Rocking out for Christmas

Acme's annual salute to the holidays via Rock and Roll. First up - Do you hear what I hear?: Female Performers:


Coventry Carol  Alison Moyet –



Sorry but this song is ultimately about babies who are about to be murdered. Coventry Carol is a reference to the Massacre of the Innocents, an event described in the Gospel of Matthew. In it, King Herod orders the execution of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two.

A very Merry Christmas indeed


2000 Miles The Pretenders –



While this song is thought of as a holiday song, the lyrics were written after the band’s original guitarist James Honeyman-Scott passed away in 1982, at the age of 25.


Little Drummer Boy Joan Jett And The Blackhearts –



This song was the basis of an animated TV special in 1968, also called Little Drummer Boy. It was about an orphaned child who goes on a quest to find his camel, which he discovers when he finds the Three Wise Men. This TV special never became a holiday classic like Frosty The Snowman or Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.


Last Christmas  Florence + The Machine -



Written and produced by George Michael, this song actually has very little to do with Christmas - it's about a failed relationship. Only the phase "Last Christmas," when the relationship comes to a head, refers to the festive season. Despite this, it has become an annual Christmas standard, especially in the UK.


God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen  Annie Lennox -



This is a traditional English carol dating back to the 16th or 17th century. It was first published in England in 1833, when it appeared in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys.


Silent Night Stevie Nicks -



It is believed that the carol has been translated into over 300 languages around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time.


And of course the holiday favorite - Christmas Wrapping The Waitresses -



When Chris Butler wrote this song, he was not feeling very festive. The Waitresses were signed to ZE Records, whose boss, Michael Zilkha, asked the bands on his roster to each come up with a Christmas song that would go on a holiday compilation issued by the label. The Waitresses were in the middle of a grueling tour, and weren't happy about the task, especially since it was July and they weren't exactly in the Christmas spirit.


The second part of our Christmas video theme - and now let's hear it from the boys -


Run Rudolph Run Chuck Berry -



Berry based this tale on Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. Unlike Santa, however, Rudolph is copyrighted, and Berry had to give the publishing rights to Johnny Marks, who wrote the original Rudolph. Perhaps if Berry had used "Randolph" (another reindeer he mentions), he could have kept the publishing. That's what the makers of the British TV special Robbie the Reindeer did.


Christmas All Over Again  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers -



The song was included in A Very Special Christmas 2 album, the second in the A Very Special Christmas series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics.


Winter Wonderland  Booker T. & The M.G.'s



This became one of the most popular holiday songs of all time, but unlike most seasonal favorites, there is no consensus on the most popular version of the song.


Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)  Ramones -



When this song was first released, it wasn't very well received. It has slowly become a holiday classic.


Don't Believe in Christmas  The Sonics -



The melody was borrowed, without credit, from Chuck Berry's Too Much Monkey Business.


Father Christmas  The Kinks -



Ray Davies frequently stole shows by performing the song live wearing a Santa costume. "When the record came out we were on tour with a very successful band at the time supporting them," he recalled during an interview with Southern California radio station KSWD. "I went on dressed as Santa at the end of the show to do 'Father Christmas.' And the other band found it hard to follow us. The following night with the same band I went to run on but there was a bunch of heavies preventing me from running on stage. And I was protesting. But the people said, 'The Kinks didn't do an encore but Santa Claus was there and they were stopping him from going on stage.'"


And, of course, Santa Claus Is Comin To Town  Bruce Springsteen -



Bruce Springsteen released the song as the B-Side to My Hometown in 1985 ( he had been playing it in concert for years,) and it quickly became a holiday staple. Strangely, some people consider it one of the worst Christmas songs.



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