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Christmas Pets

“Glow” b/w “Hipbone”

Copies sent in randomly to Third Man, this is probably my favorite way to discover new music.

“Glow” is no drums acoustic rumination on post-apocalyptic worldview with occasional background digital soundscaping. Interesting enough in an Ohio sort of way. I was compelled by the first two lines of each verse, what I interpret as a before/after observation of a massive atomic/nuclear bomb.

Verse 1 -

I saw the time on a sundial
You’re shadow radiating white light

Verse 2 -

No sun on a sundial
Your shadow radiation white light

First off, thanks to Bandcamp for having these lyrics immediately available. But they do raise some questions…

Do they really mean “you’re” in verse 1? I could go either way, i guess.
What I hear in verse 2 actually sounds like “radiating” but I FAR more dig the idea of “radiation”, so what is it?

Post-bomb, I envision the nuclear shadow radiating white light more than I would think it radiation white light.

I understand this is quite pedantic, but isn’t that why we listen to records? To dig into them and parse the words and try to deeply understand it all?

“Hipbone” is all upbeat drum machine and door-bell chime sounding organ with two-chord chugging guitar ping-ponging back and forth with a final stanza that ably builds tension leading to a breakdown and abrupt ending. Feels from the opposite end of the spectrum as the a-side.

If I wasn’t writing about these songs, I would’ve listened to each once, filed the record away and never thought about it again. But having listened to these a handful of times now, they earwormed me a bit. I think most any song can do that if given the exposure and opportunity. And this is what scares me about having the entirety of recorded music perpetually at my fingertips. How good do Christmas Pets need to be for me to pay attention? Especially when, at any moment, I can instantly listen to Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”, which honestly, I’m tempted to do no less than three times a day?

How good does ANY artist need to be? Are our standards rising or lowering? Is music more important than ever or more background noise than anything else?

As someone who in a past life played drums and got paid royalties on sales, I LOVE the idea that streaming can and will compensate me based on how many times my song is listened to and NOT how many times it is purchased. The ability to scale up, to really “profit” is far great in that scenario. But at the same time, with that paradigm, I need to hope that Dirtbombs records can hold up to the Beatles or Nirvana or the Ramones or White Stripes because those classics are always sitting, waiting, ready to be called up on the streaming services when other shit is just not cutting the mustard.

Sometimes a level playing field doesn’t feel so level.

Post a comment below, anything really, thoughts on the song, links to pix of your favorite Christmas pets, thoughts on nuclear warfare and shadows, whatever, and the comment that I “like” the most will win their very own copy of the Christmas Pets single (with bonus rubber stamped show flyer!) because that band is smart and sent two copies here. On red vinyl. You cannot go wrong.