Kind of the best Christmas song ever

December 23, 2011 10:51 PM

Joseph Spence's well-nigh indescribable rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is the best drunken Cookie-Monster Caribbean blues rendition of a Christmas song you've ever heard. I promise.
posted by Nibbly Fang (16 comments total)

Was there a coughing/choking solo in there?
posted by mannequito at 10:56 PM on December 23, 2011

Drunk Lady Sings 12 Days of Christmas
posted by twoleftfeet at 10:59 PM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]

I dare anybody to transcribe this.
posted by troll at 11:03 PM on December 23, 2011

It's like you are inside his head
posted by Sailormom at 11:07 PM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, God, I forgot about the drunken reindeer.
posted by twoleftfeet at 11:08 PM on December 23, 2011

Continuing on yesterday's theme, I believe that this is an incantation intended to summon Sandhi Gkor, the Hurro-Urartian God of Death, beginning the final cataclysm which will lay waste to the mortal plane and destroy the world. He's a few days early, though, that's not supposed to start until 2012.
posted by XMLicious at 11:14 PM on December 23, 2011 [3 favorites]

This is a double, sorry: Nobody does it like Joseph Spence. Nobody.
posted by fraula at 11:35 PM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]

This fits so perfectly with my 80-degree subtropical barefoot lights-on-the-palm-tree Christmas. I need a whole album of it, for when I can't listen to the Leon Redbone even one more time.
posted by cmyk at 11:51 PM on December 23, 2011

Oh, God, I forgot about the drunken reindeer yt .

Drunk? I thought they were high on magic fungi.
posted by homunculus at 12:04 AM on December 24, 2011

Ha! I was about to come here and type "nobody does it like Spence", then remembered... I'd said that before!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:30 AM on December 24, 2011

Should have done a duet with this dude.
posted by kcds at 4:17 AM on December 24, 2011

Did I hear something about "your wife" in that?

lol
posted by nomisxid at 5:16 AM on December 24, 2011

Despite being a double, maybe we can allow a Christmas reprieve for this one. After all, Ry Cooder claims Spence as an essential inspiration:

"It all started with Joseph Spence when I was a little kid. He was one of my all-time great inspirations. When he did those bass runs, I didn't understand it. I was so mad all the time."

Heh.

Off topic a bit, here's something rather nice for your holiday mix tapes: Strange Orchestra (a Marc Bolan tribute band) does Christmas Bop. And the theme song at our house this Christmas (because my husband barely made it home for the holidays after a long out-of-town job – just a breath ahead of the blizzard that would have made it impossible to travel): Charles Brown – Please Come Home for Christmas.
posted by taz at 5:58 AM on December 24, 2011

Despite being a double, maybe we can allow a Christmas reprieve for this one.

As the OOP (Original Original Poster) this decision has my blessing. I mean, it's fucking Christmas after all, for Christ sakes.

still... slippery slope, slippery slope
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:18 AM on December 24, 2011

If you listen closely, you'll notice that the backup singer for that santa high on mushrooms song is Sean Connery. I mean, "Schanta high on muschroomsch."
posted by Pyrogenesis at 6:19 AM on December 24, 2011

Gotta say, though, can't really get with the drunk tag. Spence sang everything in this fashion, and as far as I know, it wasn't due to be being drunk. And the blues tag as well. This ain't the blues.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:20 AM on December 24, 2011