Are we going to have a punk rock Christmas this year?
December 22, 2007 2:50 PM   Subscribe

Can anyone recommend some good contemporary Christmas compilations?

Are there are any alt-, indie-, hiphop or punk rock collections of Christmas songs (traditional tunes or new ones) that any one can recommend?
posted by psmealey to Media & Arts (18 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
A Christmas episode of The OC spawned the 'Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah' CD, which has some pretty nice indie christmas songs. I really love the Ron Sexsmith song on there.

(I'm a fan of Sufjan Steven's 'Songs for Christmas' too). Merry Christmas!
posted by jonty at 3:04 PM on December 22, 2007 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I just finished listening to Queer Music Heritage's annual Christmas episode. Possibly not what you were looking for, but they start out with a punk-ish song this year (Stand Still's I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus), and include more traditional artists and songs as well.

I'm a big fan of A Very Special Christmas 3, as well. Haven't heard any of the earlier albums, but Natalie Merchant's Children Go Where I Send Thee is awesome.
posted by metabrilliant at 3:07 PM on December 22, 2007


I dont know if you are on iTunes, but I got some good stuff from their christmas list last year.
posted by shothotbot at 3:27 PM on December 22, 2007


Milwaukee's Trolley: Star of Wonder.
Decent, but their recordings are never as explosively fun as their live shows.
posted by mimi at 3:36 PM on December 22, 2007


Barenaked For The Holidays. Not all Christmas, but nearly. A couple of Hanukkah songs too. One of the few Christmas themed albums I can put up with, and there are some "new" songs on there too.
posted by wackybrit at 3:37 PM on December 22, 2007


Nettwerk Records has a bunch of alt/indie compilations. "Do You Hear What I Hear" isn't available at Amazon (I got it off of eMusic), but "A Winter's Night" is. There's a bunch of other alt/indie compilations listed in the "customers who bought". The "Maybe This Christmas" series looks pretty interesting (again, they're from Nettwerk).
posted by jlkr at 3:47 PM on December 22, 2007


Christmas by Low.
Pretty, and not even in a "I want to Hang Myself" kind of way. Not various artists, obviously, but it contains a beautiful rendition of Little Drummer Boy.
posted by stagewhisper at 3:51 PM on December 22, 2007


As a matter of fact, I have a CD called Punk Rock Xmas. It's pretty decent. Particularly because it's genuine punk (mostly older stuff), not vaguely anti-establishment, sort of punk-influenced stuff that sometimes passes as punk. Another one I have that's okay is "The Other Side of Christmas". It's sort of a combination of alt, indie, punk, and similar, christmas songs. There are some good ones, and some not-so-good ones on it. My fave on that one is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Local H. It's played in a more classic, but with a contemporary rock flavor to it. Quite good.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 4:01 PM on December 22, 2007


I love the Christmas Remixed series--traditional songs with a funky twist.
Mahalia Jackson's 'Silent Night' is my favorite.
posted by HotPatatta at 4:02 PM on December 22, 2007


Self-link alert: I'm involved with the Michigan label Suburban Sprawl Music and we've put out a free Christmas/holiday compilation every year back through 2002. They're all available for free download at our website. They're mostly originals, with a few covers of classics thrown in. We certainly fit under the "indie" umbrella, so you might find something you like.
posted by Burns Ave. at 4:03 PM on December 22, 2007


Projekt records has released a series of mostly-goth holiday albums. Mostly traditional songs, done by goth bands.
posted by Kellydamnit at 4:47 PM on December 22, 2007


The Late Greats 2005 & 2006 Xmas Mixes
posted by junkbox at 5:22 PM on December 22, 2007


This one's pretty darn good (Pixies! Hello!). And it's free.
posted by miss lynnster at 5:28 PM on December 22, 2007


Best answer: It's from 1991, but the "Lump of Coal" compilation CD has versions of traditional holiday tunes by bands like The Wedding Present, Young Fresh Fellows, Henry Rollins, The Primitives, Hoodoo Gurus and the Crash Test Dummies.
posted by melorama at 8:25 PM on December 22, 2007


Another mix
posted by miss lynnster at 9:01 PM on December 22, 2007


Not necessarily comps, but they're in the vein of what you're looking for:
Oi! to the World - The Vandals
Falala-la-la with Tralala - Tralala

And then there's A Twisted Christmas.

You might also want to take a look here and here.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:21 PM on December 22, 2007


Best answer: Check your meta-mail, PSMEALEY.
posted by Naberius at 11:10 PM on December 22, 2007


Highly recommend Aimee Mann's Christmas collection from last year: One More Drifter in the Snow.
Musictoday link
posted by egilmore at 9:15 AM on December 23, 2007


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