Tear gas and pop. Welcome to Mount Carmel, 1993. It’s not the content that’s unsettling, it’s the context, the volume and the absurdism of Nancy Sinatra, Christmas Carols and screaming rabbits played back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back, 24/7. We’ve got it going full blast, but that don’t stop me from tapping my feet; or is that…the patter of the rapture lightly dusting the inside of my empty stomach? I’ll take a pair of those ATF-issued earplugs, please, and a gas mask, if you have one. That Billy Ray is starting to get to me. Reno’s got us poking at the walls like fork prongs piercing a hot dog. I suspect they won’t budge. Once you reach end game with a gang of doomsday preppers, expect casualties. You can give ‘em a little breathing room. Like they give a damn.
Well, I’m not the type to let a good song spoil, whatever the volume, wherever the gloom-and-doom mise en scène, no matter how hard Lynch, or Kubrick, or Mary Harron, or the FBI, or Nick van Woert (the curator of the WACO compilation, which features “Let it Snow,” as well as other covers and recreations derived from the FBI’s “playlist” — released by Wharf Cat Records) tries. I doubt Jeff Zagers is either.
So,
On “Winter Wonderland!” On “Frosty the Snowman!” On “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer!” On “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” On “Christmas My Baby and Me!” On “All I Want for Christmas is You!” On “All I Want for Christmas is MIDI!” On “Step into Christmas!” On “Wonderful Christmastime!” On “Let It Snow”:
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