Track Listing

1. Thanks for Christmas - The Three Wise Men
2. Christmas Day - Squeeze
3. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues,
4. Rudolph the Manic Reindeer - Los Lobos
5. 2000 Miles - The Pretenders
6. Santa Claus - Throwing Muses
7. Little Drummer Boy [#] - Miracle Legion
8. Xmas at K-Mart [#] - Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band, Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band
9. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie, Bing Crosby
10. One Christmas Catalogue - Captain Sensible
11. All I Want for Christmas - Timbuk 3
12. Shouldn't Have Given Him a Gun for Christmas - Wall of Voodoo
13. Santa's Beard - They Might Be Giants
14. Christmas - Buzz of Delight, Buzz of Delight
15. Christmas Time [#] - Chris Stamey Group
16. Mary X-Mess [#] - Sun-60
17. Careless Santa - Mono Puff

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39363 in Music
• Released on: 1996-10-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
This seasonal adjunct to Rhino's 15-volume proto-alternative series of '80s favorites is characterized as much by sweetness as wigginess: check out XTC's "Thanks for Christmas" and Squeeze's "Christmas Day," the latter of which name-checks everything from tree lights to British comedy team Morecambe and Wise. Closest to true new-wave sound and spirit is They Might Be Giants' Farfisa-driven "Santa's Beard," but this eclectic mix's stretches generally succeed. Still, a couple of complaints: why a dreary "Little Drummer Boy" by Miracle Legion instead of the turbocharged one from Joan Jett's I Love Rock n' Roll? But it's churlish to complain about a record so well-meaning that it stacks up a blindingly good "Rudolph" by Los Lobos, a vintage single by Matthew Sweet's early Buzz of Delight, and "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl--what a tearjerker. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Captain Sensible Captures The New Age Christmas Spirit
I would rate this X-Mas compilation a 5+ on the strength of track #10 alone. Captain Sensible's 1984 single, "One Christmas Catalogue" is one of the best pop songs I have ever heard. It's synth pop intermingled with overdubs of sound bytes from distant Christmas movies of the past, create a nostalgic overload. I first heard this song on the radio in December of 1995 while attending Brigham Young University. And up until just recently I was finally able to locate this CD and buy it. "One Christmas Catalogue" is a classic 80's hit that deserves much more airplay during the holidays. It isn't every day you stumble onto a song this good! This is a must have single for any 80's alternative pop fan!

It's not Christmas until I've listened to this one!
This is one of my favorite Christmas CDs! I play it over and over every year. Some of the rock n roll Christmas CDs seem to have the same songs, but this one has quite a few I haven't heard anywhere else. Christmas Day by Squeeze is probably my favorite, but I also love Santa's Beard by They Might be Giants, Santa Claus by Throwing Muses, Careless Santa by Mono Puff, and Mary XMess by Sun 60. And thrown in to round it out are some perennial favs like Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie and Bing Crosby, the great Fairytale of New York by the Pogues with the sadly deceased Kirsty MacColl, and 2000 Miles by the Pretenders. If you're looking for an alternative to tradition but only want to buy one or two CDs, this should definitely be one of them!

Why is this not for sale as Mp3's ?
For the last 30 years I've been searching my local record stores at Christmas time for this CD, and I've yet to find a used copy, why ? because it's such great Christmas fun, you'll want to keep it. What criteria does Amazon.com use for converting CD's to Mp3's ??? I'd pay $10 for this CD in a store just for 'X-mas at K-Mart' by Root Boy Slim, so why can't I find it for 99 cents as an Mp3 ? maybe Santa will leave me a copy this year. Happy Holidays !