Blondie plays We Three Kings

December 14, 2009 1:16 PM

Blondie's new single, We Three Kings. mp3 download available. (New album in 2010!)
posted by hippybear (101 comments total)

I love Blondie, especially the early albums. This makes me feel embarrased for them...
posted by inthe80s at 1:20 PM on December 14, 2009

It's somewhat sobering to watch has-beens desperately claw for relevance and cash. I hope they didn't catch a cold.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 1:24 PM on December 14, 2009

It's not that bad. But "not that bad" isn't how you should be describing a song by the band that did "Rip Her to Shreds", "One Way or Another", and "Dreaming". Christmas singles by heritage acts always seem like a desperate ploy to me.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 1:27 PM on December 14, 2009

FPP?
posted by HumanComplex at 1:31 PM on December 14, 2009

Sounded good to me. Added to christmas mix, along with Bob Dylan, to sneak in among my Mother-in-law's usual christmas fare next week.
posted by JBennett at 1:32 PM on December 14, 2009

Christmas singles by heritage acts always seem like a desperate ploy to me.

Agreed.
posted by hifiparasol at 1:33 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

She's 65. Man, that's hard to believe.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:33 PM on December 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

I kept waiting for the Man from Mars to appear.
posted by jquinby at 1:33 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Pepsi Blonde?
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:34 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Maybe it's supposed to be funny? Like that old rock dude in Love Actually.
posted by chunking express at 1:35 PM on December 14, 2009

Sounded OK to me. I wish them all the best and hope they make a buttload of money off their new album (I suspect they won't).
posted by marxchivist at 1:38 PM on December 14, 2009

Well, Sting and Bob Dylan have respectively given in (not so much giving in as glomming on in Sting's case) by releasing Xmasy CDs this year, so why shouldn't Debbie Harry get hers?
posted by blucevalo at 1:40 PM on December 14, 2009

Journeyman rentroyalty-seeking. I hate to be so cynical but this verges on self-parody.
/me reconsiders "Atomic" ringtone.
posted by dhartung at 1:40 PM on December 14, 2009

Well, Sting and Bob Dylan have respectively given in

/my anality
posted by blucevalo at 1:41 PM on December 14, 2009

You'll all be old one day.
posted by raysmj at 1:42 PM on December 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

Thank you Blondie.
posted by Sailormom at 1:43 PM on December 14, 2009

FWIW Bob Dylan did it for charity.
posted by Sailormom at 1:47 PM on December 14, 2009

My favorite Blondie YouTube video.
posted by keli at 1:48 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

And I hadn't realized that "Rip Her to Shreds" was so darned revolutionary. I'm pretty sure Debbie Harry would tell you is was consciously retro (Robert Hall sweater, Brenda Starr) and purposefully dumb/self-mocking. Blondie never did much that was really new. I don't mean that as an insult, though.
posted by raysmj at 1:48 PM on December 14, 2009

FWIW Bob Dylan did it for charity.

Sorry, I was honestly unaware of that.
posted by blucevalo at 1:49 PM on December 14, 2009

Someday I hope to live in a world where music video directors & editors can tell the difference between a hi-hat and a ride cymbal.
posted by mannequito at 1:50 PM on December 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

Like the song! Why the video done on a beer-money budget? Is it supposed to be clever? It seemed kind of sad.

BTW, ain't Debbie Harry all Wiccan and shit? Do they get along with Zoroastrian magi worshipping the Christ-child?

It was fun hearing all the verses, including the Gothy "Myrrh" one.
posted by edheil at 1:51 PM on December 14, 2009

Okay at best but it did remind me of one of my favorite Far Sides. The Three Wise Men of Biblical lore wander into a bar on their long sojourn to Bethlehem and get confronted by an abusive drunk fat guy who's spoiling for a fight. "Oh yeah," he says. "More like the three wise GUYS if you ask me."
posted by philip-random at 1:56 PM on December 14, 2009

Well, here's the question, then. Is Rock and Roll only about youth? Are there any sexagenarians who could make a legitimate stab at relevancy these days, or does the door shut after 35 or so? I'm not talking about touring for touring sake (Stones? Lookin' at you) but writing and recording new music.

And if the door does shut, is rock and roll worth any damn thing?

Beethoven and Johnny Cash died with their instruments beneath their fingers, some of their greatest works coming at the end. (Did I just compare The American Recordings to the Late Quartets? Yeeesh.)

(OK, it's a chrimmas song, and those are universally panned by serious rock fans as being beneath the dignity of their favorite acts, so it might not be the proper venue to ask. I thought it was fun and well executed, but I wasn't "OMFG Blondie!" or anything.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:57 PM on December 14, 2009

Not only was Blondie hip to hip-hop back when you were listening to Devo, they made the first music video with a helicopter shot. So, a little respect please.

Since Parallel Lines was the first record I ever bought for myself, I probably can't be objective. But as novelty holiday singles go, this is far from an embarrassment.
posted by Joe Beese at 1:58 PM on December 14, 2009

Note to self: never, ever get old.

Still love Blondie tho!
posted by buzzdiggity at 2:09 PM on December 14, 2009

We three kings of orient are
one in a taxi, one in a car
one on scooter, blowing his hooter
following on the star
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:14 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, here's the question, then. Is Rock and Roll only about youth? Are there any sexagenarians who could make a legitimate stab at relevancy these days, or does the door shut after 35 or so? I'm not talking about touring for touring sake (Stones? Lookin' at you) but writing and recording new music.

I'm a musical heathen by Metafilter standards (favorite band: U2, also likes Death Cab, Sufjan, and Decemberists), but I liked Dylan's Time Out of Mind quite a bit. His Christmas album? Not so much.

It's not getting old that matters, it's what you do when you get old.

OK, it's a chrimmas song, and those are universally panned by serious rock fans as being beneath the dignity of their favorite acts, so it might not be the proper venue to ask.

I think that's exactly it.
posted by kmz at 2:15 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's not getting old that matters, it's what you do when you get old.

What if you're not really doing anything different?
posted by raysmj at 2:26 PM on December 14, 2009

That's not Blondie.

I SAID THAT'S NOT BLONDIE!
posted by tkchrist at 2:29 PM on December 14, 2009

"Are there any sexagenarians who could make a legitimate stab at relevancy these days, or does the door shut after 35 or so? I'm not talking about touring for touring sake (Stones? Lookin' at you) but writing and recording new music."

Scott Walker and Robert Wyatt both made critically acclaimed, relevant albums last year, and both are over 60. I happen to not like Walker's very much, but I can recognize that it's still pushing boundaries and going to be influential, even if it's not the kind of music I like. Wyatt's Comicopera wasn't the most avant stuff he's ever done, but folks interested in post-rock should give it a listen; it's B+ stuff. Mark E. Smith is "only" 52, but still puts out challenging new music, including a collaboration with Mouse on Mars a couple years back that was really good. Whether new Fall albums are any different than old Fall albums is kind of an exercise left to the listener. In the world of jazz, William Parker is nearly 60 and still expanding the world of music.

Relevancy is different in the avant world than in the pop world—there are still ideas that came out in the '50s that haven't been assimilated to the point of irrelevancy yet. But in the pop world, things happen like Debbie Harry largely losing her vocal range (something that hasn't happened to Patti Smith, in part because Smith didn't rely as much on her range to begin with), and the folks that have had real longevity tend to be producers and executives—Clive Davis and Quincy Jones are still relevant to pop.
posted by klangklangston at 2:31 PM on December 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Oh, and Willie Nelson has made two great albums this year.
posted by klangklangston at 2:33 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

OK, it's a chrimmas song, and those are universally panned by serious rock fans as being beneath the dignity of their favorite acts

I refute it thus.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:42 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

During a 1998 interview with VH1 on a Behind the Music documentary featuring Jefferson Airplane, Slick, who was never shy about giving her age, stated that the main reason she retired from the music business was that "all rock-and-rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire."

Grace Slick knows a lot more about rock-and-roll than any of us. So I'm going to defer to her on this one.
posted by Joe Beese at 2:42 PM on December 14, 2009

Not only was Blondie hip to hip-hop back when you were listening to Devo

Um, if you're using Devo as shorthand for "unhip", you might want to re-think that. Devo and Blondie were playing shows at Max's Kansas City and CBGB around the same time, probably on some of the same bills.
posted by DecemberBoy at 2:47 PM on December 14, 2009

DecemberBoy: "Um, if you're using Devo as shorthand for "unhip", you might want to re-think that. Devo and Blondie were playing shows at Max's Kansas City and CBGB around the same time, probably on some of the same bills."

What I had in mind was "rhythm-less white people". So feel free to substitute Foreigner or Billy Squier if you prefer.
posted by Joe Beese at 2:50 PM on December 14, 2009

And Bowie and Iggy were huge early fans, got them signed to Warner, and got Brian Eno to produce their first LP. And John Lydon made a serious offer to ditch PiL, join Devo and become their frontman. And and and... You should have just said "Haircut 100".
posted by DecemberBoy at 2:51 PM on December 14, 2009

Are there any sexagenarians who could make a legitimate stab at relevancy these days, or does the door shut after 35 or so?

David Byrne's not quite there yet, but he'll be relevant to arthouse music 'til the end of days.

He's about to release a 2-CD set of a musical about Imelda Marcos' life that he wrote with Fatboy Slim, and one of the songs will be sung as a duet by Tori Amos and Cyndi Lauper. Now that's an interesting direction for an 80's pop starlet to go. Debbie should have tied herself to projects like this.
posted by painquale at 2:52 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best rock Christmas album ever.
posted by marxchivist at 2:55 PM on December 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm not a particular fan of Jeremy Clarkson (UK TV car presenter and blokish Times writer ) but here he is on Xmas music, Bob Dylan - with a reference to a priceless John Denver offering...)

Even when he’s doing a happy song, [Dylan] always manages to sound so bloody miserable, like a widower trying to be cheerful at his wife’s funeral. And when he’s being down in the dumps, which is usually, I can’t understand why he would want to inflict his bad mood on everyone else. If I want to feel sad, I’ll poison my donkeys. It’d be better than listening to Bob droning on.

But that’s enough about Bob, because while listening to the chief miserablist’s awful collection of Christmas songs, one of which seems to suggest that one of Santa’s reindeers is called Clinton, I began to wonder what had been the worst Christmas song of all time.

Bob, we must remember, is by no means the first big-name star to take the yuletide shilling and bash something out for the world’s Xmas stockings. Who, for instance, can forget Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus Is Coming to Town or Madonna’s Santa Baby or John Denver’s Please, Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas). Quite something from a man who had two drink-driving arrests to his name.

But the winner of the Surely You Don’t Need the Money award must be Ringo Starr for his 1999 collection of Christmas songs, one of which, I seem to recall, contained the lyric: “It’s been around since you know when.” Er, didn’t “the year dot” rhyme?...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/jeremy_clarkson/article6954535.ece
posted by Jody Tresidder at 2:55 PM on December 14, 2009

I kept waiting for the Man from Mars to appear.

He was not available, since he was out eating guitars.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:55 PM on December 14, 2009

They should have done like Billy Mack (see above) and released xmas-ized versions of their songs.

One sleigh
Or another
I'm gonna find you
I'm gonna bring you bring you bring you bring you presents...
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:02 PM on December 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

...I liked it. Surely there was more than a touch of self-parody in there.
posted by aihal at 3:03 PM on December 14, 2009

What I had in mind was "rhythm-less white people".

I'll grant you 'white,' but calling Devo rhythm-less is like suggesting that Public Enemy's work lacked political content.

Let's take a moment to enjoy some genuine 7/8 time... "Jocko Homo."

Now, were you to argue that post 1982-Devo was rhythm-less, I'd still disagree since those drum machines could really keep a beat, but I'd argue the same was true for post-"Rapture" Blondie.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:05 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

The best thing about getting older? You worry less about what boxes you should put music in.
posted by ciderwoman at 3:21 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

You'll all be old one day.

True. But I won't record a terrible Christmas song when I'm old.
posted by The World Famous at 3:26 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Here's Dio singing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen and Testament (and others) on Silent Night. There's a whole album. It's about like you'd expect, probably.
posted by Wolfdog at 3:26 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Joey Michaels: ".. the same was true for post-"Rapture" Blondie."

My purchase of The Hunter remains one of the more painful memories of my adolescence.
posted by Joe Beese at 3:26 PM on December 14, 2009

The song had the elements I like in a Blondie song, including a little kitch a nod to the past (really dug the Parallel Lines era keyboards), but as a whole it seemed to be missing something. But I went back to it a second time and liked it a bit more, so maybe it's a grower. And I think aihal is right about there being "more than a touch of self-parody".
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 3:28 PM on December 14, 2009

Wow, that Dio version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was...


...exactly what I expected.
posted by marxchivist at 3:30 PM on December 14, 2009

Sounded OK to me. I wish them all the best and hope they make a buttload of money off their new album (I suspect they won't).

For what it's worth, their reunion stuff has actually sold really well worldwide, except North America (where it may have done decently, but certainly didn't top the charts.) I'm always shocked when I go to Europe and hear 'new' Blondie stuff everywhere, especially in Eastern Europe, where the (original era) band meant very little. So, kudos to them.

At least they didn't play it straight - this sounded just like the Blondie of days, except it's a very clumsy song to cover in that style. But it's no worse than (say) Siouxsie & the Banshees' cover of "Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant."
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 3:38 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think it's a lot better than Billy Idol's smarmy Jingle Bell Rock. But if that's your kind of thing, he has 16 more songs of the same sort.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:42 PM on December 14, 2009

Well, I liked it.
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:44 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I love me some Blondie, but that didn't do much for me. Not that they're old, not that it was a christmas song, but just...meh.
posted by freebird at 3:57 PM on December 14, 2009

Goddamn it, I appear to be the only person on MeFi that really, really likes this. So be it.

(Good fucking God, people. The hat! The hair! The weaving! The disconcerting recital of presidential names!)
posted by maudlin at 4:00 PM on December 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Wow, that didn't sound good at all. Like Blink 182 - fun + keyboards - the Blink 182 singer + Debra Harry. I couldn't even make it all the way through. Here are Christmas songs I would rather hear by Blondie instead:

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", in the style of "Dreaming"
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", in the style of "Tide is High"
"Little Drummer Boy", in the style of "Call Me"
"Oh Holy Night", in the style of "Rapture"
posted by 23skidoo at 4:11 PM on December 14, 2009

True. But I won't record a terrible Christmas song when I'm old.

You shouldn't close the door on that idea. You never know.
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:12 PM on December 14, 2009

Goddamn it, I appear to be the only person on MeFi that really, really likes this. So be it.

That's really Weird Al in a Dylan mask, right? right?
posted by madajb at 4:14 PM on December 14, 2009

> Well, Sting and Bob Dylan have respectively given in

Bob Dylan seems to be at a great point in his career; he can do whatever the hell he likes. His own radio show? Sounds like fun! A Christmas album after almost 50 years of recording? Sure! A lingerie commercial? Why not? A video in which he appears to be wearing a Kurt Cobain wig and Kid Rock's hat? Hell, yes!
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:14 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, as long as we're getting into the Christmas spirit, let's revisit the single greatest Christmas song released this decade.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:19 PM on December 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

You want Bryan Adams singing "Reggae Christmas"? Is that what you want?

Fine.
posted by Joe Beese at 4:20 PM on December 14, 2009

True. But I won't record a terrible Christmas song when I'm old.

You shouldn't close the door on that idea. You never know.

Good point. The nice thing about being me is that, no matter how terrible the music I make when I'm old is, nobody's every going to say I was better when I was young.
posted by The World Famous at 4:21 PM on December 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Was that Karl Pilkington on the drums there?
posted by gyc at 4:26 PM on December 14, 2009

My iTunes went straight from 3 Kings to Eat to the Beat. I kind of like 3 Kings but it suffers from the same problem of all recent productions. Perfectly quantized drumming and auto-tune vocals. Clem Burke is one of my favorite drummers, but the drumming on 3 Kings sounds like clockwork. It could be anyone drumming. Debby hits every note, missing all the tension in her old songs.
posted by bhnyc at 4:35 PM on December 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Yeah, Grace Slick sure knows a thing or two about what city rock was built on. Take that, Debbie Harry!
posted by raysmj at 4:35 PM on December 14, 2009

She did, in fact, build this rock on city and roll.
posted by The World Famous at 4:39 PM on December 14, 2009

raysmj: " Blondie never did much that was really new."

As was pointed out by, IIRC, Robert Christgau: Debbie Harry was wearing lingerie on stage long before Madonna. Probably before Cherie Currie too.
posted by Joe Beese at 4:41 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

That's rock fashion new, not musical new.
posted by raysmj at 4:47 PM on December 14, 2009

Tina Turner.
posted by raysmj at 4:54 PM on December 14, 2009

Didn't like it, sir.

Can we have a vevo.com bitch thread somewhere?
posted by maxwelton at 5:02 PM on December 14, 2009

That's my nephew Matt Katz-Bohen on keyboard!!!

And he's not even old!
posted by DMelanogaster at 5:08 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's no worse than, and quite possibly just as good as, Chrissie Hynde singing "2000 Miles."
posted by blucevalo at 5:11 PM on December 14, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FvE-z8xV1g&feature=related

Goddamn it, I appear to be the only person on MeFi that really, really likes this.

I liked it. As for the Blondie piece, 1) I cannot believe how great she looks and sounds at 65 and 2) it isn't bad, though the folks that directed this video and paced it need to be canned.

As long as we're on popular artists and Christmas songs, I like these by Loreena McKennitt and Sting (though on the Sting piece the first 20 seconds should be skipped.)
posted by bearwife at 5:31 PM on December 14, 2009

Sorry about the floating youtube link. Please just ignore.
posted by bearwife at 5:32 PM on December 14, 2009

Goddamn it, I appear to be the only person on MeFi that really, really likes Brave Combo
posted by hortense at 5:39 PM on December 14, 2009

I still love Debbie's voice.

And if I had more time, I'd defend Billy Squier's sense of rhythm. (Pre- "Rock Me Tonite," of course.) I mean, there's a reason "The Big Beat" has been sampled all to hell and back.
posted by kimota at 5:41 PM on December 14, 2009

What kills me is that it's been more than 10 years since "Maria" -- Blondie's big comeback and last hit single. I mean to say: this same discussion about relevancy and graceful exits and has-beens took place in 1999.
posted by borborygmi at 5:56 PM on December 14, 2009

Who, for instance, can forget Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus Is Coming to Town or Madonna’s Santa Baby
Eartha Kitt v. Madonna.
posted by tellurian at 6:08 PM on December 14, 2009

I for one really like the Bob Dylan song (not so much the album) it reminds me of the Pogues.
And as bad as it sounds, you should keep in mind that During this holiday season, Bob Dylan’s immediate donations from the Christmas In The Heart proceeds will provide 500,000 meals to school children in the developing world through the World Food Programme, 15,000 meals to homeless people in the United Kingdom through Crisis and more than 4 million meals to 1.4 million families in America through Feeding America."
posted by Sailormom at 6:15 PM on December 14, 2009

I've been having fun tonight listening to and reading about Blondie for the first time in years. I was watching their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and wow, it gets a little uncomfortable here.
posted by marxchivist at 6:16 PM on December 14, 2009

Jesus you ingrates, it's a free Christmas song! I liked it.

Celebrity Christmas songs weren't always this good.

For your sins, I present Red Sovine.
posted by mazola at 8:18 PM on December 14, 2009

Mazola... you bastard!!
posted by Kloryne at 8:40 PM on December 14, 2009

I heard a great review of Bob Dylan's Christmas album the other day. The reviewer said, "When he sings, 'I'll be home for Christmas' it sounds like a threat."
posted by Kloryne at 8:41 PM on December 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

mazola - that's great, it's going on heavy rotation here.
posted by tellurian at 8:53 PM on December 14, 2009

The Best Christmas Mixes Ever are by Andy Cirzan -- this year's set will be airing on Sound Opinions this coming weekend. You can listen to a stream of his 2009 show, it is also available for download. The kids and I wait with anticipation for this annual treat of holiday obscura.
posted by cgk at 9:56 PM on December 14, 2009

That you be his 2008 show, from the past, not the 2009 show streaming from the future.
posted by cgk at 10:00 PM on December 14, 2009

Some old timers have kicked ass with Christmas songs.
Back Door Santa
Merry Christmas Baby
Christmas Christmas
Sam's Christmas Blues
posted by madamjujujive at 11:06 PM on December 14, 2009

At least I'm not the first person in the thread to say something along these lines:

Goddammit, I love Christmas music. I don't give a particular shit about gift giving or receiving. I don't care about Jesus. Screw the commercial and religious act we're expected to do every year regardless of what we believe, but I love Cyndi Lauper singing dirty. I love Christmas mashups with fart noises. I hum along in the store. I sing about wanting a hula hoop every year in my best Alvin voice. I own "A Very Metal X-Mas", Michael Bublé, and Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums.

I
LOVE
CHRISTMAS
MUSIC
*breathes*

So all of you naysayers, please, I appreciate that you may not feel as strongly about it, but just shut up and drink your damned eggnog and have a cookie. My favorite band can suck on the 26th.
posted by crataegus at 12:55 AM on December 15, 2009

I liked the song and I'm glad to see Chris Stein still kicking around.
posted by h00py at 1:58 AM on December 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

crataegus, I sniff tinsel when Christmas comes around. I've tried not to become cynical about all the rest of it but I have. In my heart of hearts, the magic has gone. I'll never admit to it anywhere but here though. Still, the smell of tinsel and 'god rest ye merry gentlemen' yes even by Dio makes me remember how much I used to love it. And I save all Christmas songs for just one month of the year. Not even a month. And then I revel in them. So I get where you're coming from.

And I still think the thrash version of Six White Boomers fucking rocks. So that's where my tastes lie. So be it. I'm old enough not to give a shit!
posted by h00py at 2:13 AM on December 15, 2009

It still has hints of that magical Clem Burke cymbal sound. And his floor tom sounds the same as on Union City Blue. He never does the slightly late high hat close, but it's him. Yeah, it's a cheap Christmas knockoff, but at least it's pretty fast. It's lame, they know it. This is OK.
posted by hawthorne at 4:12 AM on December 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

They're fooling around, for crissake's.
posted by thinkpiece at 4:26 AM on December 15, 2009

Even Santa Loves Rock 'N Roll Music.
posted by Sailormom at 5:15 AM on December 15, 2009

Seems like a good enough spot to drop Oh Tannenbaum (in original German) by They Might Be Giants.
posted by JBennett at 8:12 AM on December 15, 2009

The song had the elements I like in a Blondie song, including a little kitch a nod to the past (really dug the Parallel Lines era keyboards), but as a whole it seemed to be missing something. But I went back to it a second time and liked it a bit more, so maybe it's a grower. And I think aihal is right about there being "more than a touch of self-parody".

It does kinda feel like someone trying to create a Blondie pastiche'. There are moments where it really sounds like Blondie, but man what is up with Debbie's voice? She sounds awful at points, like she's about to croak out a Marriane Faithful. The song keeps wanting to go big but it's stuck to the ground by the vocal.

I did like the retro -band! in the woods! Crap camera! - video.
posted by The Whelk at 8:43 AM on December 15, 2009

if Lindstrom can do a 40 min version of Little Drummer boy and peopel call it cool.. why is this so bad?
posted by mary8nne at 9:04 AM on December 15, 2009

just shut up and drink your damned eggnog and have a cookie.

I fucking love the holidays.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:47 AM on December 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, as long as we're getting into the Christmas spirit, let's revisit the single greatest Christmas song released this decade.

Jesus shitfuck, I thought I had scrubbed that brainrapist of a song from my memory a while ago. Remembering that thing is like losing 'the game', except instead of just saying 'oh I just lost the game' you get the feeling of rocksalt buckshot being fired directly into your soul. And since you did that, I'm going to have to do this.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:11 PM on December 15, 2009

omg a dylan christmas polka and pee wee herman reggae ... you guys made my day
posted by Surfurrus at 4:32 PM on December 15, 2009

...let's revisit the single greatest Christmas song released this decade.

[...]

I'm going to have to do this.

I hate the both of you with the heat of 10,000 suns and 40 Hells.

mommy
posted by jquinby at 7:35 PM on December 15, 2009

Right you lot! Roy Wood 1973 | 1984 | 2000.
posted by tellurian at 11:18 PM on December 15, 2009