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Yesterday's Christmas music post got me thinking. Here are some more tunes that don't suck.

"Christmas Time is Here" I think legitimately stands on its own as a song, but the cartoon was a big part of my childhood, so I love it.

The Alvin and the Chipmunks "Christmas Song" is a little more obnoxious, but that Alvin is just adorably inscrutable.

Of course you can't mention this song without bringing up Patton Oswalt's riff on it.

This guy did a pretty cool mash-up of the original with Oswalt's idea.

And, while searching for all this stuff, I found that there's a pretty active YouTube culture of speeding up contemporary pop songs to sound like the Chipmunks. Wacky!

Then, of course, there's "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." James Earl Jones doesn't mess around. When he tells it like it is in that basso voce, you listen!

eh.www.amNY.com

PS Yeah, I didn't mention "Rudolf" or any of the other Rankin/Bass classics. My previously discussed aversion to reindeer aside, I just hate these cartoons. I know that's tantamount to sacrilege in some circles, but I can't help how I feel.

This song has been going through my head for a week now. We miss you Soul Coughing.

eh, www.amNY.com

This song is brightening up my Monday-afternoon slump...

eh, www.amNY.com

AOL is streaming the whole album; the deluxe edition re-release is out now.

Get your tickets now for the band's McCarren Park Pool appearance July 28.

—eh, www.amNY.com

During my convalescence over the weekend, I bedded down with the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros. The show, presented in 15 minute slices of absurdity, is the story of a wanna-be super-scientist, his two lame-o adventurer sons and his sickly muscled bodyguard (voiced by Patrick Warburton of every cartoon ever. Oh, and "Seinfeld"). Someone on staff is an insane Bowie fan.

Check out the first minute and change of "Ghosts of the Sargasso." (Well, you can watch the whole thing, but the first chunk is all that's relevant here.)

And so, in honor of the Action Man, I give you "Ashes to Ashes"

"Ashes to Ashes/funk to funky" is quite possibly my favorite lyric ever.

—eh, www.amNY.com

After the jump, Bowie takes on Iggy Pop and Klaus Nomi...

This one's for my pal Brandi, who is a fine girl, although she's been hearing this song since birth and is quite sick of it.

Looking Glass, "Brandy"

I've always liked this song because it tells such a story. Yes, it's cheesy. But I've always imagined if I were born in a different time and place (and gender), I'd have some sort of seafaring career.

I found this song (thank you elbo.ws) at this cool looking blog called Armagideon Time. I haven't have much of a chance to peruse, but I like how he starts each entry with a panel from a comic strip.

—eh, www.amNY.com

I've been in a Bob Mould mood these past few days, and he's perfect rainy-day music, so, "See a Little Light."

I really of enjoy the stripped down sound of solo Bob. There's always a time for the harder-edged sounds of Husker Du and Sugar, but Bob's solo output is like the sonic equivalent of changing out of wet socks and sipping hot cocoa (spiked with rum, of course — I don't want to get too unicorns and kitty cats on you here). It's just the right mix of dreary and comforting, is what I mean.

—eh, www.amNY.com

The Gourds play Bowery Ballroom tomorrow night. The group's claim to fame is their cover of "Gin and Juice," which, thanks to a mis-attribution on Napster back in the day, is widely believed to have been done by Phish.

Other famous Napster mis-labellings:
Janis Joplin "Son of a Preacher Man" (probably Dusty Springfield, although the song has been covered by just about everybody but Janis)
Woggles "Video Killed The Radio Star" (The Buggles)
Violent Femmes "I Wanna Be Sedated" (Ramones)
Radiohead "Wish You Were Here" (Sparklehorse, although Thom Yorke does contribute vocals)
The Who "Teenage Wasteland" (It's called "Baba O'Riley"; There's a fantastic scene in an episode of "Freaks and Geeks" where Lindsay refers to the song as "TW" and gets totally told)
The Kinks "Turning Japanese" (The Vapors)

Remember any others?

—eh, www.amNY.com

D.C. punk legend Bad Brains was a vital part of the harcore scene of the 1980s. The band's relentless energy and incredible musicality (in a genre where, admittedly, technical proficiency is not exactly prioritized) made the group a force to be reckoned with.

If you've listened to the radio recently, you've probably noticed that this kind of unpolished aggression is not exactly in. But the Bad Brains have been quietly upping their profile, reuniting for one of the last gigs at CBGBs and appearing in the rock doc "American Hardcore" (see it, if you haven't already).

And now, Bad Brains is back together and touring on a new album, their first in more than 10 years. "Build A Nation" was produced by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch. Samples are streaming from the band's MySpace, and they sound promising. The tour details are still being worked out, but I'd say it's pretty likely that there will be a New York appearance, given Yauch's involvement, and, despite the rapid pace of gentrification occurring here, we're still New York F'ing City.

—eh, www.amNY.com

You may know this song as the theme to "That 70s Show" (as recorded by Cheap Trick) but it actually was originally recorded by power pop group Big Star — which is one of those groups that you know that you know, but you can't always think of exactly why. Elliott Smith was a big fan, and their lead singer Alex Chilton was immortalized in a Replacements song of the same name (although if you're a Replacements fan, you probably already know that). Chilton and Jody Stephens, another original member of the band, recently teamed up with Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer (who are better known as The Posies, which has a story of its own that I'm not going to tell you here) and released a record in 2005 under the Big Star name, "In Space." While the album doesn't capture the band's earlier indispensable-ness, it does have it's moments.

Enjoy.

-eh, www.amNY.com