like I have to say, like I said when you were talking about it, tara, just like Christmas is just such an amazing song, like and here's something, at least to me this is interesting that was the first Lowe song I ever heard. It was just like Christmas.
0:30:16 - Tara
Wow, really yeah.
0:30:18 - Seth
And so here's the thing it has been a terrible bait and switch, because when I got this and I heard that song, I was like, oh man, this is amazing. I got to buy up all these other Lowe albums, and I did. They are nothing like just Christmas. They're also slow and quiet and sad.
0:30:35 - Tara
Yeah.
0:30:37 - Seth
And so so yeah, it was an enormous bait and switch. I've been duped, but it worked, because I really do like Lowe now.
But, it is not a representation of the band Brit Large, it is. It's a one-off special, but I really do love it. Like the covers I think are perfect, the originals I think are perfect, the vibe is just right. You can listen to it, at least in my opinion, all year round, cause I think we talked about this before when we were doing the, when I recommended Freddie Gibbs a couple of weeks ago, but basically I don't celebrate Christmas, so I just listened to Christmas music when I want to listen to it, which means that, like, the cream of the crop really rises because it's just. These are just albums I listened to year round. And then there are things that I really do associate with Christmas that I'll maybe only listen to if I'm like at a Christmas party or something like that.
So so these other ones that are more or less quote unquote, real albums, to me they make more of an appearance in my life, you know.
0:31:37 - Tara
Yeah, and I feel like this one too low is kind of, or this album in particular by low. It's kind of a winter album, I would say, not just a Christmas album, and maybe that's why it's so great. They just had to reissue it on vinyl as well. I think probably there was some demand for it.
0:31:56 - Seth
Oh for sure, and especially for something that like, like you said, started as, like you know, a fan like gift, and then it just became like oh, we have to start selling this. Like people like this too much for this not to be real, let's go, you know. Yeah, and speaking of people who write Christmas songs every year, here comes my number two. The year is 2006. And the collection is called Songs for Christmas, volumes one through five by Sufjan Stevens.
0:32:26 - Speaker 2
Since the year is almost out, lift your hand and give a shout. There's a lot to shout about today.
0:32:35 - Scott
That's smart that you just collapsed them all down into one.
0:32:38 - Seth
Well, that's one through five. So who knows what my number one's gonna be? I couldn't tell you.
0:32:47 - Tara
Wait, wait. What was that number? Is that number two? That's my number two.
0:32:50 - Seth
Oh, so I don't know what number one's gonna be. We'll find out.
0:32:54 - Tara
Wait, is that some weird hint? Okay, well, you don't have to confirm or deny, but the thing I really like about this.
0:33:02 - Seth
first of all, come on, sufjan Stevens is a God and I'm sure he would consider that very sacrilegious because he's a very religious dude. But just like blow, I do think that, like, if you are very religious and you make a Christmas album, I don't know, there's just like a little extra glitter in there and there's a little extra oomph because you actually believe these words that you're saying, not like the rest of us. He then sugest you know, mouth along or whatever. So I do think Sufjan is particularly suited to make Christmas music in general. Not only are his covers great, but his originals are just off the wall great.
0:33:39 - Scott
Like put the lights on the tree, so good.
0:33:42 - Seth
Go into the country. No, they're just fantastic.
0:33:45 - Tara
Gonna eat a lot of peaches, just kidding.
0:33:47 - Seth
Yes, Classic Christmas. But I also really like how he kind of like spooned these out over the years because, like you know, much like the Christmas EP by Lowe and the Fire Breather and Candy Claws songs, he would just write and record a new EP for his friends and family and then just kind of like pass it out. You know, when the holidays came around and I don't know, like Scott, you and I have done that as musicians before where it's like, hey, it's someone's birthday, we don't have any money, let's write you a birthday song. You know, yeah, I think it's a nice thing.
0:34:28 - Scott
Well, it's also, you know, and I really hope I'm not, I doubt it, but I hope I'm not preempting your number one here but for whatever reason, whether you know you're religious or secular, this time of year has always seemed like a good time for bands to kind of bequeath their overflow to their fans. So, like REM always had like a Christmas single I know if you're like a member of the 10 Club for Pearl Jam they always had one. You know, bands have kind of done this over and, over and over again and after a certain amount of time, you know, sufiyan decided to do it kind of all in one big chunk over the course of like four years.
We'll get there. Yes, I never got it. I was going.
0:35:04 - Seth
I just want to see your number one is All right, all right, and my number one, 2012,. It's the EP collection Silver and Gold Songs for Christmas, volume six through 10, by Sufiyan Stevens. So you got the whole gamut. Now, if I was counting these EPs individually, then the whole top five would have just been Sufiyan.
0:35:33 - Scott
Now let me ask you is do you like six through 10 better? Is that why I took the number one spot? Yes.
0:35:39 - Seth
Is that?
0:35:39 - Scott
because there's Christmas in the room on there.
0:35:41 - Seth
Christmas in the room is on there Christmas unicorn is on there, the boy with a star on his head. There are some epic Sufjams on there. I mean like epic, and I think my favorite part about it is that when you look at those EPs you know he recorded one a year for 10 years you can really see like the entire breadth of like the current Sufiyan within those. You know what I mean. You see him at his like Fockeist Hello, I'm in Danielson all the way up to his like age of odds. I'm going bleep and bloop for 24 minutes. Like everything is represented in those 10 EPs and it's just wonderful.
And I remember one year I found because obviously these weren't public, when he was just making them for friends and family. But I remember one year that one of them with I think it was volume eight, leaked back in the day and everyone was so excited of course, like oh my gosh, this is his friends and family Christmas EP. We haven't heard one of these in years. This is so cool, this is what he's doing now. How amazing, hooray. And then when the real EP came out later, it was substantially different. He had gone through and done like overdubs and brought into the studio and polished it and produced it and done all these things. It's like, oh shit, you weren't just, like you know, whipping these out at us. You made these for friends and family and then you went back to the studio, polished them into real albums and then released them again to us and it's like congrats, sufjan. Like I mean, I respect that dude enormously. I think he is definitely amongst our best musicians working today and I love these EPs. I listen to them all the time, wait.
0:37:14 - Scott
Who is it? Who is it? Who are we talking about? Sufjam, sufjam's Steven. Yes, but it's spelled with a pH Sufjam's Steven. It's if you want Stefan. It's Sufjam's Stefan Sounds good.
0:37:28 - Seth
Here's a funny story. I during the Michigan era I believe it was either Michigan or Illinois, but anyway he was playing Portland, I believe for like the first time since he'd become like mainstream, stereogum era popular, you know that level of mainstream and he got up on stage and he's like hello everyone, my name is Sufjan Stevens. And you would hear everyone in the audience like whisper each other. He pronounces it Sufjan, he pronounces it Sufjan. And it was like the first time that anyone had heard his name set out loud, yeah, and you would hear the whole audience abuzz with finally knowing how to say his first name.
0:38:06 - Scott
It's not Sufjam, yeah, yeah.
0:38:11 - Tara
Shout out to my friend John Bieler, who's like their label manager for Asmata Kitty. Yes. But also I just wanted to say that I only know one Sufjan Stevens Christmas song and it's like the worst. That was the worst Christmas, or something like that. Is that on which one of those?
0:38:32 - Seth
That's in the second half right, like that's in the six through 10 half, isn't that right, scott?
0:38:37 - Scott
I don't even remember anymore. They all blend together.
0:38:40 - Tara
Like when I put them on, I just put them on and shuffle. Songs for Christmas, is that?
0:38:45 - Scott
That would be the first one.
0:38:46 - Tara
Okay, yeah, yeah.
0:38:47 - Scott
Well the second one is called Silver and Gold.
0:38:50 - Seth
Silver and Gold. Then a colon Songs for Christmas, six through 10. Oh, oh.
0:38:56 - Tara
So all songs for Christmas I have no idea.
0:38:59 - Seth
Parentheses Michigan.
0:39:03 - Scott
All the widows and naysayers of the Plains people unite.
0:39:07 - Tara
The North Pole I should have called it that.
0:39:11 - Scott
Oh, North Pole would have been good. But that concludes my list. It's a great list Kind of beach, kind of boring but I stand behind all those choices.
0:39:20 - Seth
I feel them legitimately beating in my heart. Fine choices.
0:39:24 - Tara
Not boring at all. Yeah, not boring at all. Like those are all interesting because I've never heard of most of them except for the Sufjan ones.
0:39:31 - Seth
You're going to have some fun listening to Candy Claws. Candy Claws is such a treat. I love them so much. Let's see here. So that's it for me, scott, you're sticking around. You're going to do a list for us, right? I mean I could, yes, yes, forget your job. It's Christmas day. You weren't working. So, first of all, why are you wearing your male carrier outfit, since you're not working today? These are my clothes. I'm sorry, I asked so, scott, let's take a break. We'll have a smoke, have some coffee, and then we will come back and you'll gather up your records and it'll be your turn. All right? Ok, all right, we're back. As a reminder, we're doing the top five Christmas albums and it is Scott the mailman's turn.
0:40:31 - Scott
Yeah, scott, now kick us off with your number five. This was a tough one, though I have to tell you. This was a tough one because if this would have been top five Christmas songs, oh, that's easier. Maybe next year we'll do that. I don't think it would have been easier, but it would have been a much more eclectic list for me.
Yeah, yeah, you know I was surprised that you know, because when I first heard of this 30 minutes ago I did think like oh, this will be easy, because you know I love all these Christmas songs. But none of them were on albums. And if they were, they were on compilations and the compilations were tough for me because Soul Christmas, one of Tara's picks, was one of my picks. But I can't say like I can't give these songs top billing, but not, you know, these songs like Christmas prepping by the waitresses or something like that.
So I didn't give it to either of them, and so I was like all right.
So at the end of, the day I went with full nostalgia plays Like it's you know, and I was surprised how conservative my picks were. So with number five, I don't even really I've listened to this album since I was like three. I have no idea how to pronounce this band. Not a band, it's group, it's the Harry Simeone Corral. It's pretty. It's spelled S-I-M-E-O-N-E Simon Simeone, simeone Simeone. I don't know, but it's their album, little Drummer Boy, and it's really good.
0:41:51 - Speaker 2
Christmas is here, bringing the cheer to young and old Lake, and the fold ring ring along. That is their song. In joyful ring, oh caramelly, one seems to hear words.
0:42:01 - Scott
And it's all really traditional. Like you know Seth knows this I'm a big like Dickens nut and I for some reason I really like like old traditional music, like Coventry, carol and shit like that, and like here we go, a wassling.
And you know, I think like my best case scenario for the holiday season would be to time travel back to like 1865, go hang out with Scrooge after he got nice again and like sit down next to like with like a bowl of spoken Christmas bishop you know, with like a sprig of holly put in. That's like my dream. So a lot of that is sort of reflected in my picks there and that album is sort of one of them. So that's number five. Go check it out. It's it's very traditional and pretty fun.
0:42:49 - Tara
I'm with you on the whole sort of traditional songs things, because of course I love Burl Ives, but there's been so many compilations that that song has been on that since I've heard it when I was a kid. I don't even know which album, or was it on an album ever Right.
0:43:05 - Scott
I don't think so I mean.
0:43:06 - Speaker 2
I'm sure it was.
0:43:07 - Tara
So it's just like I didn't do any of those as well, because, yeah, it's the song that I knew, but not the album. But the whole soul Christmas one is good, so that's why I put it on my list.
0:43:18 - Scott
Oh no, I'm glad it made it, because I felt real bad. And yeah, the two and this well, the three in this group that I always I guess I give a little preview that almost made my list were top contenders but didn't make it were Lowe's Christmas EP like Sufjan's like all of it and soul Christmas. Like those three, I was like I'm so glad they got represented. That's cool Because that would have made me really sad.
0:43:42 - Tara
I was just going to say we should just do a highlight of some of our almosts.
0:43:48 - Scott
Oh, like honorable mentions Once. Yeah, honorable mentions list.
0:43:50 - Tara
At the end We'll say ours.
0:43:51 - Seth
Tara after Scott finishes his, so we don't accidentally steal some.
0:43:55 - Tara
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, I'm not going to, I'm not going to say yeah, that would make me sad.
0:43:59 - Scott
And speaking of sad, because we were talking about sad Christmas songs earlier, like the Lowe Christmas EP. This is one. This is like my most contemporary one on my list and it is one that I listened to, I think, for the first time back in like 2003, maybe 2004, back in the big, you know, rise of the Saddle Creek era, and it's the Bride Eyes Christmas album and it's as bright eyes as you can possibly get and it's super sad and super fun and I really love it.
0:44:38 - Seth
Hey, Tara, remember earlier when I said I was going to write down a really sad Christmas album.
0:44:42 - Tara
But I didn't want to say no, isn't that one?
0:44:44 - Seth
I have the word Bride Eyes written on a sheet of paper right next to me.
0:44:47 - Tara
It's like a magic trick. See here it is, or a prediction or something. Yeah, that's exactly.
0:44:53 - Seth
And please unfold this envelope and tell me what is written there.
0:44:58 - Scott
Yeah, it's great.
0:44:59 - Seth
It's so sad, and it's sad to the point where it's almost like a parody of how sad it is. It is.
0:45:06 - Scott
Like if you were to listen to it now, either A never having heard it before or B, not knowing who Bride Eyes is, you'd be like, come on, come on, like this is way too sad, but if you know and like Bride Eyes, you go. Yeah, I expect this. Nothing here surprises me. And it's really beautiful, and it is. It's the Christmas album for two o'clock in the morning, when nothing but the trees left lit, everybody's gone to bed and you're sitting there just bummed, hard Bummed real hard, exactly.
And it's really good for that. Or just driving around in a snowstorm, which the low Christmas EP is good for that too.
0:45:41 - Seth
Yeah, yeah. No, I completely agree. That was definitely a contender of mine. Yeah, was that album? Yeah.
0:45:49 - Scott
And you know, let's kind of keep the sad train moving. But a different kind of sadness, a more beautiful kind of sadness, A Christmas portrait by the Carpenters.
I listen to that record since I was a kid and I love everything on there Karen Carpenter we didn't deserve her. The fact that she was so talented and so virtuosic and so many aspects of music not only did she have the voice of an angel, not only was she like a brilliant pianist and percussionist this woman was, you know, and her brother was not too bad either. That album is great. It's really, really good, and if you're looking for a really nice kind of all purpose Christmas record, you can't go wrong with the Carpenters. That's a good one.
It's just kind of like from you know age eight to 80, everyone in the house is going to be okay with that one. You know, yeah, those are going to be like what is? If it's sad, they're not going to be like well, it's, you know, mopey hair in the face like emo kid sad. They're going to be like no, this is the way sad was supposed to be done with, you know, bell bottoms and a turtleneck and everybody was sweating on TV because all the polyester, that's the kind of sadness we like, that dick cavet sack of sadness.
0:47:10 - Seth
So it's a very specific, just you know Rod Sterling and night gallery sadness, where it's just just sweaty and sad.
0:47:18 - Scott
So yeah, that's my number three, that's a great one.
0:47:20 - Tara
That's such a great one. Honestly, I just got chills when you're talking about Karen Carpenter.
0:47:26 - Seth
I love her. Carpenter, so much she was the best, and plus we have to talk about Sonic Youth at least once.
0:47:31 - Tara
Oh yeah, we're supposed to, we'll see.
0:47:33 - Seth
We'll see and yeah, I mean, that is one of the best covers I've ever heard. And speaking of which, tara, we got to do top five covers soon, that's. That's something that we just we need to accomplish that's. That's a fun list, that's a really fun list, yeah.
0:47:48 - Tara
But Sonic Youth is like hella fan fan kids of Karen Carpenter. They have that. What's the one song?
0:47:55 - Seth
Oh, karen's, tunic. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:47:59 - Tara
Is there another one that I'm forgetting, that you were about to mention?
0:48:04 - Seth
I feel like multiple songs off goo are about. Karen but just like more and more obtuse ways yeah you're probably right. It's like Karen, we love you. Where are you going, Karen? Karen, you know like.
0:48:13 - Scott
Well and correct me if I'm wrong, but goo came out right around the time of Karen Carpenter's death, right.
0:48:18 - Seth
I think you're right, but I don't know enough about the dates of Karen Carpenter's death.
0:48:21 - Tara
Me either. I thought it was way earlier than that. Now I have to check.
0:48:25 - Scott
See, I'm trying to remember whether Karen Carpenter died in like 1982 or like 1992, because obviously, sadly for those that don't know, she had a very bad eating disorder and she got very, very thin and her body kind of gave up on her and she sort of wasted away. But like I remember seeing her like on like TV interviews, on like the Today Show, but I can't remember if it was 80s or 90s.
0:48:46 - Tara
Yeah, it was 1983.
0:48:48 - Scott
83.
0:48:49 - Seth
Oh, okay, I'll say so yeah goo came out way after that. Yeah, yeah. So it's interesting that it stuck with them that long yeah.
0:48:56 - Tara
They were. I mean, they were probably. I don't know how long it takes them to write songs or whatever, but maybe they had some songs in the bat catalog because they were definitely an active in 1983. So maybe they were impacted and they were like you. Let's do these songs that we always talked about for good yeah. Who knows yeah.
0:49:11 - Seth
And those, those Sonic Youths they are. They are the, the, the, the perfect encapsulation of what a rock and roll band should be, and we'll never have another one like them.
0:49:22 - Tara
We never got a Sonic Youth Christmas album, damn it.
0:49:25 - Scott
I know that would have been good, that would have been so good.
0:49:27 - Seth
Yeah, that would have been so good, like Little Drummer Boy just would have been, like you know, wall to wall static for 15 minutes.
0:49:34 - Tara
Yeah, there is one song called Santa doesn't cop out on dope, but if only we could have.
0:49:42 - Speaker 2
Where was that from?
0:49:45 - Tara
I don't know Huh.
0:49:49 - Seth
They got hidden gems all over the place. Yeah, they do.
0:49:51 - Tara
Oh, oh, oh, it's from a compoli, a Geffen Records compilation.
0:49:56 - Seth
Interesting.
0:49:57 - Tara
Just say Noel which that's good. So silly yeah.
0:50:05 - Scott
That'd be the one, like Sonic Youth connected thing that Nancy Reagan would have approved of.
0:50:10 - Tara
Oh my gosh, yeah, but and also like speaking of covers, karen Carpenter.
0:50:15 - Scott
well, the Carpenter is their cover of a ticket to ride Fucking amazing and they might be the first one that ever did like the sad Mopi version. Mopi cover of an upbeat song. Yeah, they might be the first ones and it's amazing. It's really, really beautiful.
0:50:30 - Seth
Fully agree. Nice, what, what number was that of yours?
0:50:34 - Scott
Number three Okay, okay. So number two. I'm honestly surprised neither of you guys had this on your list. I really thought like this would be one of those kind of you know unanimous, like yeah, obviously this is here and that album is a Christmas gift to you from. Phil Spector Was a happy jolly song, was a corn cob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal Classic. I'm kind of surprised. That one is you can't, you really can't go wrong. You got Darlene Love, you got the Ronettes. I mean it's, it's, it's perfect, it's a perfect record.
0:51:10 - Seth
Yeah, I fully agree, and it's also one of those ones that like, if you ask music fans what's the best Christmas album, I think that's number one on a lot of people's lists. Like, just like you know, the musicianship, the era, specificity of the production, like it, just it feels like a real album from a real time, representing some really high quality music all at once.
0:51:33 - Scott
Yeah, it is the Christmas record from the wall of sound.
0:51:35 - Seth
Yeah, but that, that is that easily could have been on my list, if you know, I didn't really want to. Just, you know, crow about candy claws some more.
0:51:44 - Scott
That's true.
0:51:45 - Tara
You know what's kind of interesting is. I feel like a lot of these albums that we've talked about so far have been from the sixties.
0:51:55 - Seth
Yeah, yeah. I wonder why Christmas was so thick in the sixties.
0:51:59 - Tara
Yeah, how about that Carpenter's album? Is that from the sixties?
0:52:05 - Scott
I think that was the seventies.
0:52:07 - Tara
Hmm.
0:52:09 - Scott
Christmas portrait might have been like 72 or something. Yeah, it's.
0:52:15 - Tara
Oh yeah, it 1978. Oh 78.
0:52:19 - Scott
I was way off, but it also might be two, because you know we are all of similar age and we all grew up with parents who listened to an oldie's station and back then the oldies that it was the fifties through the seventies, that kind of encapsulate the oldie's stations and and a lot of those records too.
0:52:40 - Tara
Yeah, and those were the only channels really that were playing Christmas music besides, like the adult contemporary channels. Yeah, that's true, and man, I'm steamroller and steamrollers. But yeah then.
0:52:57 - Scott
yeah, like in the grunge and rock channels were not playing Christmas music, so yeah, yeah, like father Christmas by the kinks or like Jesus Christ by big star, but other than that, yeah and even that those kind of things I didn't get until much later in life, when I was listening to albums instead of radio.
0:53:14 - Speaker 2
Yeah, like.
0:53:15 - Seth
I genuinely do not remember being a child and hearing all of these. You know which is now common very like indie and you know I Don't want to say ironic Christmas songs, but that is how they feel sometimes. Yeah and but yeah, I don't remember hearing those as a child I wasn't, until I was older and was able to actually, like you know, seek out music on my own. I feel, like in the mainstream. It's just the same like 100 Christmas songs on a loop.
0:53:41 - Tara
Yeah. I mean it's like the only ones that I ever heard were that were not traditional Christmas music, were like pop ones, like new pop ones, like Like new kids on the block, and the 80s had a Christmas album, stuff like that just like there was one that my mom really liked and I you know I can't stand it, but she would play it all the time and it was Rosie O'Donnell's Christmas album.
0:54:07 - Scott
Oh you guys wait of her singing it's, oh, she's, she's, she's duetting with everybody on there, like you got Celine Dion, you got Savage Garden, you got in sync you got Billy Joel, you got Cher, you got I mean, like it's, it is about as like you know that side of the 90s as you can get, and I don't know how like my mom must have ordered like on QVC or something, I don't know how she got it.
But like she and that was like we for like two seasons we listened to that album so many times, so I know that album really really well, but it is not in my top five.
0:54:46 - Tara
Yeah.
0:54:48 - Seth
So wait, so that that previous one was your number two, that's my name to do so okay, my number one is I.
0:54:56 - Scott
You know I I don't mean to copy Tara. It's Vince Grawley trio. It's Charlie Brown Christmas.
0:55:11 - Tara
I mean, it's such a classic album it is, yeah and it is I.
0:55:16 - Scott
you know, one of you guys brought it up earlier, I forget who, but it has now separated itself from the, the source material, where it's not only just a good Christmas record, it's a good jazz record.
I think I'm a year and yes, I do like I can every once in a while Because it has been co-opted by so many things, whether it is the rail 10 and bombs or a rest of development or you just you hear it in so many different places. It's so ubiquitous for this Christmas season. You can kind of play it anywhere Again, sort of like the Carpenter's Christmas album. You put it on, no one's gonna complain, no one's gonna go like I don't like it. You know like it's. Yeah, it's all good. It's the Vince Grawley trio.
0:55:56 - Tara
And if they do, kick him out.
0:55:58 - Scott
Exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly. That's a bad block. Don't come back again exactly. Yeah, I, you guys already. You know we kind of already wax poetic on it enough, but it's, it is to meet the best Christmas record of all time and, as you mentioned before Tara, this is a 1965 album.
0:56:16 - Tara
So that was another 60s album 60s thick Christmas huh 60s thick Christmas.
0:56:24 - Scott
It's the 60s. It's the 60s.
0:56:29 - Tara
The 60s.
0:56:32 - Seth
Well, that's. I mean, yeah, let's go through some of our others as well. Some of our are almost made it lists a Few of mine, a big one, and this is the one I was going to say as a joke earlier, but I didn't want to spoil it, just in case I was actually on someone's list. This is the. I think this is the first record I actually remember listening to as a child. Like I, have memories of putting this physical record on my family's record player and listening to this record and it's great 97, a Christmas together by John Denver and the Muppets.
Oh yeah, I Listened to that a lot as a kid because I think it was Kind of just right for a child. Yeah, it had some real musicianship, but it also had goofy Muppets doing silly songs and voices and stuff and you know them doing like the 12 days of Christmas. Hilarious, hilarious, let's see. Oh, I also had a Christmas album by bright eyes. I also had a Charlie Brown Christmas on here. A couple others that are are deeper in the pocket is Yuletide bangers. Bangers, both a Z and it. That's by a John Wayne. John Wayne has a very Singular ability to make bullshit beats in a matter of seconds. That I love to death. Remember, john Wayne fucks Disney. Mm-hmm, so good.
It's the same aesthetic, I'm just like finding some YouTube things, ripping them up and just throwing them out there again. He did with with with Christmas songs, yeah, and then there's like this one where he does sample Christmas time is here and I think he just calls that song the one everyone does.
0:58:16 - Tara
It's great I saw him open for Mount Kimby Once. He gave someone in the audience so much shit and then that person got kicked out because then he didn't want to like chant John Wayne's neighbors. Whatever the hell stupid thing. He wanted everyone in the audience to do and it kicked him out, so he missed Mount Kimby, who was there for.
0:58:42 - Seth
Sad and and and I don't want to defend John Wayne, but I will because I'm a big fan of his but he did have a bunch of substance abuse issues for a long time. I believe he's clean now, but I, you know, I don't know him personally, but um, but yeah, he made a lot of bad decisions, he would say.
So maybe that was one of those that could have been one of those decisions, decisions he would regret now. But I don't know, I wasn't there. I don't know the man, but I do love John Wayne.
0:59:07 - Scott
Well, I think John Wayne would regret a lot of the things that happened in the past, especially his playboy interview.
0:59:12 - Seth
Wow, I see.
0:59:14 - Tara
Cowboy, I know what were you guys talking about.
0:59:20 - Seth
I.
0:59:21 - Scott
Do? John Wayne loved to sample beats guys, but come on.
0:59:25 - Seth
It didn't set off any alarms in your head that the cowboy John Wayne was opening for the electronic duo Mount Kimby.
0:59:31 - Scott
Yeah, if you off. Yeah, it's fucking Hondo. It's McClintock what do you guys? It's just a true grit. It's rooster cockburn. What are you guys talking about?
0:59:39 - Seth
And one more I'll mention for my shortlist. It's a Saint Seneca who I love, love, love. They put out a new Christmas single every year and so there isn't really an album of it. There's like a weird EP called the Mall Walker EP where you can get a few of them, but anyway they don't really have a Christmas album. But if you go and find all their Christmas songs and put them together, like I have, that makes one hell of a Christmas album.
1:00:01 - Scott
That's kind of how I felt about the REM singles, like I wish there was, yeah, because as far as I know there is no compilation of all of them. You just have to go and find them all. But if you work to put them all together, which I have done, it's, it's a nice little record exactly Tara.
1:00:13 - Seth
How about you? What's on your shortlist?
1:00:15 - Tara
so mine a lot of. It is sort of what's God was talking about the whole like nostalgia thing. Like one. One Christmas tape that I heard my dad listening to all the time when I was a kid was the Elvis Presley Christmas album. So I put that on there and it almost I mean I almost put it in the top. But I just had to switch with things that I listen to the most now just because, you know, just because I heard as a kid it's not what I listen to the most. Now I do have it on vinyl. I have to put it on sometimes during the holidays, just because it is so nostalgic for me. Another one Is the Beach Boys Christmas album.
1:00:53 - Seth
Yeah.
1:00:53 - Tara
I can't believe that's not on any of our lists. I know. That's a great one and then one for me, because I'm from Tennessee and it would be just crazy if I didn't mention it. Here is Dolly and Kenny. Once upon a Christmas 1984 another great one hard candy Christmas. Oh, I wanted to mention this one, but it's not like I don't think it's on an album, I think it's just like its own like single EP situation. It's whams last Christmas. It's like one of my favorite Christmas songs.
1:01:25 - Seth
But yeah, it's not on an album, I don't think yeah, I feel like next year we're gonna have to do top five songs. Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of good stuff out there, yeah five is too hard, yeah.
1:01:42 - Tara
And then just a couple. Last, last other ones. Home Alone soundtrack is very. Christmasy and then there's one called the Christmas rules compilation and it's just a bunch of like indie people that are super cool, like the shins is on there and yeah, they do.
1:01:59 - Seth
Yeah, and Eleanor Friedburger is on there too.
1:02:02 - Scott
Yeah, she does like that, like she does like the smoky, jazzy one. Yeah, exactly.
1:02:06 - Seth
Yeah, yeah, that's a good compilation, yeah. I believe I had to hunt around for that one and then, like whoever I was with at the time, through like wait. What are you looking for? Like, oh, this. Like was it Starbucks compilation? Was it a target compilation?
1:02:18 - Scott
So the person you're talking about was me and I Got it out of me, buff the, the new releases record. Not knowing what it was. I haven't even looked at the track list yet and it was sitting on my desk. You're like really want to find this holiday rule thing? Man, I can't find anywhere. I'm like this there you go, so you gotta go to Starbucks quick Wait, so was it a Starbucks compilation.
1:02:38 - Seth
I think it was being sold at Starbucks. I don't think it was exclusive to Starbucks, but I just remember that when I was trying to find it because I loved Eleanor Friedeburger so much like the directive I got was go to a Starbucks and we'll find it.
1:02:51 - Tara
Interesting. Yeah, and it had, like Rufus Wainwright, kalexico, andrew Bird.
1:02:57 - Seth
That's a really good one, I agree. Yeah, well enough Christmas.
1:03:01 - Tara
Wait, does Scott get to go through his honorable mentions?
1:03:04 - Scott
I think I kind of went through them. Yeah, he cuz he threw him out earlier, just the one thing you know like that again cuz I don't think it's on a record is Christmas rapping by the waitresses, that's just yeah, amazing, such a good song.
1:03:15 - Seth
Yeah, how about that? That song by the knife? I want to call it.
1:03:19 - Tara
Oh, yeah, Chris was reindeer.
1:03:21 - Seth
Yeah reindeer.
1:03:23 - Scott
So good I love that one amazing and also wait does cocktail good, no, would you say. What are you about to say? Cocktail twins. Yes, were you there, frosty, the snowman and, like winter, wonder yes, what the heck?
1:03:35 - Tara
Amazing same, yeah, but it's not on a record or no.
1:03:39 - Scott
Danny Elfman, sweet from Scrooge doesn't have its own soundtrack if it.
1:03:43 - Seth
Did? That's very true, did, oh actually that. That reminds me too. The other day, one of my things I do often when I'm working. I was doing some art stuff and so I just put on my entire iTunes library on random album shuffle. So I'm not really taking an active interest, it's just playing whole albums, blah, blah, blah. It put on, speaking of Danny Elfman, the entire nightmare before Christmas soundtrack. That was a joy to listen to. Like I can't believe none of us mentioned that, but that's that's also an excellent I think, because it is, it straddles Halloween and Christmas so much that yeah, it's hard to particularly call it a Christmas album.
1:04:18 - Tara
Yeah yeah, I'm sure some some folks do listen to that, but not me. Yeah too. Yeah, yeah, it's not quite Christmas-y.
1:04:28 - Speaker 2
Yes, yeah so anyway, enough Christmas.
1:04:32 - Seth
Christmas is now cancelled for the rest of the year. Let's talk about the employer recommendation shelf, because we got to close up the store. It's getting late and we're not even supposed to be here today. Copyright Kevin Smith. So, first up, I'll go real quick. This album just came out and I absolutely adore it. All right, I'm gonna say words you won't understand, but then I'll explain what it is and then you'll agree that it's very exciting. Okay, so the album is called pardon my French, the musician is called Jihari Masamba unit, and what it actually is is Cream Riggins on drums and mad lib on all the other instruments, and they're doing an experimental jazz album. That sounds awesome. It's really awesome. When did it come out? I believe the physical comes out in February 2020. I mean, yes, it comes out in February 2020, no February 2021.
1:05:36 - Scott
Yes, because I was like February 2020 already happened.
1:05:39 - Seth
Yes, today is Christmas day. Yeah, the physical comes out February 2021 and I believe the digital came out on November.
1:05:53 - Scott
2876 is 25th, november 25th, I'm gonna say just anyway, that was almost a whole month ago.
1:05:59 - Seth
Exactly. But point is point is is that it's all wonderful? It's really great. Matt mad lib, I don't think does jazz often enough like the yesterday's new quintet? Stuff is really wonderful, but him with cream Riggins on here is just just chef's kiss. It's, it's the greatest. And Anyway, jihari Masamba unit parted my French 2020. Highly recommend it. How about you, tara?
1:06:25 - Tara
I'm going to recommend a book that I'm actually reading right now. I'm not finished with it, but it's already really amazing and that is the Beastie Boys book, and I'm actually listening to the audiobook because there's so many it's like stacked lineup for narrators Kim Gordon, hello, my fave, ben Stiller, snoop Dogg, steve Buscemi, and, just like so many famous people are reading this book. On the audiobook version of the Beastie Boys book, though I think I need to buy the actual physical copy because I think there's there's tons of Lots of cool old pics in it, so I'll probably have to buy it. But yeah, that's my recommendation.
1:07:09 - Seth
Nice, scott is a big beasties fan. Yeah, have you seen that? And it wasn't. Wasn't there also a beasties documentary? That was either associated.
1:07:17 - Scott
Yeah, yeah, I mean wish Adam Yuck could be there. But yeah, what can you do? Nothing, Nothing at all.
1:07:28 - Seth
I've tried, it is not gone well. All right, Scott, I know you don't work here, but you spend enough time here. You want to throw something up on the shelf?
1:07:39 - Scott
sure, let me think what it would be. Got it All right. You already said that we're done with Christmas, but I'm gonna. I think we got one last little drop of Christmas. It's Christmas.
1:07:53 - Speaker 2
You're a crazy hey, and what that is is.
1:07:56 - Scott
So if you went with the album and you went with book, I'm gonna go with an animated short and if, for those of you that have not seen, something called creature comforts, it's awesome. It's a BBC show where these, this animation team, goes out into the world and they do field recordings of real people saying real things and they come back and they animate them with stop motion or claymation or however you want to term it. What is it, seth? Is it claymation or stop motion?
1:08:21 - Seth
Claymation is owned by the will will vinton animation so it's stop motion. So, no, no, no see, it's gonna get more complex. Now that is Ardman animation studios, and they call it plasticine animation.
1:08:34 - Scott
So this is plasticine animation by Ardman Studios with two a's if you're looking for it, like guard vark and then A. They do. So look this up if you can find it. If it's on DVD, get the DVD. If it's on Vimeo, watch the Vimeo. If it's on daily motion, try to find something else, but if it's, but you know Russian, you too.
Be very careful, be very careful get a VPN, you know, just get the tour network, just just. But find it. It's the 12 days of Christmas, it's adorable and it's like it fully captures sort of like the British holiday spirit and and I, yeah, go watch that, it'll, it'll, it'll make your Christmas, for 11 minutes, a little more jollier.
1:09:12 - Tara
Um, I have to mention something. I, now that you've brought up claymation, the raisins, california raisins, christmas special.
1:09:23 - Seth
Yes, my favorite, my favorite, oh, my gosh, I have it on DVD.
1:09:26 - Tara
Yes, Special order that shit. Yes.
1:09:29 - Seth
That is claymation, because Will Vinton animated that, so you can call that claymation. Copyright all day.
1:09:35 - Tara
Here we go, wassaling. Oh, three kings of orientai tried to smoke a rubber cigar. It was loaded, it exploded Like man that was such a fun time.
1:09:44 - Seth
All those.
1:09:45 - Scott
California raisins.
1:09:46 - Seth
As someone who was learning how to animate while I was in college in Portland Oregon, which is where Will Vinton animation studios is, I could tell you so many amazing stories about how all the old Will Vinton animators hate Laika because they forced him out of the studio and renamed it. Laika, weird behind the door, shit it's so strange, it's so strange. It's just like in fighting amongst amongst, stop motion animators yes, exactly.
1:10:15 - Scott
Yeah, I get the zine. It's pretty intense.
1:10:19 - Seth
It was amazing to hear, because when I was there Laika was already in full effect, so there was nothing I could really do about it, but hearing the old timers talk about how much they support Will Vinton and they don't like these new young whippersnappers Laika.
1:10:34 - Scott
Fucking. These guys just had nucky money and blah. What was the first thing that Laika did? Was it Coraline?
1:10:40 - Seth
It was Coraline, but they also did, like you know, shorts and stuff like that before Coraline. Yeah Right, well, they're damn good at it. Oh yeah, I know, I love Laika. I don't just like a Laika, I love a Laika.
1:10:50 - Tara
Oh my gosh.
1:10:52 - Seth
Wow. Well, on that, we should all leave. We should all leave. So a big thank you to everyone. Well, no, it's just you, it's just that one person. Hello, thank you. Thank you you for coming in today and thank you, scott, for stopping by on your mail route, despite the fact that there's no mail and none of us should have been here today. But we appreciate it and we're glad we all got to spend this holiday together. And yeah, store is officially closed. Happy trails everyone, until we meet again. ["street Dance"].
1:11:31 - Tara
Record Store Society is hosted by Tara Davies and Seth Nicholas Johnson. If you'd like to contact the show, you can send an email to recordsstoressocietyatihartmediacom, or you can find us on all your favorite social media sites with the handle at recordsstoressociety ["Street Dance"] Record Store Society is production of iHeart Radio.
1:11:54 - Speaker 2
For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app. Apple podcasts are wherever you listen to your favorite shows. ["street Dance"] you, you, you, you you.
Transcribed by https://podium.page