A Politically Correct Holiday Story by David Mussen
I don’t know what I was thinking about… three little pigs and the festival of Yalda… strange stuff. It’s not even a song. Sadly, when voicing the “Little” Joey Campbell part, I was actually trying to sound like James Earl Jones.
Elves vs. Machines by Tim Mroz
In order to fulfill the ever-growing demand for toys, the elves have been
slowly replaced with robotic machinery. What was one the providence of
elves gradually becomes the domain of machines. Finally relegated to
only simple duties such as cleaning reindeer stables, the elves fight
back. This song tells the story of the ensuing battle.
No song I’ve ever written has elicited more scrutiny than “Reindeer Power”. It has received equal amounts of praise and criticism from environmental groups, energy leaders and animal rights advocates alike. “It is this type of bold, innovative thinking that we need if we are to stem the tide of our warming planet and rising oceans” said the Director of EPA Gina McCarthy’s administrative assistant’s intern, Dorothy Knox. Meanwhile, the custodian at the Humane Society of New York, Tommy “Hawkeye” Bowman, has been overheard mumbling to himself that “Mussen is one sick mother for encouraging the exploitation of reindeer to power America’s war industry!” This is usually followed by a diatribe of conspiracy theories that include myself, Jay-Z, Santa Claus, and the Illuminati. Lastly, Danny “Speed Bump” Speer, the Limousine driver for the embattled former President of British Petroleum, Tony Hayward, said “As the long as the reindeer run on oil, I couldn’t give a sh*#”. I enjoyed writing this song. That Joe Rozler is one talented fella, isn’t he?
Jonathan Hughes: Bass, Electric Guitar Joelle Labert: Vocals Rob Lynch: Drums, Vocals Alex Lynne: Vocals David Mussen: Acoustic Guitar Naryan Padmanabha: Sleigh Bells Joe Rozler: Piano, Melodica, Vocals
Inspired by his own vocal performance on Holiday Slow Dance, Low Velvet shows off his range for the certain amusement of bored friends and family who sit around the tree, waiting for something to happen.
Jonathan Hughes: Bass, Moog Synthesizer Rob Lynch: Drums, Guitar, Vocals Low Velvet: Vocals
For this song I am indebted to the old masters, Emily Dickinson for the title, and Robert Frosts’ “Dust of Snow” for really help shape the theme of the song.
Jonathan Hughes: Bass, Electric Guitar, Keyboards Joelle Labert: Vocals David Mussen: Acoustic Guitar
