A Christmas Record, various artists (Ze)

A very New York bohemian compilation from 1981. Ze specialized in post-disco dance music and post-apocalyptic world views, a style known at the time as "no wave," though not all the label's artists fit this classification. Some of the cuts on here are Christmas carols you can slash your wrists by, especially Cristina's "Things Fall Apart." Also represented are August Darnell of Kid Creole and the Coconuts with "Christmas on Riverside Drive," the band Suicide with "Hey Lord" and Suicide member Alan Vega with "No More Christmas Blues," Was (Not Was) with "Christmas Time In the Motor City" (they also backed Cristina), Material with Nona Hendryx doing "It's a Holiday" and the first appearance of The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping," a holiday staple for the young and single. Terrific cover artwork belies the downtempo content. By the way, in case you're confused, I like this album. Passport reissued it on CD at some point, fattening it up with a cut by The Three Courgettes and James White and the Blacks' "Christmas With Satan," which makes the rest of the album sound like a Bing Crosby Christmas special. There's a French import from 2004, ZE Christmas Record Reloaded, with additional songs. In 2008 Ze was reactivated and this album re-released with 14 tracks, the highest number yet, although it appears all the original eight songs remain available. Hardcopies on vinyl and CD get serious collector prices, but both versions mentioned here are downloadable from Amazon.