Monday, December 17, 2012

SPACE-AGE SANTA

William Shatner! Theremins! Daleks! Annoying child singers!  Truly, this is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. 

If we must be subjected to Christmas music every year, at least let's make it bad/strange futuristic-y sci-fi songs. Space travel and Christmas - two things that have nothing to do with each other.  So why are there so many songs about both? Maybe cuz kids love 'em both. Or because Santa's reindeer routine was a wormhole-like traveling thru space/time? Or cuz everyone gets sick of "White Christmas" after a while? Regardless, here are 24 mainly '50s/'60s songs collected over the years, stuffed into one handy stocking:

SPACE-AGE SANTA
(Is this divshare business working?)
Space-Age Santa (Zippyshare)

These tunes are mostly off hopelessly obscure 45s, but I added artist info, if any

01 Hal Bradley Orch wPatty Marie Jay - SpaceAge Santa Claus
02 Zoot, Zoot, Zoot Here Comes Santa In His New Space Suit - Tiny Tim and Bruce Haack (as previously discussed)
03 Introduction-Hooray For Santa Claus - Miton DeLugg (from the badfilm classic "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians)
04 I Cloned Myself For Christmas - Neutron 606
05 Good King Wenceslas - Douglas Leedy (from a Buchla - not Moog - album from the late '60s that's all pretty cool, but this is the stand-out track.)
06 The Go Go's - I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek (No, not those Go-Gos, this was a '60s British studio "group.")
07 Outer Space Santa - Lawrence Welk's Little Band
08 Santa and the Satellite - another proto-mashup from Buchanan & Goodman
09 Northern Telecom - I Want An OC192 For Christmas 
10 moog cookbook - santa claus is coming to town (time-traveling to the '90s for this nutty instro)
11 Tim Dinkins - Santa's Rocket
12 Take A Ride On Santa's Rocket - The Sounds Extraordinare
13 Bobby Helms - Captain Santa Claus (Yep, the "Jingle Bell Rock" guy)
14 Lothars - Oh Holy Night (great contemporary theremin group)
15 barry gordon - Zoomah the Santa Claus from Mars
16 The Servotron Evaluation of the Christmas Season
17 Fountains of Wayne - I Want an Alien for Christmas (more actual not-old music! From their 2005 album "Out-Of-State Plates")
18 a sonovox (a kind of '40s vocoder) version of "rudolph"
19 troy hess - christmas on the moon (singing 6 year with thick hick accent - OUCH)
20 William Shatner - Good King Wenceslas (hearing all the verses, recited in Captain Kirk's ponderous delivery, reminds me that I have no idea what the hell this song is about)
21 Scene 1 Come Rejoicing-Its The Very Best Time of The Year-Make A Joyful Noise (from a kiddie xian xmas album I found in a thrift-shop called "Christmas 2001 A Space-Age Adventure"; I actually digitized the whole thing, but, believe me, you don't need to hear it)
22 Christmas in the Stars (from the infamous "Star Wars Christmas" album; I also have this one on vinyl - featuring a young Jon Bon Jovi! - but you REALLY don't need to hear the whole thing)
23 MIT computer 1962 carols
24 Space Age Santa Claus - Gus de Wert Trio (Incredibly, a cover of track #1)

Thanks to J-Unit 1!





18 comments:

Tyler Hewitt said...

I have never hit a download link so fast. Thanks!

Pierre said...

Wonderful compilation!
i might play it for christmas eve.
great work mr

Tim from Radio CLash said...

ooh yes...this might come in very useful for the next show, the tracks I don't know anyway!

No 'Switched on Santa' by Sy Mann though?

And seconded about the Star Wars Christmas album, like the TV Christmas special you think you REALLY need to hear it, until you do. And then you wish you hadn't...

Mr Fab said...

Tyler: 5 minutes after posting - you're good! And glad you like, pierre.

Yep, Tim I have that Sy Mann, as well as a Moog goodie from the '70s, Joseph Byrd - A Christmas Yet To Come that I only just stumbled across in my xmas CDs box last night.

And, come to think of it, I may have an xmas album by the Moog Machine. Maybe for next year...

Mark Wilkins said...

Ho ho ho, I may have to stick this on something portable, and unleash it on them at work.

Greg B. said...

It downloaded fine for me, too. Thank you very much!

Mr Fab said...

Thanks Greg. I ask because divshare keeps telling me that I have 0 views, 0 downloads. Glad they're wrong.

Konrad Useo said...

Merry Christmas & thanks for this swell collection.
I wasn't enjoying the new Christmas music this year. Too commercial.
These are fun!
The link works ok. Box.com is a good host & they just increased the file size allowed.

Holly said...

Many thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is the most beautiful and amazing Christmas comp I've come across in ages. You do such great work here. Thank you for everything.

Anonymous said...

That Dalek tune is nuts!! I also love the Tiny Tim jam too - thanks!

Nathan.G

October Country said...

this looks awesome but
div link appears to be defunct...
oh please santa, we'd love to get space-agey with ya!
thank you master maniac!!

Anonymous said...

like a previous comment said,
"I never hit a download link so fast!"
huge thanks bro!
xtra thanks for the zippy re-up
holiday cheer is here now!!

-Dubz

Anonymous said...

I would do anything to hear "Christmas 2001: A Space-Age Adventure" again. My children's choir at church performed this in December of '79. You said you digitized it... Is it something I could hear?

Mr Fab said...

Incredibly, I kept the files. I'll post it soon.

Craig Kringle said...

This. Is. Perfect.

I just started a "Weird Christmas" podcast to go with my site weirdchristmas.com, and it's about weird Christmas music. And so many of these are new to me.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Craig Kringle

Mr Fab said...

Theres a site called weirdchristmas.com?? Dang, i will be ho ho hopping over there, pronto.

Craig Kringle said...

Have fun! Most of the stuff is still on Tumblr. This is the first year I've tried to do more than just post a bunch of cards...a work in progress. :)

Craig