Sutcliffs, “Alcoholidays” (1997)
This comes from a late-’90s anthology, Big Iron’s Honkey-Tonk Holidays: Christmas in Deep Noellum, which turns out to be more obscure than I thought. I couldn’t find it on Amazon, and this song, with its little treasure of priceless lines (“That goddam little drummer boy is pounding on our head … Old Granddad, Budweiser, it’s good to be drunk again”), wasn’t on YouTube either until I threw it up there. (Note: Not to be confused with the great Teenage Fanclub song.) Big Iron is/was an alt-country label out of Dallas. The Old 97’s might have been the biggest act they recorded—some of you surely know better than me on this. The Reverend Horton Heat appears to have some affiliation with the cover of “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy.” The whole album is great, but somehow I like best this sour boozy ode to the pleasures and otherwise of the season.
One more: Old 97’s, “Holly Jolly Christmas” … better than Burl Ives!
Reader Interactions
17Comments
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Maude
No one is better than Burl.
Cris (without an H)
YOU LIE
Suffern ACE
I’ll listen to it when I get home from work, but it had better be better, or else…
Kola Noscopy
I can’t really get into this song…not my thing.
But “Ahcoholidays” is a classic title. :D
crosspalms
Makes me think of “Merry Christmas, you suckers”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5BQBKClJeY
smintheus
Here’s an odd sort of Christmas song, Procul Harum, Still There’ll Be More
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21dh4JDZ2ts&feature=player_embedded
carpeduum
Don’t you have something you need to fein outrage with over Obama? So hard to keep track with you nutjobs. I am lumping you in with the Tealiban because your feined outrage over teen access to the pill like it SUDDENLY is the most important issue in a decade is laughable.
Just like I will not let up on Cole for his CHILDISHLY WRONG position on Libya and just about everything else. I will continue to beat you over the head with this like canadian hunters club baby seals.
JPK
@Cris (without an H): Maybe exaggerating for effect :-)
burnspbesq
@carpeduum:
Borrrrrrrrr-ing.
Also too, who appointed you Public Scold of the Commonwealth of Balloon-Juice?
burnspbesq
In no particular order, my five favorite records of 2011:
Irina Ibragimova and Cedric Thibergien, Beethoven Violin Sonatas vol. 3
Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer, The Goat Rodeo Sessions
Sierra Hull, Daybreak
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Here We Rest
Fountains of Wayne, Sky Full of Holes
Honorable Mention: the DVD of the Metropolitan Opera production of “Carmen” featuring Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna.
blackfrancis789
I have never heard this before. Most delightful, and this went up on whatever annoying social networking site I use before I was halfway through listening.
fedupwithhypocrisy
My favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P37xPiRz1sg
fedupwithhypocrisy
My bad–it’s Merry Christmas From the Family by Robert Earl Keen, Jr.–the alcoholidayiest!
The Fat Kate Middleton
@fedupwithhypocrisy: Isn’t that one of the greatest holiday songs ever? Just finished playing here as I read your comment. I thank Doug for leading me to Old97’s Christmas songs – excellent.
@carpeduum: Doug? Doug? Is that you? I especially like the misspelling.
JPK
@fedupwithhypocrisy: Haa, that’s some good stuff, thanks.
gerry
What about Louden Wainwright III: “Wine with Dinner”?
azelie
In a similar vein: “Your Christmas Whiskey” by the Minus 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOftENtPsRU