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Wham!‘s ‘Last Christmas’ is much better when it’s slowed…way down
12.23.2013
10:54 am
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This is exactly how I like my Christmas music. Totally unrecognizable as Christmas music.
 

 
Via Nerdcore

Posted by Tara McGinley
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12.23.2013
10:54 am
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‘A Synthesizer for Christmas’: Your new claymation holiday classic, with keytar!
12.21.2013
10:57 am
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moog
 
Me, I’m all about creating “new traditions,” so can we add this cute animated ode to synthesizers to our yearly holiday viewing? My Christmas wishes were always full of DEVO and New Order!
 

Posted by Amber Frost
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12.21.2013
10:57 am
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I saw Santa being crucified: Have a gawk at the most controversial Christmas decoration in Texas
12.20.2013
08:23 am
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It must have been a quiet day at 6 News when they reported on complaints over the bloody effigy of a crucified Santa Claus, exhibited outside a house in Corpus Christi, Texas. According to a local news report, the nailed-up Santa is being described as offensive and inappropriate by some local residents.

But Aaron Olivares, who created the display, claims his crucified Santa is just “a Christmas ornament.”

“It’s December, it’s Christmas time. It is just a Christmas ornament.”

6 News were not to be so easily fobbed off by such festive excuses, and reporter Heather Jackson probed deeper, wondering if there was not something far more sacrilegious (perhaps even something Satanic?) going on with this bloody-faced, “zombie” Santa, nailed to a cross and topped with a crown of barbwire. But Olivares proved to be intransigent to questioning:

Aaron: “The crown of barbwire? A little more decoration. That is about it.”

Heather: “You never thought about the Jesus reference or..?”

Aaron: “Naw, it really, it didn’t come to me like that, I didn’t see nothing offensive on it…It’s nothing Satanic it is just decorations for Christmas.”

When asked whether it could be construed as being offensive to Christians, Olivares said no, claiming he was religious:

“I’m Christian, I mean there is a God and there is a devil.”

But some local residents do think it is offensive, like Rick Mesa:

“The cross is the big thing. The cross. Santa Claus is you know well, you can put Santa Claus on a hood, put Santa Claus on your roof, put Santa Claus in your yard, why put him on a cross?”

Though some neighbors don’t seem to mind, like Blanca Perelta, who lives directly across the street.

“It doesn’t really bother me. Everyone likes it who brings me home. My friends all joke about it.”

Either way, Aaron Olivares isn’t moved:

“Get out of my yard. If you don’t like it ... don’t drive by here.”

Aaron’s a Gadsden flag in human form. Don’t tread on him! Dude don’t care what you think.
 

 
Via Arbroath

Posted by Paul Gallagher
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12.20.2013
08:23 am
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The Dangerous Minds foolproof last minute shopping guide for hard to buy for ‘rock snobs’
12.19.2013
05:48 pm
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There’s less than a week left before Christmas. You’ve got someone on your list who is really difficult to buy for? A sophisticate?

We’ve got you covered.

Yesterday I remarked to my wife that if I stacked up all of the amazing stuff I’ve been sent in just the past two months alone from publishers, publicists, and record labels, it would far surpass my best Christmas haul… ever. Some of it I asked for, but most of it came unbidden. Every day’s post saw a crazy new treat arrive.



Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult Dayal Patterson (Feral House). I found this book as fascinating as I found a new issue of RE/Search or Mondo 2000 when I was younger. I’m putting this book at #1 on my list because, believe it or not, I think it would appeal to the largest cross section of people. Me, I didn’t give a shit about Black Metal, but when I opened the package and pulled this book out, I sat right down and read the majority of it in one sitting. If you want the satisfaction of seeing your rock snob friend, lover or relative sit down on Christmas day and bury their nose in YOUR gift, go with Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult. You’ll find a more in-depth review here.



Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: The Complete Series (Shout Factory) I received this a few weeks ago and we’re already, as of last night, 81 episodes into it. If I only got the MH, MH box set (38 DVDs, 325 episodes, plus ten episodes of Fernwood 2Night with Martin Mull and Fred Willard) this year, it would still be my best Christmas ever. It is astonishing how well this show has aged, and just how far ahead of its time the humor was, too. In a longer post about Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, I said that this long lost, fondly-recalled series was arriving just in time for the binge watching generation and owing from the way Tara and I have been ravenously devouring it, I’d have think that there’s going to be a full-on MH, MH cult revival coming soon. By the time it gets onto Netflix streaming, well, forget about it. (I also predict “Mary Hartman” will be a popular Halloween costume next year for hipsters—male and female alike—mark my words…)



White Light/White Heat 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition The Velvet Underground (UMe) The second installment of Universal’s “Super Deluxe” VU reissues, White Light/White Heat has surely never sounded better, but it’s the inclusion of the stunning 1967 live show from The Gymnasium that’s the crown jewel of this set. Read more here and listen to “I’m Not a Young Man Anymore,” one of the most amazing VU performances you’re ever going to hear.



Fanfare Jonathan Wilson (Downtown) I’m already on record as calling Fanfare the best and most important album of 2013 and I will stand by those words (and direct you to my original review here). I do want to mention here, though, that Wilson is a total analog freak in the studio and his vinyl releases are done to a very exacting standard (and weigh a lot). Vinyl head on your shopping list this year? Go for the two-record set of Fanfare.



Instant Replay Deluxe Edition The Monkees (Rhino Handmade) I played this so many times in the weeks after I got it that I thought my wife might break it if I didn’t let up. Instant Replay came out after the Monkees TV series was cancelled—and Peter Tork was gone by then, too—although many of the numbers were recorded prior. The album, as originally released in 1969, was somewhat uneven, but with the inclusion of several great extras, I’d give this an A-. It’s not the best Monkees album, no, but it certainly still deserves to stand alongside their earlier albums that everyone knows. “Someday Man,” “You and I” (a Davy penned song with backing from Neil Young on guitar) and the inclusion of nearly all of Mike Nesmith’s “Nashville Sessions” made this, for me, a must have.



Moondance Deluxe Edition Van Morrison (Warner Bros.) I posted about this the other day, so I’ll keep it brief. Classic album, one of the all time greats of the rock era, but you already knew that. Four CDs of a nicely remastered stereo Moondance, alternate mixes, discarded takes and mono versions. For me, though, the glorious 5.1 surround mix by one of the recordings’ original engineers, Elliot Scheiner, is the main event (on a Blu-ray in high quality HD DTS so you can really hear the difference, too).



Comme à la Radio Brigitte Fontaine (Superior Viaduct) This album is one of the most far out things I’ve ever heard. The (to say the least) eccentric Fontaine teams up with The Art Ensemble of Chicago, employing their unique talents to realize her bohemian Beatnik musical vision—a kind of wild, arrhythmic, Arabic free jazz—that brings to mind PiL, Serge Gainsbourg and The Master Musicians of Joujouka in various measures. If you want the satisfaction of seeing your giftee forcing this album on all their musically inclined mates, go with Comme à la radio, on CD or deluxe vinyl from Superior Viaduct.



Theres a Riot Going On: Gold Edition Sly and The Family Stone (Get On Down/EPIC) Well-known for their super creative packaging, the folks at Get On Down did not disappoint with this deluxe gold disc release of this mind-crushing classic. There’s a Riot Goin’ On is never going to sound truly “great” from an audiophile point of view—the tracks of the master tapes were recorded and re-recorded on too many time for that—this is probably the best sounding version there is. With a nice full color hardback book essay on the album and an embroidered cloth patch of the cover’s black, white and red flag, this is a sweet collector’s trophy piece.



Recollection “Le Ducks Box Set” Neil Innes (Neil Innes.org) One of the things I listened to the most in 2013 was this absolutely stellar three disc, one DVD collection of material from the Innes Book of Records TV series. I did a long interview with Neil Innes over email about this release—only available at his website—so I will direct you to that post, which has plenty of fantastic video clips. If there is a Monty Python fan on your shopping list, this one is, for sure, a knockout of a gift.


Cal Schenkel’s amazingly cheap art sale: Long associated with Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, American artist Cal Schenkel has created some of the most striking, freaky and enduringly classic images ever seen on album covers. I’m a big admirer of his work and I was floored to find out how inexpensive his prints—and even his paitings—are going for on his site. Any Zappa or Beefheart nuts in your life? They will love you long time for a piece of art from the great Cal Schenkel!



The Rock Snob’s Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowledge David Kamp and Steven Daly (Three Rivers Press) Evocative title, eh? An amusing A-Z of exactly what you think it’s about. Co-author Daly (who did a guest turn on the Dangerous Minds Radio Hour and was the original drummer for Orange Juice) is an old pal of mine. He told me when the book was published that it was 1/3 based on my record collection, so with that in mind—and since they coined the phrase—I can recommend this one unreservedly as a sweet stocking stuffer.


SONOS speakers. Like I was saying earlier, this has been a wonderfully bountiful holiday season pour moi, and (by far) the biggest reason for that is the two rooms worth of wireless audio gear that SONOS’ ace marketeer Austin Brown sent my way. I’ve got a SONOS surround system in the bedroom (it would have been very awkward to use wired speakers in that particular room, so these were quite welcome, I can assure you) and two SONOS Play:5 speakers that are flanking me on either side as I type this. The first thing I played when I hooked these babies up was “The Suit” by Public Image Ltd., a song that’s practically a part of my DNA I’ve listened to it so many times, and sure enough, I heard things I have never heard before with the Play:5s, which are just incredible. The SONOS subwoofer weighs about 40 lbs! They have SONOS listening stations at Target, so you can check them out there. I reckon they’re some of the best sounding speakers I’ve ever heard, engineered from the ground up by some very smart people. (A big thank you here for Mr. Chris Holmes.)


Speaking of speakers and smart people, Alexander Rosson is the CEO and chief scientist/inventor behind the high end Audeze headphone line. While Audeze headphones are pretty pricey—the top model, the LCD-3 sells for $1945.00—they are actually worth it. A bit like having tiny Magneplanars strapped to your head, it could be argued that for someone who aspired to own a $20,000 dollar stereo, but will never be able to afford it, that these puppies are actually a bargain. The Audeze cans are featherlight and covered in supersoft leather. If Audeze are the Bentley of headphones, then Beats would be like the Pinto.

Posted by Richard Metzger
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12.19.2013
05:48 pm
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Color photos of Nazi Christmas party attended by Adolf Hitler
12.19.2013
09:11 am
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Nazi X-Mas
 
My original plan for this post was a silly little holiday essay, something to give us a laugh, something flip.

I love flip. I excel at flip. But these pictures elicit such a deep discomfort. LIFE never published them, and there’s no date or context for the party. The mood seems, er, cheerful and the colors are seasonally bright; I’m just not sure I’ve ever seen something so apparently mundane manifest with such implied menace.

Don’t worry. I’ll write you something flip tomorrow.
 
Nazi X-Mas
 
Nazi X-Mas
 
Nazi X-mas
 
Nazi X-Mas
 
Nazi X-mas
 
Via The Wall Breakers

Posted by Amber Frost
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12.19.2013
09:11 am
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This dude has a lock on ‘Christmas song of 2013’
12.16.2013
09:57 pm
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“Is it Merry Christmas Or Happy Holiday?” asks Larry Massey, in song and in verse.

Nine days left. Who can possibly top Larry’s heartfelt war on the war on Christmas? Beyonce?

Get real.

I do think he could have done a little bit more with the video, though. If Larry is this handy on a Casiotone, just imagine what he could do with After Effects (or the Video Toaster for that matter).
 

 
Via Christian Nightmares

Posted by Richard Metzger
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12.16.2013
09:57 pm
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How The Sex Pistols saved Christmas
12.16.2013
11:26 am
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For the families of the striking fire fighters, Christmas 1977 was going to be a difficult one. With little or no money coming in, celebrations, presents, and even food were on ration. But something quite wonderful happened on that Christmas Day in Merrie England, when four of the country’s allegedly most reviled people brought happiness and festive gifts to the firefighters and their families.

This was Christmas Day 1977, when The Sex Pistols played a benefit gig for the families of striking fire fighters at the Ivanhoe’s club, Huddersfield, in the north of England.

As has often been recorded, The Pistols were the most hated and feared group in the country, portrayed by the press as the biggest threat to any nation’s children since Herod slaughtered the innocents. They had been banned from nearly every civic venue in the UK and were on an MI5 blacklist. For many a politician or council member, the very mention of The Sex Pistols could cause the veins to ominously throb on their sweaty, flabby brows.

But it wasn’t just The Pistols who these politicians and their obsequious press feared, it was the unions—in particular the fire fighters who were striking for a 30% wage increase.

For two years, the fire fighters had waited for the Labour government to negotiate a pay raise, but nothing had happened. As the cost of food, fuel and taxes skyrocketed, the pay-in-the-pocket of the average worker was worthless. Therefore, a ballot of the 30,000 strong Fire Brigades Union was held, which received 97.5% support for strike action. On the 14th November, 1977, the fire fighter’s strike began.

On Christmas Day, 1977, the Pistols quietly organized a benefit gig for the Fire Brigade Union. This was done as surreptitiously as possible, for if the council discovered the Pistols were playing (especially on the Lord’s birthday), the venue would be closed immediately. Two shows were arranged at Ivanhoe’s club: the first was a matinee for the children, at which cake, food, presents were distributed by the band, as John Lydon later said:

”Huddersfield I remember very fondly. Two concerts, a matinee with children throwing pies at me, and later on that night, striking union members. It was heaven. There was a lot of love in the house. It was great that day, everything about it. Just wonderful.”

While drummer Paul Cook recalled:

”It was like our Christmas party really. We remember everyone being really relaxed that day, everyone was getting on really well, everyone was in such a great mood because it was a benefit for the kids of firemen who were on strike at that time, who had been on strike for a long time.”

The Pistols paid for everything, and according to one young audience member “you could just have anything you wanted!” It was a Christmas Day to remember, as another young attendee Jez Scott later wrote about the gig in The Guardian:

Johnny Rotten came out in a straw hat and they had a cake with Sex Pistols written on it, the size of a car bonnet. He started cutting it up but it soon degenerated into a food fight. He was covered head to foot. It was fantastic. I took a photo of Steve Jones, who did a rock’n'roll-type pose. I took one of Sid and he asked, “Do you want to put Nancy [Spungen] in as well?”

Eventually the Pistols came onstage. I think they only played about six songs. I remember they did “Bodies,” but omitted the swear words because of the children. Steve Jones’s guitar sounded very raw and exciting. During “Holidays in the Sun,” Rotten held out the mic and people were shouting out their names, but because I was probably the only punk there I tried to shout the lyrics: “Cheap dialogue/ Cheap essential scenery.”

The gig itself was great. Sid had his leather jacket open and was hammering the bass. They were really on form and I was a bit overcome, really. I’d taken my album along but I was so excited talking to the Pistols, I forgot to get it signed. Sid was the easiest to talk to because he was like one of us, like a kid. I asked him what he was doing next and he said they were going to America. I’d like to think I said, “Don’t go, it’ll all go pear-shaped,” but I didn’t. Within a few weeks the band had split, Sid had been remanded for murdering Nancy and then he died. I wore a black tie with a Sex Pistols badge on it for a year in mourning.

The following clips are from a longer program, but contain the memories of the fire fighters and their families who attended, as well as some actuality from The Sex Pistols and a very prissy politician. The Huddersfield gigs were the final time The Sex Pistols played in Britain before going to America and splitting-up.
 

 
More of “How The Sex Pistols saved Christmas” after the jump….

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
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12.16.2013
11:26 am
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‘Reindeer in Blood’ SLAYER parody Christmas card
12.10.2013
11:43 am
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What better way to spread holiday cheer than with this “Reindeer Blood” Christmas card by UK-based artist Dominic Sohor. It’s a fun (and most evil) take on SLAYER’s 1986 “Reign In Blood” album cover.

They’re $2.80 per card at Red Bubble
 

 
Via Cherry Bombed

Posted by Tara McGinley
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12.10.2013
11:43 am
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‘Santa the Hutt’ mocks Christmas gluttony and excess
12.03.2013
09:43 am
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The BetaBrand store, located in San Francisco’s Mission district, has a vile, blobby yuletide greeting I can totally get on board with: Santa the Hutt! 

According to Chris from BetaBrand:

Our aim: To poke fun at holiday excess and explore anti-Santa sentiment. Our achievement: Over a thousand people have taken holiday photos at our Valencia Street store since rolling him out last week.

snip~

He now begrudgingly poses for holiday photos with Valencia Street shoppers if only because he’s too obese to move.

Santa the Hutt seems unlikely to be posing for Playgirl anytime soon…
 

 

 
Via Boing Boing

Posted by Tara McGinley
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12.03.2013
09:43 am
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Milo goes to the North Pole: The Descendents’ annual Christmas sweater is here
11.19.2013
08:51 pm
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The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party is fast becoming one of the most annoying rites of American whiteness, but lately, thanks to one of your favorite bands, you can give that new tradition the finger. If you have to go to one, why not go in your Descendents Christmas Sweater Sweatshirt?

GOOD NEWS DESCENDENTS FANS! You guys have been asking for it, and now we have it! We are proud to present the 2013 Holiday Sweater. The Descendents started this craze a few years ago and you guys cant get enough! As always, these are only here for a limited time so grab one while you can! Happy Holidays!

They’ve been making these for a few years now, but this year, they’re taking pre-orders so that fewer fans get shut out of these limited items. You can order yours from Kings Road.

Now rock out.
 

Posted by Ron Kretsch
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11.19.2013
08:51 pm
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Righteous Motörhead Christmas sweater
11.07.2013
01:47 pm
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Motörhead Christmas sweater
 
It’s a little early to be grooving on Christmas merch, but this was too good to resist. The online store Shredders was offering this fucking fantastic Christmas sweater with the Motörhead hell-boar on it, but it’s been yanked. (They used to have a Wu-Tang sweater too, but that one too is no longer available.)

I’m guessing a stern message from Motörhead’s legal representatives put an end to that.

So hey, Motörhead—why don’t you offer an official one? I don’t want to support copyright infringers if I can help it…. I just want my own Motörhead Christmas sweater. Is that too much to ask?

Thank you Annie Zed!

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Ace of Spades: Motörhead playing cards
Motörhead Beach Ball

Posted by Martin Schneider
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11.07.2013
01:47 pm
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Toys’ Story: Selling Christmas to Children in 1975/76
12.25.2012
08:46 pm
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What toys would the 3 Wise Men bring the infant Jesus today? Certainly not the body lotion, jewelry or cologne they gave upon that first Christmas night.

According to this short film report, from 1975, toy manufacturers would have a pretty good idea what to give, as they already know the kinds of gifts they will be foisting onto kiddies as Xmas presents years in advance.

But before we get too cynical, a newly published survey of British children has revealed that not all children are so predictable in their wishes. Top of UK children’s Christmas list was a baby brother or sister, next a reindeer, followed by a horse, and a car (ambitious little things aren’t they?). While a ‘Dad’ was number 10, and a ‘Mum’ was 23rd. It would seem for some children that good relationships with humans or animals are far more important than owning a ‘Gangnam’ Furby or a Doc McStuffin’s Time for Your Check-Up Doll, which let’s be honest can only be good for us all.
 

 
With thanks to NellyM
 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
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12.25.2012
08:46 pm
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Terry Gilliam’s darkly humorous animated Christmas cards
12.24.2012
02:34 pm
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image
 
An inspired bit of Christmas fun from Terry Gilliam. This originally aired in 1968 on the British TV show for kids, Do Not Adjust Your Set.

Gilliam was asked to prepare something for a special show to be broadcast on Christmas day, 1968, called Do Not Adjust Your Stocking. Looking for inspiration, he decided to visit the Tate Gallery. In The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons, Gilliam remembered the project and how it figured into his emerging artistic style:

“I went down to the Tate and they’ve got a huge collection of Victorian Christmas cards so I went through the collection and photocopied things and started moving them around. So the style just developed out of that rather than any planning being involved. I never analysed the stuff, I just did it the quickest, easiest way. And I could use images I really loved.”

Ho, ho, ho.

 
Via Open Culture

Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.24.2012
02:34 pm
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Merry Christmas from The Monkees, 1967
12.24.2012
02:25 pm
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The Monkees singing a beautiful a capella version of the traditional Spanish Christmas carol, “Ríu, Chíu,” from their TV Christmas special in 1967.

And no that’s not a joint that Peter Tork is holding, it’s a stick of incense.
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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12.24.2012
02:25 pm
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Engrossing Soviet science fiction holiday cards
12.20.2012
10:18 am
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Despite adopting a policy of state atheism, the secularization project of the Soviet Union could do nothing to sever the cultural connection to Christmas.

Below are some “holiday” cards from the Soviet era, but one can easily detect efforts at sneaking familiar Christmas traditions into what had become a Soviet New Year celebration. You can see the character of Ded Moroz, formerly an evil sorcerer from Slavic mythology—he was said to freeze and kidnap children without conciliations from their parents. His striking resemblance to Santa is the result of a massive rebrand by the Orthodox Church to mimic the Dutch Saint Nicholas.

Of course, after the Russian Revolution, Ded Moroz was declared “an ally of the priest,” and was subsequently (somewhat awkwardly) retrofitted over the Soviet New Year holiday. In 1935, high-ranking Soviet politician (and primary facilitator of the famine-genocide in the Ukraine), Pavel Petrovich Postyshev spoke out in defense of Christmas, arguing that its pre-Christian origins and value to children should exempt it from condemnation as bourgeois or religious. This paved the way for a more lenient view on the holiday.

In 1937, Stalin even commissioned a Ded Moroz for public appearances, commanding, however, that they wear blue, so as not to be conflated with the Western Saint Nicholas. There were even Soviet Nativity Scenes with Ded Moroz as Joseph, a Snow Maiden (Ded Moroz’ helper) as Mary, and the baby New Year as Jesus.

As you can see below, Soviets fashioned some truly surreal feats of cultural synthesis with Ded Moroz, Communist iconography, and the USSR’s omnipresent symbol of ambitious futurism: space travel.
 
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Rockets for speed, horses for nostalgia
 
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Actually, screw the vestigial horses—they’re just bourgeois sentimentality
 
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Note the icons of industrial economy in the tree—factory, bridge, dam, rocket, minecart, etc
 
More after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Amber Frost
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12.20.2012
10:18 am
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