V/A – A Blackheart Christmas

When I think of Christmas albums and Christmas songs, I think of choral groups, harps, classy old crooners like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, and newer embarrassments to anything respectable about music such as Celine Dion and Michael Bolton. Things Moms listen to. The last thing I think of is rock ‘n’ roll and punk bands. Apparently the folks over at Blackheart Records are trying to get in my head to change what I think.

A Blackheart Christmas features Girl in a Coma, The Vacancies, The Dollyrots, The Cute Lepers, and (of course) The Blackhearts ripping out a bunch of Christmas standards and some amusing originals. Standouts include Thommy Price, feat. Neferitti Jones doing a cover of “Winter Wonderland” that is faithful to the traditional versions, but still quite fun and a bringer-of-smiles, and an original, “Father Christmas” by The Vacancies, a song about something a lot of us can relate to: wanting Santa to just bring us some money. The compilation ends with a wonderful “Silent Night” by The Blackhearts and Special Guests. The “special guests” are, I’m assuming, and oddly enough, sound bites of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, and Sarah Palin. Sure, it’s pretty out of place to bring politics into a Christmas album, but being a political junkie myself, it just makes it even better.

Unless your family is really hip, I wouldn’t put this on the stereo at your family Christmas get-together. But, it would surely go over at a friend’s Christmas party. In either case, no one sits down and intently listens to a Christmas album, but this one would be enjoyable to have playing in the background at home to make you catch the Christmastime bug or at said friend’s party. So, after all, I guess I shouldn’t be too quick to grab the tinfoil and fashion a hat out of it so as to prevent Blackheart Records from getting in my head to change what I think.

(Blackheart Records, 636 Broadway, New York, NY 10012)