The Christmas Spectacular

Shrag “Stop The Revelry” – Set to a tacky, cheap sounding track that seems as though it was made to evoke bad Christmas music and cheap holiday junk, Helen Shrag sings an anti-Christmas carol about a character who must suffer through the day alone with a family that she loathes, and without booze to “block out all the misery.” Delightful holiday misanthropy! (Click here for the Shrag MySpace page.)

Ed Shepp “Scenes From A Life: A Lonely Christmas” – Christmas may be a lovely time for many people, but being forced to bask in the glow of other’s joy and togetherness can drag less fortunate people down into the darkest depths of despair. In this clip, WMFU radio personality Ed Shepp tells the story of the most miserable Christmas of his life. (Click here for the Ed Shepp Radio Experiment archives, which include several recent Christmas episodes.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site and features holiday themed mp3s from the Where Will You Be Christmas Day? compilation and the Mary Timony Band, plus the Christmas miracle that is “Santa Claus Is A Black Man.”