“Santa Goes Modern” also tells of that jolly old elf hippin’ up to a flying saucer to make the rounds. Originally from the American Song Poem Project, wherein budding lyricists sent in their scribbling and their dollars to a hit-making-machine, and thern underworked musicians churned out singles for the hopeful. This laughing, rambling oddity has also been covered by cult alt band Yo La Tengo. Wild, weird, wintry.
But give it up for Rod Rogers and the Librettos and the original “Santa Claus Goes Modern.” Kids! Cringe along!
Bobby Helms could be the godfather of rock ‘n’ roll Christmas novelty songs with his 1957 ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and his early contribution to all things rockabilly.
But, the late ’50s is afire with the space race, so let’s not overlook the B-side to that Xmas hit: “Captain Santa Claus and His Reindeer Space Patrol.” We know not to be afraid with our man in red in space.
Most cool outer space Christmas is based on Santa. As baby boomers grew up through the space race, they began to see how Santa could visit every kid’s house in just one night (not time travel! that’s silly!). It was through rocket ship technology, whether atomic or magical.
Check out Doreen Allen getting all rockabilly with Johnny Collins & The Caravans in their “Spacey Santa’s Spaceship.” Cute kid warblers were small town success for Bible business from the turn of the Last Century. Then money from vaudeville gave us Shirley Temples. And more money from the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll gave us The Collins Kids. Not sure when this music was recorded, but it wails.
Alienation means we just don’t belong–NONE OF YOU EVER LOVED ME!! Being an alien can be so sad. The Pocket Gods sing about the disenfranchised extra terrestrials in “Alien Xmas Song.” Soft rock emo hopeful wistful noise.
More rocking (alt/folk) are The Hot Buttered Elves, investigating what weird genealogy Santa must have with “Alien Santa.” Clap along!
Rednecks and aliens have always shared a special relationship. Watching the skies is like watchin’ out for revenuers. But getting abducted and probed is just some more family drama for inbred backwoods hillbillies. So give a minute to the foolishness of anote4u’s “Aliens Stole My Christmas Tree.” Hee hee haw.
Kids love aliens of all kinds, even big scary ones. So, some novelty Christmas songs are for the children.
Sometimes all we need to do is retell a Christmas carol with the occasional gloss for SF alien terms in place of the traditional holiday words. Bill Michaels tells us ‘The Night Before Christmas’ as “Alien Christmas.” Creepy. Get the guy a lozenge.
Professor Steve believes the funniest sounds to make for kids are from the Road Runner and Batman’s Penguin. His “Alien Christmas” is appropriately annoying and approachable. Nanu nanu.
About the best kid-lovin’ alien/Xmas song around is by Fountains of Wayne. Known for ‘Stacy’s Mom,’ this is one of those emo-rock groups continually featured behind emotional TV series moments to set the mood. In other words, successful whether or not you buy their stuff.
Here is “I Want an Alien for Christmas” off their album Out of State Plates. (Some dope animation, illustration, and skitting out there for this song, but i dig the lyrics verzh ’cause i keep mishearing them.) It’s so cute and ET and crap.
One of the creepiest translations of the Christmas story is the Erich von Daniken Chariots of the Gods late ’60s conspiracy that all extra terrestrials are us from the future or our ancestors. God(s) means human/Jesus is human god/that’s an alien, dude. (It helped to be high to swallow all of this.)
Glen Scrivener draws an analogy between “The Martian Came Down” and the angel Gabriel coming down for the Advent. Swinging kid folk with a confusing message. Poor children in the audience!
Chris de Burgh goes full ’70s psychedelic folk with his “A Spaceman Came Traveling,” likely picturing Bowie as the man who fell to Earth. This guy hit it big in ’68 with ‘The Lady in Red’ and has continued his singing career in Norway and Brazil. Here he meanders through images that may or may not be Christmas.
The notions of alien life forms visiting has evolved drastically since Roswell and before. Today we scoff and joke. Danny Kastner, during some fund raising thing for his own project, devotes funny improv songs to benefactors. For Brick he noodles out the Twilight Zone intro and barfs out some words for his “Alien Christmas Song.” Ha ha.
Back in the ’50s, however, our Earth stood still as we watched the skies. Aliens were as worrisome as nuclear destruction.
Dickie Goodman with pal Bill Buchanan were some of the swinginest DJS of the ’50s, sampling lines of songs to answer serious intrerview questions. When they released “The Flying Saucer” with these bits they were sued. Later, exonerated, they released “The Creature (From a Science Fiction Movie)” and “Buchanan and Goodman on Trial.” Crazy Cats.
For our purposes, consider this 1957 view of scientifically fictive alien invasions “Santa and the Satellite” including the oh so important ‘Turn the record over’ transition for those not as familiar with 45s.
Other science fiction futuristic shows and movies have little Christmas song love. Battlestar Glactica? Farscape? Babylon 5? Stargate? ALF? Red Dwarf? VR5? Continuum? Forget it.
Then there’s Firefly.
Mikey Mason, the least likely Bubba to sell a sentimental nerd ballad, wails through the 5 stages of loss for that ’02 Joss Whedon western/space opera mashup misstep in “Please Bring Firefly Back for Christmas.”
Many a Christmas skit and clipshow set to classic Christmas carols limn the database for the avid trekkie to troll merrily, merrily. But for me, odd holiday music is all that matters.
Of course there’s a “12 Days.” Of course there is. There ya go. Sung by Phan643.
But, to put a finish on Star Fleet, The Prime Directive, the Kobayashi Maru Test, and all other five year missions… here is Noon Experience’s “Borg Christmas.” Sigh.
Can’t close out Star Trek without kudos to Rick Moyer’s startrekparodies.com, a website where anyone can donate a free upload of fun fan songs/parodies for their scifi delights.
Dude has himself cobbled together a free album Merry Trekmas. Sure, it’s mostly lame caroldies (Christmas songs with Star Trek lyrics). But this is the guy’s hobby’s gone internet. HE’S GOT AN ALBUM.
