A three and a half hour faux field recording of driving along listening to weird late night radio talkback segments amongst wonky vapourwave instrumentals, disorientating hypnagogic sequences and eerie hauntological ambience. The spawn of James Ferraro and the KLF cicra Chill Out.
From possibly the greatest LP of the 10s comes this stark, dark and somewhat sardonic tune. I'm not sure how Merry Christmas-y it really is but just wait for the the glorious ten seconds at the 7.20 mark where Jingle Bells is played by what sounds like some tiny tiny bells but I think is actually a glockenspiel.
It's actually about brutal Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu who along with his wife Elena was executed on Christmas day in 1989. So for many that was a very happy day but not for ole Nicolae though, he had to face a mentally deranging episode of ontological insecurity then his brisk demise. The song depicts a delusional man shocked that he was being lined up against a wall so suddenly, wracking his brain as to what caused him to be in front of a firing squad. Yet to the rest of the world it was obvious.
There is a sense of glee when that ten second sequence of Jingle Bells comes in, a feeling of relief as the populace have taken vengeance after years of violent oppression and that perhaps the misery has finally subsided.
The marvellous moog maestro with the ultimate CHRISTMAS ditty. Probably my all-time favourite. An absolute vocoder robot vocal banger! So upbeat it's euphoric. This was part of a split single Bruce Haak did with Tiny Tim and it's a great shame that every household doesn't own a copy.
Holidays are lots of fun In winter cold or summer sun But for me there's only one Day like Christmas
People smile a special way Love and gladness fill the day That is why I'll always say ''I like Christmas''
If you thought Hey Lord was a laugh just wait for this one. The hilarity continues. I actually think this is a deranged Suicide classic with their signature down and out in New York city vibe with monosyllabic snarls of barely articulated sentiments. I don't get that this tune is credited to just Vega because it has the same Martin Rev backing track as Hey Lord so... anyway Merry Christmas!
I haven't checked out new James Ferraro music for like twelve years or so. I missed this one when it came out on Christmas day back in 2021. They Don't Know Its Christmas is some sort of neo-classical electronic Christmas music jam. Nowhere near the mind altering deliriousness of peak Ferraro but it's pleasant enough while it's playing with all of its fake frosty ambient bells, fake choruses, wintry synths and faux holy minimalism. Lonesome Christmas melancholia...
What happened to this guy? For five or six years he was one of the greatest, most vital and unusual musicians on the planet, running the underground. In 2009 alone, he released sixteen innovative solo albums and they were all pretty good, over half of which were mind blowing epic ambient-drone-noise hypnagogic pop sound-collage extravaganzas.
James Ferraro - Star Digital Theatre: Movies For P.T. Cruisers [2009]
This is not normal music. At the start it might not sound like much but wait until you're about twelve minutes in then tell me how you're going when the bubbling off kilter psychedelic ambient stasis starts getting delirious. Twenty two minutes in and the frenetic tribal new age starts becoming unhinged. Thirty minutes in and the electronic arcade synth-waves are going barmy and zig zag-y... and that's just the first track...
Rose McDowall again. I don't know if this is a Christmas song but it sounds like one so... Happy Christmas.
It's pretty crazy that this recording was originally just put on a cdr which was given away at a gig because actually this is a pretty incredible far-out ambient folk trance with atmospheric pipes, strings and bells all twinkly and covered in snow. Then Rose's vocals are multi-tracked to the hilt becoming an overwhelming dreamy snowflake kaleidoscope choir.
Immigration policy that then decides to include the enemies of previous immigrant groups is a fucking dumb idea. We all knew this in the 20th century but somehow in my lifetime politicians and bureaucrats have allowed it to happen in the name of globalisation so we can all (pretend to) be one man. So here we are with a fucking imported holy war on our shores because we can't have discrimination. We can't even discriminate against people who want to kill us! That would be Hitlerian! This retarded suicidal empathy will be our demise and it's upon us...
There's some pretty fishy stuff surrounding this entire horrific event. Why the fuck is Australia being used for this foreign conflict...
Expand government powers in Australia in ...3...2...1.... Less freedom for all!
Goodbye civil liberties, Hello more restrictions, censorship and surveillance for you! It's for your own safety man.
Happy Christmas everybody.
Oh the song... this is Rose McDowall guesting with Coil, singing a ye olde British Christmas carol in a haunting folk style.
