X’s Exene Cervenka shares 5 favorite X-Mas albums ahead of Southern California holiday shows

It’s opening to look a batch similar X-Mas arsenic Los Angeles punk stone set X is gearing up for its yearly tally of determination vacation shows. The quartet is playing a brace of gigs astatine Teragram Ballroom successful Los Angeles Dec. 3-4, The Observatory successful Santa Ana connected Dec. 18 and wrapping up its jolly tally astatine The Belly Up successful Solana Beach connected Dec. 19.

Though the set released “Merry Xmas From X,” a two-track EP backmost successful 2009, vocalist Exene Cervenka said they’ve lone played their versions of “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” a fewer times unrecorded due to the fact that the fans are “like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get the Christmas thing; present play ‘White Girl,’” she said with a laughter during a caller telephone interrogation from her location successful Orange.

X dropped its archetypal caller medium successful 27 years, “Alphabetland,” during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The set was precocious capable to execute the songs unrecorded for audiences, including 2 hometown shows in beforehand of enthusiastic crowds astatine Pacific Amphitheatre successful Costa Mesa and The Greek Theatre successful Los Angeles.

Cervenka said she’s acceptable for these much intimate gigs and they’ve ever been her favourite mode to wrapper up the year.

“We had past twelvemonth disconnected and were location for Christmas, truthful I look astatine it like, ‘Hey, you’re backmost to enactment and that’s Christmas enough,’” she said. “Being out, seeing people, playing shows, it’s a large contented for america that we ever look guardant to, particularly erstwhile you’re ace grateful similar we are. We are truthful grateful and we’re precise happy.”

Though fans won’t perceive accepted Christmas euphony astatine the upcoming X gigs, Cervenka volition beryllium enjoying seasonal euphony this twelvemonth to get her successful the spirit. She shared her Top 5 favourite Christmas albums with america successful nary peculiar order:

“A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector” was released successful 1963 and features Darlene Love singing “White Christmas,” The Ronettes instrumentality connected “Frosty the Snowman” and The Crystals singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” (Image courtesy of Amazon)

“A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector” (1963)

“It’s accepted Christmas songs done by those large mostly miss groups, but immoderate guys arsenic well. But it’s that Phil Spector dependable and each the songs are precise emotional; they’re not conscionable fluffy. They’re soulful and affectional and it’s conscionable a large grounds immoderate clip of the twelvemonth really.”

Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was released successful 1965 and accompanied the televised Christmas peculiar of the aforesaid title. (Image courtesy of Amazon)

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Vince Guaraldi (1965)

“That’s conscionable a puerility bittersweet memory. When I was a kid, I would ticker that movie each twelvemonth due to the fact that backmost past we didn’t person videos and connected Christmas you’d ticker ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ erstwhile it came on. You conscionable had to hold for it to travel connected erstwhile a twelvemonth and it was truthful exciting. It reminds maine of Christmas and thing you’d each bash unneurotic similar with your siblings.”

Singer Brenda Lee’s 1964 “Merry Christmas with Brenda Lee” features her iconic vocals connected “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” (Image courtesy of Amazon)

“Merry Christmas with Brenda Lee” (1964) 

“Brenda Lee is 1 of the top singers of each time, and she was similar 13 years aged astatine this clip with ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’ and ‘Jingle Bell Rock.’ She is truthful large and I emotion erstwhile her songs travel on, particularly successful the car. She was truthful unique, young, composed and beauteous … I privation I was similar that. I was the implicit sloppy messiness opposite.”

Country creator Buck Owens and His Buckaroos released its 2nd vacation album, “Christmas Shopping,” successful 1968 with archetypal songs similar “Good Old Fashioned Country Christmas” and “One of Everything You Got.” (Image courtesy of Amazon)

“Christmas Shopping” by Buck Owens and His Buckaroos (1968)

“If you wanted to cognize what beingness was similar successful the ’60s for kids and what they had connected their Christmas lists, it was the elemental things. ‘Christmas Shopping’ is simply a large one, and positive it’s Buck Owens and His Buckaroos, truthful you person the champion musicians and really, helium tin sing thing due to the fact that helium was truthful great.”

“Pretty Paper” was released connected Nov. 6, 1979 and is the 24th workplace medium released by state vocalist Willie Nelson. It’s his archetypal Christmas medium and features classical songs similar “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.” (Image courtesy of Amazon)

“Pretty Paper” by Willie Nelson (1979)

“It’s benignant of the much outlaw, hippie Willie Nelson, but it’s large due to the fact that the screen of the LP has the insubstantial torn disconnected similar it’s a acquisition that you’ve started to unwrap and it has this ribbon connected it and it’s truly adorable. It’s much of a accepted grounds with songs similar ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and stuff, but it’s amusive to perceive an outlaw grizzle-kind of biker-era Willie Nelson feline singing ‘Frosty the Snowman.’”

Honorable Mention Holiday Song: “Merry Christmas, Baby” by Charles Brown (1947)

“It’s specified a beauteous and sad, grown-up song. All of the different worldly I mentioned was much kids stuff, mostly, but ‘Merry Christmas, Baby,’ that’s sittin’ by yourself with a cocktail.”

X: X-Mas Re-Zoomed

With: Soft Kill

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3-Saturday, Dec. 4

Where: Teragram Ballroom, 1234 West 7th Street, Los Angeles

Tickets: $35 astatine Ticketmaster.com

Also: 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18 astatine The Observatory, Santa Ana. Tickets are $38 astatine LiveNation.com; 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19 astatine The Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solona Beach. Tickets are $35 astatine bellyup.com.