The second day of Hot Roxmas

Way up north where the air gets cold there's a tale about Christmas that you've all been told.. and told, and told again. The Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick" is one of those songs that gets played nonstop during the holiday season: in the grocery store, at the mall, you name it.

"LSN" is kind of innocuous and somewhat likeable in that early Beach Boys way, and not as annoying as the Chipmunks song or "Grandma Got Run Over", but it's still one of those Christmas songs that tends to grate after a month of heavy rotation. Even the most battle-hardened Beach Boys fanatic might be tempted to take a hostage after weeks of that "run run reindeer" refrain. Aaah, "it don't miss no one"!

The original "Little Saint Nick" has been so pervasive and ubiquitous this time of year that it's lost its novelty (a Christmas song, by the Beach Boys, in their own style.. we get it!). This is why I've become so fond of the alternate version from the Beach Boys 1998 Ultimate Christmas album, which has the words to "Little Saint Nick" sung to the backing track of another Beach Boys song ("Drive-In") in what could have been one of the first "mash-ups". It's a novelty that will remain novel for a long time, from the same minds that created "Our Favorite Recording Sessions", "Bull Session with Big Daddy", and the Beach Boys Party album. It's surprising how well "Little Saint Nick" fits the melody of "Drive In". Almost like it was meant to be there.



The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick (alternate version)
(from divshare - don't try to right click)