Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
Joining me tonight as guest curator is Patreon
mixtaper, as well as producer for the State of
Amorica podcast, the incredible Black Crowes
podcast, Jason Donchus. Jason, thank you so much
for joining me on My Weekly Mixtape, man. Hey,
thanks for having me. Well, now I get to ask
you the same question I ask all of my first -time
guests, and that is, what does the word mixtape
mean to you? Well, a lot of your guests have
answered the same way I would. And like them,
I grew up in the heartbeat of the era of the
mixtape, starting with the dual cassette, where
you're recording from one tape to the other tape,
trying to put that perfect mix of songs together
to send a message to somebody. Or for me, you
know, I didn't have a CD player in my car when
CDs first came out. I only had a tape deck and
I preferred to make, I'd have 10 or 20 different.
This is my, you know, smooth jazz mixtape. This
is my old school hip hop mixtape. And to a fault
for me, mixtapes actually sometimes get in the
way, especially now in the era of went from burn
disc BNPs with people into now playlists streaming.
I went through quite a phase where I listened
to almost exclusively mixtapes and sort of lost
the art of the whole album front to back for
a long time because I loved mixtapes so much.
Yeah, I'm guilty of that from time to time. But
for me, it comes in waves where I'm all about
the album for a few months and then I just need
to mix things up and then I'm all about the playlists
and mixtapes. And I especially loved it when
other people would make you, hey, I made you
a funk mixtape. Check this out. And then most
of it would. Would be pretty good, but then you'd
pick up, oh, I really like that. And then you
go on a deep dive and now you've just learned
a whole new artist you didn't know before. Yeah.
One of my buddies who's sadly no longer with
us did a instrumental progressive mixtape for
me once. So after 90 minutes of listening to
actually at the time, this was done on CD. So
after 80 minutes of listening to this, he purposely.
renamed all the tracks of just track one, track
two, track three. And he said, and I want you
to call me when you're done. And there was about
four songs on that, that I still have on my playlist
to this day. And actually I became fans of certain
bands on like the Magna Carta labels and stuff
that I would never have known of had it not been
for that mixed disc. So tonight we are not going
to be talking about progressive instrumental
unless. There is that progressively instrumental
Christmas jam that came out after 1980. And who
knows? Maybe there is. But we're going to get
in the holiday spirit tonight with a new spin
on a Christmas party mixtape. Because when most
people hear a Christmas party, they think about
everything. They think about the classics. They
think about novelty songs. They think about newer
stuff. we're putting a little bit of a hitch
right in the center of this to give us a little
bit of a challenge. And we're only going to focus
on Christmas songs released after 1980. So Jason,
what were you looking for in the songs you're
bringing to the table tonight? Well, I had all
different ways that I could go with this. And
it depends on, I have to imagine what exactly
the mood of the party is. And probably in real
life, I would have two or three different ones
in my pocket. So when I showed up, I could read
the room. Am I putting on like some classic worship
stuff? Am I going to head down the road of some
of those church songs that maybe were redone
in a fun way? No, that doesn't seem the room.
Oh, a lot of eggnog happening in here. Okay.
I've got the perfect mixtape for that. And I'm
going to tell you, I leaned more towards the
eggnog influenced mixtape than I did anything
else. Looking for things that are just fun to
sing along to or dance to or bring back fun memories.
And probably drink some eggnog, too. Love the
approach. I am similar in the fact that I went
with a lot of songs that are enjoyable year round,
dare I say it, even though they're technically
considered Christmas songs. I also have an affinity
for novelty songs. One of my favorite. Holiday
seasons. I'll never forget was right after my
wife and I got married 2005, 2006. I want to
say maybe in a 2007 serious XM at the time it
was, they were split apart and XM radio had a
station called special Xmas and it was nothing
but novelty songs, 24 hours a day. And I. discovered
so many ridiculously weird and obscure music
i really wish they would bring that station back
because i'm sure there's a lot of it out there
but it's hard to find truly novel novelty songs
that's true without it being so absurd that it
just ruins the fun of it exactly Well, let's
get down to business. Tonight, as I mentioned
at the top of the show, Jason and I will be curating
an 80s and beyond Christmas party mixtape, and
we'll use the old cassette deck approach. Jason,
as my special guest, will begin Side A with his
first song choice, and then I'll add a song that
I feel best follows up that choice. We'll then
flip -flop choosing songs until we've mapped
out 10 songs for Side A. We'll then give our
mixtape a proverbial flip and we'll map outside,
be only this time I'll kick things off with Jason
choosing second. Our overall goal for this episode
is to craft the best 80s and beyond Christmas
party mixtape possible through only 20 songs.
At the end of the show, you can take our conversation
to the next level by visiting the episode page
at myweeklymixtape .com to give our final mixtape
a listen via the embedded playlist. And if you
like what you're hearing on the show, you can
help me out by either telling a friend, leaving
the show a five -star review wherever you're
tuning in, or like Jason, becoming a Patreon
mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
And I'd like to take this moment to welcome the
newest Patreon mixtaper to the family, and that
is Red Sky. Red Sky, thank you so much for joining.
Glad to have you on board. Now with that, a few
Patreon mixtapers chimed in with what they think
should kick off our playlist, and I want to give
a few. quick shout outs to those sean faust chimed
in saying there's only one correct answer and
that's new york city christmas by rob thomas
and i counted there were nine exclamation points
after thomas so you know he truly means this
one mally hart chimed in with bad religions cover
of oh come oh ye faithful followed up quickly
by weezer's oh holy night And Philip Bergman
chimed in with Come On Christmas by Ringo Starr.
And as he states, one of the few really good
cuts from that album and an exuberant opener
to get the festive mood going. So with those
songs out in the holiday atmosphere, I'm officially
pressing the record button on our mixtape and
the floor is yours. Jason, what song are you
choosing to kick off side A? Well, I feel like
if we're going to make a Christmas party mixtape
and we press play. The first thing we should
hear naturally is Jingle Bells. And it's especially
fun when the Jingle Bells kick into a monstrous
and unforgettable horn riff that starts off the
best Christmas song ever to be made, which is
from 1987 Run DMC's Christmas in Alice. That's
how you start a party right there. We got Ill
Reindeer. Gotta have Ill Reindeer all over the
place. Just a fun little hip hop song where Run
DMC really lets it loose. Talk about novelty
without being a novelty. They have the ability
to have some really funny lyrics and tell a funny
story while also just really memorable groove
underneath it with that horn riff and the jingle
bells. And I think that's the best way we get
things started. Absolutely adore the pick. I
got to go with adore because Christmas in Hollis
could very well be. My favorite Christmas song
of all time. Hands down. Hard stop. I mean, I'm
going to be perfectly honest. There's no way
to get this mixtape better now. I love this song
so much. This is peak Christmas mixtape for me.
There is no way. We're going to be able to up
the excitement from this because this is an absolute
jam. The song sampled Clarence Carter's 1968
Christmas song, Backdoor Santa, as well as Frosty
the Snowman, Jingle Bells, like you said, and
Joy to the World in the middle during the breakdown.
The music video is unforgettable. It went on
to win Rolling Stone's Best Video of the Year
in 1987. Beating out, get ready for this, Michael
Jackson's Bad, which was directed by Martin Scorsese.
That is how amazing this video was, this song
is. This was at a time when Run -DMC basically
cemented the fact that they were hip -hop royalty.
And I think this song was the cherry on top of
that statement. Because every time when I think...
hip -hop legends they're one of the first groups
that comes to mind for me and this is god it's
awesome awesome start now i'm gonna have to come
down a little bit but i want to try to keep the
energy up as much as possible you mentioned that
there was a little bit of jingle bells going
on in the sample however they didn't play the
full song and you can't have a christmas party
playlist without jingle bells now There are so
many renditions of Jingle Bells you can go with.
But I think to kind of keep that whole horn section
thing going from Christmas in Hollis, I think
we're going to jump forward to 2002. And we're
going to get a little rockabilly going here.
And we're going to get the Brian Setzer Orchestra
from 2002's Boogie Woogie Christmas. And we're
going to get Jingle Bells going. I mean, this
is getting the party started. You've hit it off
at a 10. We got to try to keep the energy and
Brian sets her orchestra. They have so many amazing
Christmas albums. I could have pretty much picked
a song at random, but coming out of Christmas
and Hollis, it can only be Jingle Bells. Well,
I like that it's Jingle Bells because we're Christmas
and Hollis. If you don't know it, you know, it's
easy to groove to, but you can't necessarily
sing along. Who can't sing along to Jingle Bells?
So now you've got the whole room singing along
up and dancing. So I think that's a great pick.
coming off of a run DMC. So now thinking about
how to come after that. So I like that we're
keeping the energy high. I'm going to dip back
into, so you're going to notice a theme for me
of I'm more of a lose rock type of guy. Although
I just gave you run DMC, but there's the backdoor
Santa sample. So there's that. But if I'm going
to keep the party started and keep it lively
and, and I think of the video. For this next
pick, 1983, George Thorogood and the Destroyers,
Rock and Roll Christmas. Because then we're going
to come out of Singing Jingle Bells into like
this party scene where everybody's dancing around,
a little bit of a bluesy kind of Southern rock
groove, uptempo. And I just like how the video
shows everybody dancing around. The first thing
I thought of when I thought of the Christmas
party was the Jingle Bells in the groove. From
Run DMC. And then the second thing I thought
of was that video where everybody's, let me show
you what a rock and roll Christmas is. And then
he lets them into the room with all of them dancing.
George Thorogood is a 1980s blues rock treasure.
I mean, come on. Bad to the bone. You think about
his cover of Moving On Over, which was originally
a Hank Williams country song. I got a chance
to see him live. George Thorogood and the Destroyers,
they put on such. a fun show one bourbon one
scotch one beer i can go on about them you we
could do a whole my weekly mixtape episode on
the destroyers and maybe i will someday i think
that's warranted and there's a good chance even
though this is a christmas song it could make
the list because it's just it's one of those
songs that yes you listen to it around the holidays
but if it wasn't about christmas don't tell me
you wouldn't listen to this song all year long
could be rock and roll halloween for all we know
exactly But following that up, I'm going to go
back to an album we've talked about tonight.
And the album, because my favorite Christmas
song of all time is on it, definitely elevates
the excitement I have for the entire album. And
1987's A Very Special Christmas is my favorite
Christmas album of all time. I love pretty much
every track on it. And I could probably just
drop all 15 songs from the album throughout this
mixtape and make a pretty damn good excuse. As
to what makes a good rock and roll 80s and up
Christmas party. But I'm going to go with one
that might not be seen as one of the go -to singles
from the album. But is just amazing. And it's
Bryan Adams' Run Rudolph Run. It's a cover of
Chuck Berry. So you're getting that bluesy sound
like you have with George Therogood and the Destroyers.
But you're doing it with that 80s sheen just
a little bit. Brian Adams has that grasp about
his voice. He could do blues very, very well.
I mean, he does obviously the power ballads and
everything, but his rock songs are fantastic.
He's got a great rock voice. And this version
is almost punk -esque in nature. It's live. It's
manic. It's got that energy. You feel it. And
I think coming out of Rock and Roll Christmas,
it's the perfect follow -up. So Brian Adams,
Run Rudolph Run. Yeah, that's a good pick. You
scooped me on the song. I had that on the list.
I was debating. I was going to feel out where
the list went to see which version I wanted.
The one that was the top of my list was Faster
Pussycat version. Nice. Okay. So again, a workaround
to get an old classic on the set list. Run Rudolph
Run, obviously Chuck Berry. It's a staple at
Christmas time. So many people have covered it
from country artists to pop artists to metal
artists. So it definitely was going to get on
the list. Question for me was just who was going
to pick it and by which artist. All right. So
now I got to follow that up. Yeah. We're in the
old bluesy style. We're still upbeat, though.
I think I'm going to take this bluesy rock. I'm
going to pull it into a little bit of country.
And again, this is going to be another workaround
to get an old song on the list covered by a more
modern artist. Could be classified as a novelty
song. It's a little bit cheesy and fun and goofy,
but it gives us some good rock and country licks
while we sing a song from the perspective of
a child trying to figure out what exactly is
going on with Santa Claus and his mother. And
the song is from 2006. It's a Buck Owens cover
of Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy by Brad Paisley.
Nice. Brad Paisley's Christmas album is so much
fun. He is one of the hands down best country
guitarists on the scene right now. And he incorporates
so many different elements into that sound that
it's so unique. And his Santa looks a lot like
daddy cover is amazing. And crap, I literally
know the perfect song. to follow it up with.
And it's kind of in that same vein, but I'm going
back to the same damn album. Ah, screw it. I'm
doing it. I'm going back to 1987's A Very Special
Christmas because coming out of Brad Paisley's
Santa Looks a Lot Like Daddy, we got to go with
John Mellencamp keeping that almost country -esque
vibe going with their version of I Saw Mommy
Kissing Santa Claus. So it's kind of the answer
to Santa Looks a Lot Like Daddy, I Saw Mommy
Kiss. There's a whole lot of shenanigans going
on with the parents here and Santa. Who knows
what's happening? But musically. John Mellencamp's
version comes right out of Brad Paisley and continues
that vibe on a musical level really, really well.
Yeah, and I love all this stuff. I'm already
excited to listen to this mixtape because it
hits all the buttons for me. It's good fun. It's
country, southern style rock and roll. I'm just
excited to crank all that stuff up. And, you
know, those songs are, everybody knows the words
to them. So again. There are other ones you're
going to sing along and groove along to. So I'm
going to take that and I'm going to bring it
a little bit back into the rock area. Still staying
upbeat, but I actually just came across this
song. So I had thrown out to my text group of
State of Amorica friends and asked them about
it. And one of the songs that came up that I
wasn't aware of in 1990. ACDC does Mistress for
Christmas. So while we're continuing to talk
about what's going on with the parents, let's
have ACDC come in and look for a mistress. I'm
not going to lie to you. This song sounds exactly
like an ACDC song. So if you took all the words
out that are Christmas related and just put regular
old ACDC lyrics in it, it's straight off a razor's
edge. It's ACDC. But to have the Christmas lyrics
and the... Well, let's say sleaziness of ACDC
searching for a little side action on Christmas
while they're rocking. There's nothing wrong
with that. You said it. The Razor's Edge. This
is not a Christmas song as far as I'm concerned.
I listen to the ACDC catalog probably once a
year where I'm like, all right, I just got to
go all the way from the beginning, all the way
up. When the song comes on, I'm like, this isn't
a Christmas song. And Hailstorm does a great
cover of it. And again, not a Christmas song.
Yes, it's Mistress for Christmas. So yes, it's
a Christmas song. But in my mind, it's in a gray
area. It blurs the lines enough where I can listen
to it all year round without a shroud of guilt.
And I think I'm going to do another response
to your call here because you put in this kind
of 80s style hard rock. In Mistress for Christmas.
So I'm going to respond with the same vibe. And
the same vein. And a song that's very familiar
to everybody. That are hard rock fans. Because
it is not a Christmas song. We're not going to
take it by Twisted Sister. However, in 2006.
On a Twisted Christmas. Dee Snider and the Boys
reimagined. We're not going to take it complete
with a music video to match. And it's, Oh, come
all ye faithful sang to the music of, we're not
going to take it. There is no way that this isn't
the perfect followup to mistress for Christmas.
And that video, it's just a great, the beginning
of it, where he's, he's got the CD all wrapped
up. And, uh, The lady just about has a heart
attack when that's her gift. Those guys, I tell
you, they are something else. That's all I can
say about those guys. That's a fun, man. That's
a, and that's a tough one to follow because now
you're getting into like, that's a little off
the beaten path with how they, uh, they pulled
that off. Cause you've got a classic Christmas
song done to a classic eighties tune. So coming
off of that. While we are disparaging our families,
I think I've got to take what might be a little
pivot coming off of that, but I think it's just
weird enough to work. And this was another recommendation.
This is from the prof, Ray Permy. He sent me
this song and I listened to it. This is sort
of like an Irish bar chant. And it's from 2013.
It's Dropkick Murphy's The Season's Upon Us.
Yes! And it's basically like an old Irish bar
chant about how much your family sucks. And if
you know all the words, it's fun to sing along
to, as all Irish jig songs are. And some of the
things that are in there are just fantastically
hilarious, where he's just absolutely sick of
all of his family and can't help but to get out
of there as quick as he can. And that's what
some of us feel like at Christmas, you know?
I'm going to go with Dropkick Murphy's The Season's
Upon Us. Well, you 100 % scooped me on the pick.
That was 100 % on my list. I was just trying
to figure out where to put it. So you made my
life a lot easier because now I don't have to.
That song peaked at number 23 on Billboard's
US Hot Rock and Alternative Songs. Strangely
enough, in January of 2014, after the season.
was upon us so the song i guess people had such
a joyous time with their family that this song
resonated up the charts for the dropkick murphy's
absolutely love the pick and normally this would
not be the song i close out the side but you
and i have had a really good call and response
going on this side So you did the blues slash
80s rock of George Thorogood and the Destroyers,
and I followed it up with the 80s rock of Bryan
Adams. You had Brad Paisley with the country
vibe, and I followed it up with John Mellencamp's
country vibe. You pivoted to ACDC and the hard
rock vibe, Mistress for Christmas. I followed
up with Twisted Sister. Then you pivoted it to
a punk sound with The Seasons Upon Us by the
Dropkick Murphys. And I want to... Continue that
punk -esque pivot, but also give a callback to
the first song on the side. So the first song
on the side, Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis. It's
got horns. It's from A Very Special Christmas.
I'm going to jump up to A Very Special Christmas
3. Again, I love that series. It was for a great
cause, and I love all the songs on pretty much
all of them. But 1997. One of the biggest bands
on the planet covers a song originally recorded
a year earlier by punk band, the vandals. And
a year later, the guitarist Warren Fitzgerald
produced for a very special Christmas three,
no doubts rendition of Oi to the world. I mean,
this version introduced the vandals to so many.
People who never heard them before, because when
you go in the liner notes and you read about,
you see that this was not originally by no doubt.
You go back and realize, oh, wow. And this album
is a whole punk Christmas album. So I am very
thankful that Warren did this with no doubt.
I love Gwen Stefani's voice on it. It's fun.
It's exciting. It's a party song. You got the
horns. It's kind of a great way to kind of be
the yin to. Christmas and Hollis at the end of
the side so no doubt oi to the world yeah that's
a good pick and I like your point about no doubt
and in the path you went down with the vandals
there's a lot of these songs and other songs
that we may talk about later that had the same
effect to to the point where I started compiling
this list of Christmas songs and ended up compiling
a whole list of other songs to go back and revisit
from various bands especially when you start
realizing This song was covered by this more
modern artist, which was covered by this later
artist, which was actually a cover from this
way earlier artist. And some of these songs that
are classics and staples from the 90s and 2000s
are actually songs from the 50s and 60s that
you didn't even realize. So I love that aspect
of music in general, but I especially love when
a band like No Doubt takes a song and gives it
a little different twist. Well, there you have
it, folks. That concludes Side A of our 80s and
Beyond Christmas Party Mixtape, which consists
of Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis, Brian Setzer
Orchestra's Jingle Bells, George Therogood and
the Destroyers' Rock and Roll Christmas, Brian
Adams' Run Rudolph Run, Brad Paisley's Santa
Looks a Lot Like Daddy, John Mellencamp's I Saw
Mommy Kissin' Santa Claus, ACDC's Mistress for
Christmas, Twisted Sisters' Oh Come All Ye Faithful,
Dropkick Murphy's The Season's Upon Us, and No
Doubt's Oy to the World. Head over to myweeklymixtape
.com to hear all the songs we've discussed in
this mix through the playlist embedded on the
episode page. Now, Jason, before we flip it over
to side B, you talked about this earlier, the
State of Amorica podcast, which you are a producer
of. For those people that don't know State of
Amorica, this is the premier Black Crows podcast.
So why don't you tell people about that? Yeah,
I appreciate that. As far as we know, we're the
only Black Crows podcast. Black Crows are a favorite
band of many. A lot of people are. Hard to find
that love this band as much as we do. Our podcast
talks about this band, really digs into the history,
the members. We've had a lot of band members
on. We've had a lot of equipment and sound guys
on. Just really talking about the legacy of this
band and everything that they bring to the table.
I'm lucky enough to be the producer. I don't
get on air as often, although I've been a little
bit more lately. But Dave and Ian are really
the voice of the podcast. I do a lot of the sound
editing and the song clips. Give them all my
ideas and tell them what works and what doesn't
work, which I'm sure they love. And meanwhile,
what we've done is not just create a podcast,
but what we encourage people is like you, like
I got here with you, is join our Patreon. The
Patreon content is what I do most of. That's
what I primarily do. And we've built not only
just a podcast celebrating a band, but we've
built a community of music lovers that, yeah,
the Black Crows is how we got here, but the Black
Crows is just. catalyst we were just speaking
of no doubt and going on that rabbit hole of
discovering other bands i would tell you that
two -thirds if not three -quarters of the music
that i listened to today somehow or another tie
back to the black crows because they covered
a band or because a band opened for them or because
their members have dispersed and joined other
bands rich robinson was the lead guitarist for
a while or the rhythm guitarist i guess technically
for bad company I was never a big Bad Company
fan, but when he jumped in that band, I'm like,
well, I guess I better check this band out. So
it's things like that that happen, and we get
to talk about it. We do Zoom hangs. We do all
sorts of things to build community. We do road
trips and meet up. So if you like the Crows,
come on over. But more importantly, if you just
like music in general, come check us out. Dig
into this band. Dig into all the rabbit holes
you can go down with this band, and it's a good
time. Absolutely love it. Black Crows are a premier
Southern rock group, and I hope at some point
to be able to do a Black Crows episode. Would
love to have one of the brothers on, but obviously
we'll see how that goes. I know you guys know
very well how easy that is or isn't. If you're
taking count into which members of the band have
been on and which ones haven't, there you go.
Well, let's move into side B now where I get
to kick things off. And look, we've talked about
it. Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis is my favorite
Christmas song of all time. So to start off side
B, I want to give a callback to that song. One
of the songs that Christmas in Hollis samples
is Backdoor Santa. And on 2001's A Very Special
Christmas Five, which was recorded live in December
of 2000, B .B. King and John Popper of Blues
Traveler got together and covered Backdoor Santa
with the same opening for all intents and purposes
as Christmas in Hollis. So as a callback to side
A and trying to keep that energy up while keeping
with that bluesy theme, because I mean, come
on, this is a Christmas song. I don't care that
the lyrics are about Santa and old Saint Nick.
This is a blues song where B .B. King and John
Popper are dueling solos. This is an all year
long jam that just so happens to fit the vibe
better at Christmas time. B .B. King, Back Door
Santa. Yeah, it's a great pick. And coming off
just what we were talking about on the flip,
the Black Crows do do a cover of that as well.
Came out originally in 2005, I think. Saw a lot
of airplay in 2020 as well. But yeah, you can't
go wrong with whether it's that version with
B .B. King and John Popper highlights a lot of
the musicality of it. The Black Crows version
really gives Chris a voice to really dig into
all that blue stuff and really belting it out.
to just put you in a mood again. Eggnogs are
flowing. Let's get grooving. That's a great pick.
Obviously had it on my list with the crows there.
There's also another version that you could jump
into as well. Around that same time, I think
it was 2004, Australian band Jet did a fantastic
version of it from their four -year consideration
release. That one has a little bit more of the
garage rock sound. This song has popped up many
a times throughout the 2000s and it always works
because at the end of the day, Clarence Carter's
original is a frigging masterpiece. that all
these bands can paint their own versions of,
and it's still amazing. Yeah, no doubt. Yeah,
I love all those versions. Obviously, I'm going
to lean towards The Crows. I love that BB King
version, though. That's just amazing. So now
I have the challenge of how do you come off of
something like that? A couple of my songs I have
on my list don't flow out of that as well as
I would like, but I think here is where I would
like to... Up the energy again a little bit,
maybe pull us out of the bluesy stuff and into
some more, I guess, for lack of a better term,
arena rock style, but from a Beatle. So that's
kind of weird. So I'm going to acknowledge your
Patreon recommendation. Ringo Starr, Come On
Christmas, 1999. Seems like a staple of Christmas
songs. You got to have some sort of horn section
in there. So we got some sax in this. We got
some nice harmonies in the vocals, but at the
end of the day, it sounds exactly like an arena
rock song that gets everybody fired up and dancing.
So we're going to pick up the tempo just a little
bit as we move into the second side here. Love
it. And when you said Beatle, there was a part
of me that thought you were going to go with
Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmas Time. And
in my brain, I'm sitting there going, I don't
know how that would work coming out of Backdoor
Sand. But as soon as you said Come on Christmas,
I'm like. That works. Okay, that I could hear.
So I love it. And coming out of that, it's hard
to top a Beatle, so I'm not even going to try.
But I am going to stay in that arena rock vein.
So I'm basically following your shadow here.
But I feel like when I think about arena rock
and Christmas songs, I can't help but immediately
get right back to the beginning of our time frame
here and go to 1981. And this was a B side for
the hit song. My kind of lover from his in the
dark album. This is Billy Squire. Christmas is
the time to say, I love you. I immediately am
brought back to a kid sitting on the ground,
watching MTV and seeing all the VJs singing along.
I read Martha Quinn saying that it was her favorite
all time MTV moment ever. I vividly remember
it like it was yesterday. And this song always
stuck into my head for that reason. And kind
of given that arena rock theme, I think Billy
Squire is a perfect fit here. So Christmas is
the time to say I love you. Yeah, that's a good
call. I like the flow there. And that's Billy
Squire is, I think, somewhat underrated. You
know, he doesn't have a lot of hit stuff out
there, but I really enjoy a lot of the stuff
he does. And Christmas, that really brings out
a time to get arena rocking. Again, I'm looking
at my songs I have in my list and thinking, how
am I going to make these transitions? Because
some of these are just so out there that I'm
going to have to really work hard to make it
make sense. I'm going to have to sell you on,
this is why this works. And I think what I'm
going to do, I'm going to keep it up -tempo.
Not exactly Reno Rock, but I'm going to keep
it up -tempo. We're going to go a little bit
punky and probably into that vein of novelty
thing that you think. I'm also going to pull
in a classic song. Everyone's going to know the
words to, but we're going to do it a little quirky.
So a band that I really like, it's called Reliant
K, and they put out a Christmas album back in
2007. And a lot of the versions of the songs
they do on there are up -tempo, punky, sort of
quirky versions of the songs. And one in particular
that seems to be very popular in my household
is one of the most repetitive songs ever to be
recorded, but they do it in such a way. where
they change tempo, they change tonality, they
throw some really surprise quirks at you when
they sing these things. But I think the only
way you can force people, by now with plenty
of eggnog in them, to sing the 12 Days of Christmas
is to do it Reliant K style. Fantastic. I was
wondering where you were going with that. I love
the Reliant K Christmas album. That, to me, is
like prime pop punk era Christmas music. And
that one, yes, it is repetitive, but the way
they change up the timing and the pacing and
the five golden ray and like it just works so
damn well. I absolutely love it. And once again,
I'm going to follow in your shadow and stick
with this punk and I'm going to stick with quirky
and I'm going to go really quirky. And I'm going
to go to the quirkiest side of punk, but I mean
that in the greatest of ways. And I'm going to
even throw in the ska to the ska punk part of
this equation and bring up one of the premier
ska punk bands. This song was originally released
as a, let's date it, free MP3 single on the band's
website and officially released. On their 2021
EP, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas 2, T
-O -O, I'm going with the Aquabats cover of Holiday
Road from the original vacation movie by Lindsey
Buckingham, however, also known in Christmas
Vacation. So it's a little bit of a stretch,
but everybody knows. holiday road and when you
hear it done in this ska punk goofy style the
eggnog has hit hard at this point and everybody's
singing the row and having a lot of fun and this
is keeping that party just off the charts right
now so aquabats cover of holiday road that's
a song i promise that if you just said to me
the name of that song and said do you like that
song i would say i don't know that song and you
would say i promise you do and then you would
play it and i would immediately go oh yeah i
don't think i've ever paid attention to what
the name of that song was but obviously with
the vacation movies it's well known basically
the theme right of the of that franchise and
um what yeah that's a great way to keep the party
going and having the sky and horns in there It
continues to make it tough to switch out and
figure out how I'm going to get these last couple
songs in there. I have to acknowledge a request,
though, in my shout out to the Patreons over
at SOA, because one of the ones that got a lot
of, once it was recommended, I got a lot of people
like, yeah, that's got to be on there. That's
got to be on there. And we got to start to figure
out how we're going to calm this party down so
that we don't end up having a lot of damage and
police called. I'm going to bring it. So we have
a bonafide rap song on here. I'm going to bring
it down from the ska and punk and move into sort
of a rap song, but not quite. But it is quirky
and it's got a nice little groove. And it's been
covered by a lot of modern artists, specifically
the Spice Girls, as an example. And that's a
little more upbeat version of it. But we're going
to transition into Christmas rapping by The Waitresses.
from 1982. And again, great groove. You've got
your horns that you have to have in any Christmas
song. I recommend that on the mixtape, we put
the single edit because it tends to run a little
long, but it's essentially she's singing in a
way that's basically rapping. And that's the
shtick of the song. It's Christmas rapping spelled
with a W, but she's really sort of rap singing
the song and it's really quirky. And it's another
story about how Christmas can go. Not so great
sometimes in a funny way. Iconic song. Obviously,
every year on the radio growing up in the 80s,
all the radio stations would kindly let their
DJs spend Christmas with their family. And they
would just do the 24 hours of uninterrupted Christmas
music, which was fantastic because there was
no commercials to deal with. It was just holiday
music around the clock. And I remember that song
being played. every pretty much every hour on
the hour it it's just a absolute classic and
it's got such a unique vibe that it almost serves
for the last four songs as a little bit of a
palate cleanser because there's really no way
to come out of that especially from the aquabats
to the waitresses and have it make perfect sense
so to kind of set us off with a little bit of
a kind of a clean slate with Enough directions
you can bounce off of. Playlist Wars fans will
go back and remember an episode that we did that
kind of ran. Oh, I'd say this joke went for at
least 30 something episodes. We did an episode
of who could create the best YouTube playlist.
And in my 10 songs, I included their version
of Christmas Baby Please Come Home from 1987's
A Very Special Christmas. In my top 10 U2 songs
of all time playlist. Needless to say, I didn't
win. I didn't even come in second by the nearest
of margins. I was blown out of the water. And
for the next 30 something episodes, I was just
destroyed over the fact that I chose this as
a top 10 U2 song. But I'm going to say here on
my weekly mixtape that I stand by that decision.
I still think it's a top 10 U2 song. And I absolutely
love their version. 100%. The original Everybody
Knows by Darlene Love is an absolute classic.
I think of the beginning of Gremlins when I think
of this song. But U2's version had just such
a rock edge to it. There was almost this punky
spirit that they brought to it. This was U2,
Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum era, my favorite
time for this band. And this fit right in the
middle of all of that. And to me, it's a fantastic
Christmas song. And yes, a top 10 U2 song. I
apologize, U2 fans. I have nothing against the
band. But this song just kicks that much ass.
Christmas, baby, please come home by U2. Yeah,
I like it. And it's a song that kind of fills
the room. It's rocking, but we're bringing the
tempo down. We're trying to calm people down
now and enjoy. the last of their night. Let the
eggnog wear off a little bit. Let the tension
in the room come down. Let us kind of vibe out.
Still getting the rock going, which I really
love. And coming out of that, I'm going to continue
to kind of mellow things out as we round out
the end of the mixtape. But I want to bring a
little bit of R &B, a little pop R &B in here.
And because I remiss if we can get through a
playlist without putting this band, this group
on here. Because I think they're just a testament
to the 90s. And it's one of the best ways that
I can think of to groove out during Christmas.
So I'm going to head that into a little poppy
R &B song called Sleigh Ride by TLC from 1992.
And complete with a Lisa Left Eye rap in the
middle of it to get us on that vibe. But that's
how we're going to continue to kind of groove
things out and bring the energy down a little
bit. People forget that in 1992, TLC was one
of the biggest bands on the planet. And Left
Eye was such a unique and gifted presence. I
absolutely love the inclusion of this. And it's
changing the vibe enough where since we each
only have one choice left, I could kind of pick
up the party to kind of end it on like this really
heavy, epic note. Or I can continue to bring
us down. To kind of wind the party up in a nice
bow, all wrapped up as a gift. I'm really torn
about which direction I want to go in. Prague
Instrumental comes in. Yes, yes, unfortunately.
Yeah, well, if I was going to go with the Prague
Instrumental side, the closest thing I could
have did was pick Trans -Siberian Orchestra's
Christmas Eve Sarajevo 1224. But to me coming
out of TLC, that just feels very like oil and
water. It doesn't come out of it in a way that
would really flow naturally, but I do love that
song. And it is one of the biggest Christmas
albums of all time in the U S certified three
times platinum. I mean, it's gotten over a million
downloads. It's just an unbelievable song, but
does not work coming out of sleigh ride. However,
I know I've said a very special Christmas a lot
in this hour, but I talked about one and I talked
about three. I got to pull something. And actually,
I talked about five as well. I got to bring something
from two, even though four got ignored. Sorry
for. But when it involves your favorite artist
of all time recording his original Christmas
song, you have to go with Tom Petty's Christmas
all over again. How can I possibly talk about
Christmas? and not talk about this fact. It is
a Tom Petty original Christmas song. If it doesn't
sound familiar, it was in Home Alone 2, Lost
in New York. And then you can't forget the ending
fade of the song where he says, let me see, I
want a new Rickenbacker guitar, two Fender Bassmans,
a Chuck Berry songbook, a xylophone. Tom Petty,
Christmas All Over Again. Yeah, what a great
song. Tom Petty is one of the best songwriters
out there and miss that guy. What a great way
for him to contribute to this Christmas album.
And coming out of that, I think what we want
to do is maybe actually finish with a little
bit something unusual. And I'm going to pull
something that I would usually put on a list
that I would put on like if I were to make a
mixtape of worship songs. But I want to kind
of wrap it up with just a reminder of why we
all came here in the first place. And the best
way to experience this song is with your kids.
This was originally on a VeggieTales Christmas
CD. And this is a song that we'll finish it up
with having a little fun. This is by a band called
Owl City with help from Toby Mac. Just to have
a little lighthearted fun, reminding us of the
Christmas spirit. So coming off of Tom Petty's
Beauty, we're going to go into a little bit of
a pop mode, a little bit upward tempo to just
kind of wrap things up on a fun note. And there's
a song from 2013 called Light of Christmas by
Owl City and Toby Man. This is the kind of song
that I could see if our Christmas party had ending
credits. The credits are rolling and we're. Having
all the different songs that were played throughout
the night. And they're rolling up the screen.
Everyone's kind of packing up their stuff. And
this song is playing in the background. Putting
a nice little exclamation point at the end of
our evening. Because this has been a really,
really fun party. Side B kicked off with B .B.
King and John Popper. Backdoor Santa. Ringo Starr's
Come On Christmas, Billy Squire's Christmas is
the Time to Say I Love You, Reliant K's The 12
Days of Christmas, The Aquabats' Holiday Road,
The Waitress' Christmas Wrapping, U2's Christmas
Baby Please Come Home, TLC's Sleigh Ride, Tom
Petty's Christmas All Over Again, and Owl City
with Toby Mac, Light of Christmas. Head over
to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to hear all the songs
we've discussed in this mix. through the playlist
embedded on the episode page. Now, Jason, if
people would like to learn more about State of
America, how can they find the show and learn
more about it? Yeah, best way to do that, State
of America, pretty much that's the name on all
the socials, Facebook, Instagram, State of America
on Twitter, constantly putting information out.
Look us up on Patreon, the State of America,
and get connected. You'll have a fun time, I
promise. Well, I would first like to thank you
so much for being a part of the episode tonight.
And more importantly, for being a Patreon mixtaper,
for supporting the show, The Extra Mile. It truly
means the world to me. And I appreciate being
a part of it. It brings back such memories. And
for those of you that are listening, the best
part to experience the show is don't forget to
go into the show notes on the site and actually
listen to the playlist. It makes it all the better.
That's the way to engulf yourself in the music
we discussed tonight. And Jason, before we log
off, I should say happy holidays to you and your
family as well. And Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year to you, Brian. Remember, Mixtapers,
you can find My Weekly Mixtape on almost all
the social media haunts at My Weekly Mixtape.
You can also head to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to
check out the full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape
episodes. And if you like what you're hearing
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mixtape at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening.
Until next time, enjoy the tunes.