Why It Matters

Rock and roll Christmas songs. Elvis recorded “Blue Christmas” back in ’57. Only one Beatle never released a Christmas song (know which one? Leave a comment). Bruce, Elton, Bowie — even Lemmy recorded a Christmas cut. Overall, though, good Christmas pickin’s have always been hard to come by. Holiday cuts normally fall either into the sentimental or novelty buckets, which is what makes A Midnight Christmas Mess such a treat.

Midnight Records was a label that grew out of an independent New York City record store. The store opened in ’78 and is still around, though now strictly as a mail order/internet retailer. They’re known for obscure vinyl — pyschedelia, garage rock, that kind of stuff.

So it’s no surprise that when they got into the label business in ’84 they ran the gamut from post-punk to forgotten ’50s legends like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

There are some really tasty ’80s-flavored cuts here, too, like this song from Wednesday Week:

Midnight Records put out two more A Midnight Christmas Mess albums, but this is the only one I have in my stacks. Want your own copy? Expect to pay in the 10-20 dollar range. Happy hunting.