So It Goes

R.E.M.: “Merry Xmas Everybody”

It’s December 1, which means I’ve given myself permission to unearth all of my holiday music, and by “unearth” I mean “drag it from my external hard drive and drop it into iTunes.”  Anyway, from now until the 25th, I’ll be posting one non-terrible seasonal song every day. Sorry, Elmo & Patsy.

Today’s selection is for those of you who thought to yourselves “Surely she can’t drag R.E.M. into her Christmas celebration.” Surely you’d be wrong.  In a recent interview with The Times (UK), Michael Stipe was asked what now-defunct band he would reform if he could.  His response? Slade.

Yeah.

Slade.

Stipe’s love for Noddy & Jim & Dave & Don could explain why R.E.M. covered Slade’s final number one hit “Merry Xmas Everybody” for their Fan Club-only Christmas single a couple of years ago.  Or it could be because it’s one of the most enjoyably overindulgent holiday songs this side of “Step Into Christmas”.

Fun Fact: Slade’s original version has been named the Most Popular Christmas Song in the United Kingdom and—following its 1973 release—stayed on the charts for an unprecedented nine weeks. That means people were still buying it in February.  FEBRUARY!