In 1981, Christmas albums for rock 'n' roll audiences didn't exist, and with the exception of a few snotty punk singles, there was nothing for young people who loved the music that emerged after punk and new wave. ZE Records' A Christmas Record occupied that space alone, though as label founder Michael Zilkha explains, the album was more of a marketing project than a specifically commercial venture. Still, it brought the world The Waitresses' classic "Christmas Wrapping," and included music by such iconic figures from the period as Labelle's Nona Hendrix, Was (Not Was), and Suicide.
In this week's episode, Zilkha remembers the label's origins and decline, and how A Christmas Album was in many ways emblematic of its heyday. In our conversation, he talks about Cristina--Cristina Monet--who was an artist on ZE, and she would become his wife. Since Zilkha didn't talk about it in the interview, I didn't bring up her death from COVID-19 in 2020, but I wrote about it at MySpiltMilk.com shortly after she passed.
In this week's episode, I use an excerpt from my interview with Chris Butler of The Waitresses from 2018. Earlier that year, I interviewed Mars Williams, who played saxophone on "Christmas Wrapping," and though I didn't include an excerpt from it, it shines more light on the experience. In today's episode, Zilkha talks about how the song has been covered, and although I don't announce it on the show, at that point I included a version by Kylie Minogue with guest Iggy Pop. The episode ends with an indie rock version by Hate Club from the Christmas compilation No Sleep 'til Christmas 8.
Pink Martini
Jimbo Mathus of Squirrel Nut Zippers
Johnny Mathis
Lowland Hum
Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5
Darling West
The 179 Days of Christmas
Los Straitjackets, and The Band's "Christmas Must Be Tonight"
Chris Butler of The Waitresses
Rodney Crowell and Flow Tribe
PJ Morton, and "All I Want for Christmas is You"
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Kristin Chambers and Mars Williams
Delicate Steve, and Outkast's "Player's Ball"
Wizards of Winter, and Faith Hill's "A Baby Changes Everything"
The Sultans of String and The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling"
Robert Earl Keen
Michael Cerveris and Kimberly Kaye of Loose Cattle
Ben Schenck of the Panorama Jazz Band
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