Fred Schneider's phlegmatic sing-talk vocals are a big part of the charm that made the B-52's one of the most original bands to emerge from the new wave movement. Part arty, part disco party, the B's slowly became a mainstream success, much to their own surprise. Like all artists, Schneider has so much going on inside his head that there's not enough room in one band to contain it. He's had side projects before, but despite the folks he collaborated with, Fred Schneider the Shake Society and Just Fred were solo efforts. On Destination...Christmas!, Schneider is part of a band, albeit a stripped-down electronica trio. He's been collaborating with Noah Brodie (keyboards and electric drums) and programmer Dan Marshall for almost a decade, and when a couple of tunes they wrote -- the lounge anthem Totally Nude Island and the disco takeoff Who Threw That Ham at Me? -- became surprise digital hits, they began planning a trio of albums: one aimed at discos, one aimed at the Halloween market, and a Christmas album. Continued touring with the B-52's forced Schneider and his bandmates to cut back on their plans, so fans will have to be content with this off-the-wall collection of Christmas tunes. Needless to say, Destination...Christmas! is dark, sexy, and surrealistic, about as far from a typical Christmas album as you can get. Santa's Disco sounds a bit like the B-52's, and details a drunken Christmas Eve orgy at the North Pole, with celebrants doing interesting things with candy canes. Christmas Tears is a dark moody piece that lists off the horrors of the season from mouse droppings under the Christmas tree to relatives bearing cold zucchini casseroles. Jingle Those Bells sounds like Fred's spending the holidays at a strip club while Santa Je T'Aime is a knockoff of Serge Gainsbourg's heavy breathing classic Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus. ~ j. poet, Rovi

1		Santa's Disco
2		Fruitcake
3		Chillin' at Christmas
4		Teddy and Betty Yeti
5		Christmas Conga (Jungle Bells)
6		Jingle Those Bells
7		Under the Tree
8		Crummy Christmas Tree
9		Laughter at Christmas
10		Christmas Tears
11		Santa Je T'Aime