Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Alternative Advent Calendar : 18/24

Ska-P - Villancico


OK, I may have been a little too scathing about ska punk in the last entry so here's a spot of festive Iberian pogo punk to level things out. Spain's Ska-P were one of my favourite bands in the early noughties, reading from the same rulebook as many of their North American peers but adding a touch of comic theatrics and tinto-chugging Iberian craziness to the mix to concoct their own devilishly addictive formula. 'Villancico' is their festive themed offering from 1998's 'Eurosis' LP which wasn't their best effort (check out 2000's `Planeta Eskoria` or their rollicking debut 'El Vals del Obrero' for their strongest setlists) but still packed in a few pleasant surprises. This live version begins with their second vocalist Pipi galumphing onstage dressed as Jesus before the band launch into what I assume is some sort of socialist re-appraisal of the modern Xmas experience (my Spanish isn't up to much so I may be way off the mark). Their live shows were pretty insane back in the day but they took the bold step of quitting while they were ahead and hung up their boots in the mid noughties before reforming later in the decade to considerable acclaim in their native land. This is a pretty good tune to stick on if you're getting a bit sick of the icky sentimental fare generally served up at Xmas and provides a nice moment of subversive punk pop to break up the monotony of endless rehashes of 'Santa Baby' and 'All I want for Xmas if you'. Bueno! 

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