So I'm stumbling around the Internets the other day and up pops aural nirvana in the form of a Christmas song I'd never heard before and I'm guessing you haven't either. The band had the unlikely name Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship--a little something to chew on right off the bat. They hail from Omaha, Nebraska--America's heartland. The song title is "Jesus And Mary Christmas" and it was recorded for a local artist charity compilation last year, "Christmas For Pine Ridge, Vol. II".
NOAH'S ARK WAS A SPACESHIP
SLUMBER PARTY RECORDS
CHRISTMAS FOR PINE RIDGE
The "Christmas For Pine Ridge" series is part of a much longer running charity program--The Lash LaRue Toy Drive--which is dedicated to bringing toys, winter coats, and Christmas cheer to the children of the Pine Ridge reservation. Lash LaRue, an area musician himself, is the man behind the drive and 2010 is the 7th annual.
Back to Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship. The group came together at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2005. They say they get their inspiration from late ’80s college radio and ’90s counterculture; and I think you can catch that in "Jesus And Mary Christmas". On their MySpace page, Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship describe their sound as "being alone in a really, really, really, really, really, large square - shaped, well - lit & white painted basement, with no doors or windows.. ...forever." And I think you can hear that in "Jesus And Mary Christmas" as well.
As I and other folks on the web struggle in reviews and the like to tell you why it is we like or dislike something, we're often trying just as hard to explain those feelings to ourselves, all the while forgetting the most obvious, honest and, yes, completely valid explanation. We like what we like simply because we do. On a very visceral level, I love "Jesus And Mary Christmas". I think it's brilliant. I just do. I love the raw feel of it, I love the soaring guitar work, I love the vocals, I love the distortion, I love the guy shouting in the back and the sly nod to Wall of Voodoo, I just love it. And, for some reason I'm not going to even attempt to explain, the song makes me feel like Christmas. Believe me, there are plenty of Christmas songs that I like as songs that don't do that.
Some twenty years from now, just as Rhino compiled the "Rockin' Christmas" albums of the mid-80s, some musicologist is going to be compiling the great Rock Christmas records of the two-thousand-oughts. "Jesus And Mary Christmas" should be on such an album.
We'll keep you updated on the availability of "Christmas For Pine Ridge, Vol. III". I promise. In the meantime, enjoy this little slice of heaven from Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship. And many thanks to the band for providing it to us.