Generation Xmas

Setting new standards for the season?

by Roni Sarig

The concept of the alternative-rock Christmas album was a no-brainer: everyone knows the only folks who make Christmas albums are paragons of wackiness like Perry Como and Mannheim Steamroller. What better way for modern rock to assert its cultural superiority than by lampooning the tradition of cheesy holiday music with seasonal albums of its own? In fact, some of the music is surprisingly good, and you can even find some truly alternative choices in this year's holiday bins.

So we have Just Say Noël (Geffen) and O Come All Ye Faithful (Columbia), the latter of which features Henry Rollins reading "`Twas the Night Before Christmas" with his own overwrought edginess, Bush doing their "Good King Somethingorother" in standard grunge, and Shudder To Think's cheeky reworking of the Hanukkah song "Al Hanisim." Both releases are benefit albums -- standard practice for this kind of compilation, but a noble gesture nonetheless. Geffen donates a portion of the proceeds to human-rights group Witness; Columbia supports Rock for Choice.

And instead of going for the easy laugh with adrenaline-pumped versions of "White Christmas" or "Silent Night," both albums boast mostly original material. O Come All Ye Faithful offers funny tales of Santa's indiscretions by Dance Hall Crashers and Wool's seasonal angst, plus airy funk from Luscious Jackson. Just Say Noël includes respectable though somewhat depressing, contributions by Wild Colonials and Michael Penn (with Aimee Mann), plus twisted Xmas tales by Sonic Youth (doing Martin Mull's "Santa Doesn't Cop Out on Dope") and the Roots ("Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa").

The only bona fide new holiday classic to emerge this year, though, comes from Beck. His "The Little Drum Machine Boy" starts Just Say Noël with a blast of electrofunk that can't seem to decide whether it's a Christmas or a Hanukkah song. Perhaps it's the perfect expression for the seasonal confusion suffered by children of intermarried couples. Over a bouncy bass and handclap groove a computerized voice recites Hebrew prayers while Beck appropriates "The Little Drummer Boy" melody for the verse. Then, as the track shifts into a plaintive Jewish melody, Beck raps, "Droppin' science -- you don't even know what hit you/Next thing you know you're 13, getting bar mitzvahed."

The holidays add yet two more reissues to the lounge canon. Christmas Cocktails (Capitol) has an all-star cast, with Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Les Brown, Lou Rawls, Kay Starr, Billy May, Julie London, and others doing Christmas standards as well as ultra-cool numbers like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo," "Jingle Bells Bossa Nova," and "Cha-Cha All the Way." For those who get into that sort of thing, it's the perfect soundtrack for those steamy nights at the ski lodge spent sipping brandy in front of the fire.

For my money, though, it's always been hipster maestro Juan García Esquivel who's made the whole lounge revival more than just a vapid retro fad. A top-notch arranger who used all the instruments he could muster in constructing brilliantly technicolored hi-fi sounds, Esquivel made music that was closer to Carl Stalling's spastic Looney Tunes orchestrations than to anything considered easy listening. His Merry Xmas from the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (Bar/None), compiled from tracks recorded between 1959 and 1962 (except for the newly recorded opening and closing, which are horribly contrived, with their faux loungespeak), is worthy of the Mexican bandleader's legacy.

Festival of Light (Six Degrees/Island) is dedicated to Chanukkah, though only three of the 12 songs have any explicit connection to the holiday. Rather, the album is an impressively diverse collection of Jewish music, ranging from Israeli folksongs, modern singer/songwriter fare, and klezmer (featuring clarinettist Don Byron), to cantorial pieces and even some liturgical muzak.

There are a few other Christmas albums worth checking out. The Bobs' Too Many Santas (Rounder) features mostly comedic performances by the dynamic a cappella masters. For a Dixieland holiday, there's Christmas with the New Black Eagle Jazz Band (Daring/Rounder). And A Classic Cartoon Christmas (Nick at Nite/Epic) features the best from the Grinch, Charlie Brown, Muppets, and Rudolph television specials. It's just the thing to ensure you'll have a good Generation Xmas.