Santa's Swingin' Sack, various artists (KROQ)

Sometimes you think you're gonna hurl the next time you run across another "top tunes from your favorite local radio station" disc that turns out to be crammed full of the same stuff every other such disc holds. Not so this sweet little 1998 compilation from KROQ-FM, Los Angeles' home of alternative rock, featuring morning guys Kevin and Bean. They have the good sense to limit their actual appearances on the disc, leaving more room for a great array of novelty and alternative Christmas/Hanukkah performances from Barenaked Ladies, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Save Ferris, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Brian Setzer, Everlast and so on. Jerry Springer makes an appearance with "Jerry Christmas," in which Santa and Mrs. Claus do the Springer show, with predictable results. Ralph Sinatra does an imitation of his namesake on "Christmas When You're Dead" and Cherry Poppin' Daddies introduce us to "Butch the Gay Santa Claus." And Save Ferris cover the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" with a Hanukkah twist, although the net result fails to improve on the original. Don't forget to check out 1000 Clowns' "I Hate Fruitcake." Ben Stiller, Tyra Banks and Ben Stein make cameo appearances too. As a non-Californian, I had to buy this off eBay, and my wallet still smarts. The reputation the Kevin & Bean series of Xmas discs has always had, however, carries on through the modern day, as new and used copies still show up from 3rd-party sellers on Amazon.