The Killers Christmas: “Dirt Sledding”

Killers Christmas

Christmas season can only mean one thing, that it is time for the Killers to release their annual Christmas song. Since 2006, the Killers have given us a new Christmas song every year, with all proceeds going to benefit AIDS charities through the Product RED campaign. This year’s song is “Dirt Sledding,” featuring Ryan Pardey and Richard Dreyfuss.

“Dirt Sledding” begins with an atmospheric sound, picking up into a 1950s Elvis Presley rock sound at around the 1:23 mark. You may detect some Big Bopper and Queen influences too.

Pardey has portrayed Santa in several of the Christmas Killers songs, and he does it again here. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is on board to lend his voice at around the 3:13 mark. Check it out.

Every year since the band’s first annual holiday song, the wonderful “A Great Big Sled,” the Killers give us a worthy Christmas song. Last year, the Killers presented us with what should become a Christmas classic, “Joel the Lump of Coal.” While this year’s contribution may not rise to the level of a classic, it is a cool-sounding song for a cool cause.

If you are interested in other Killers Christmas songs, The Guardian and NerdGlow have tried to rank the past songs.

What do you think of “Dirt Sledding”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The Story Behind “The Fairytale of New York”
  • The Killers Lament Another “Christmas in L.A.”
  • ‘Fairytale of New York’ at Shane MacGowan’s funeral
  • With Glowing Hearts: “O Holy Night” By John Denver
  • There Will Be Another Christmas
  • We sang, “Silent Night” All Day Long

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Song of the Day: Lee Ann Womack “Chances Are”

    While listening to an Oxford American CD that came with the magazine’s Texas music issue, my ear caught “Chances Are,” a song that sounded like a country classic that has been around forever, or at least since the days of Tammy Wynette. So I was surprised to learn that it is a much more recent song, Lee Ann Womack‘s 2014 cover of a song written by singer-songwriter Hayes Carll.

    Womack Chances Are “Chances Are” originally appeared on the 2011 album KMAG YOYO (& other American stories) of Texas singer-songwriter Hayes Carll. Womack apparently recognized the song as an immediate classic and included it on her 2014 album The Way I’m Livin’.

    One of the reasons the song sounds like an old country classic is that the lyrics capture a common country theme. Someone is in a bar wondering why they are so alone, looking to heal a scarred heart. Then the person sees someone, and for a moment at least, is able to hope for love and happiness.

    And it seems I spent my whole life,
    Wishin’ on the same unlucky star;
    And as I watched you ‘cross the bar room,
    I wonder what my chances are.

    We do not know what happens to the singer. The singer and the stranger begin a dance, as the singer seeks healing and love. Maybe it will work out, or maybe it won’t. But for that moment, the singer does something we all have done, wondering what our chances are.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Jesus and Elvis, Painted on Velvet
  • John Prine Releasing New Album, “For Better, For Worse”
  • I Sit Here Tonight, the Jukebox Playing Kitty Wells
  • Howlin’ Wolf on Shindig! on May 20, 1965
  • Tribute to Guy Clark CD is “Stuff That Works”
  • Buddy Miller’s Majestic Silver Strings (CD review)

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Happy Birthday Little Richard!

    Little Richard France

    On December 5, 1932, Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia with a father who was a church deacon who owned a nightclub. When Richard was a child, family members nicknamed the small skinny kid, “Lil’ Richard.” He would grow up to shake up the rock and roll world as Little Richard.

    Little Richard first break came after Sister Rosetta Tharpe heard the 14-year-old singing and invited him onstage with her at a concert. His first big hit, “Tutti Frutti,” came in 1955, and it would be followed by other classics like “Long Tall Sally,” “Lucille,” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.”

    In 1966, Little Richard performed a show in France. Fortunately, much of the show was recorded, so you may watch part of the performance below to celebrate his birthday.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • It’s Little Richard’s 1964 TV Special
  • Although the Oscars Passed Over “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” You Shouldn’t
  • Esquerita, the Man Buried in an Unmarked Grave Who Inspired Little Richard and Rock and Roll
  • Jerry Lee Lewis and Tom Jones Rock Out
  • Elvis Goes Into the Army: March 25, 1958
  • A Rushed “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” Goes to Hollywood and the Hall

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Trailer for Hank Williams Biopic “I Saw the Light”

    Hank Williams Movie

    Earlier this year, we saw a short preview of actor Tom Hiddleston as country music legend Hank Williams in the upcoming movie I Saw the Light. Now, we get a longer look at the Hank Williams biopic in a new trailer.

    Hiddleston did all of his own singing in the film, so in the two-minute trailer, we hear Hiddleston singing Williams’s 1951 song “Hey Good Lookin’.” The clip also illustrates that the movie explores Williams’s turbulent love life and problems with alcoholism. Check it out.

    I Saw the Light hits theaters in general release on March 25, 2016.

    What do you think of the trailer for the Hank Williams movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Preview of Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams
  • The Great Lost Career of Marty Brown
  • Beyoncé and Dolly Parton: “Jolene”
  • Sam Williams: “Can’t Fool Your Own Blood” (Song of the Day)
  • Hank Williams Live Show from July 1952 (Audio)
  • D.L. Menard: “The Back Door”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    The Beatles’ Impact On Album Covers

    Beatles album covers
    In the following video, Nerdwriter1 explores the effects The Beatles had on the covers of record albums. In the video, he explores how The Beatles led a trend that changed albums “from a marketing tool to a work of art.”

    He begins with a brief background on the development of record album covers generally. Then he discusses how The Beatles’ album covers helped change things. Ultimately leading us to what he calls “the Holy Grail of album covers,” which is, of course, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), which was designed by Peter Blake. Check out “How the Beatles Changed Album Covers.”

    What is your favorite album cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Sgt Pepper Documentary
  • New Beatles ‘A Day in the Life’ Video
  • The Beatles’ 1969 Rooftop Concert
  • The Beatles: “Blackpool Night Out” Live Performance
  • Arthur Alexander: “Every Day I Have to Cry”
  • The Story Behind the Album Cover: Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)