Bigger Than Santa, Bah and the Humbugs (self-issued)

I promised last year more info about this entertaining holiday collective based in Philadelphia, and it turns out that 2010 is the group's 25th anniversary of creating self-penned Christmas tunes of the off-kilter and satirical variety. To celebrate, they've released a double-disc set of what they consider the greatest hits of their fine, fine, superfine career. But with a twist: these are re-recordings, with the idea that such a long-running act should, by now, have attracted a fan base among other musical acts, and so this is a Bah and the Humbugs "tribute" album in which the band impersonates 25 fictional bands doing "covers" of the Humbug oeuvre. They're serious about this humorous effort: the website features capsule bios and album covers by each of the 25 "acts" taking part in this project. I guarantee hours of semi-obsessive fun for the serious music followers as they determine who is being satirized here. I have the press release with all the answers, so no fair me giving away the game, although I doubt anybody could miss "Mr. Big Christmas" as an ELO parody or Area 25's "Here Come the Christmas Zombies" as a B-52s homage. There's even a mashup, "Currier vs. Ives (christmashup)." Lest you think this is all inside jokes for the insufferable music snobs among us, the project could stand just on straight piano and guitar readings of the songs themselves, with such titles as "Frostbite (The Flesh-Eating Snowman)," "Titanic Tannenbaum," "Jesus' Funky Christmas," "Attack of the 50-Foot Santa," and more, although the genre exercises unquestionably enhance the songs. Meanwhile, the entire history of the act, including previous releases, is available at the website, with a generous selection of downloads of their previous work on display as well, and even a few tastes of this record. The band is also in the habit of issuing Christmas Eve podcasts, which are available through iTunes as well as directly from the site. Their albums, including this one, are available direct from the group, and proceeds from this album will benefit the United Nations World Food Programme. So if you're just hearing about Bah and the Humbugs for the first time, get on over to see them -- there's a lot of catching up to do. Check out "Here Come the Christmas Zombies":