Damage Report 2011 XMASsacre

2011 disclaimer: Since facebook seems to have improved at maintaining its "pages" and "events" over long periods of dormant time--that is, all the stuff I did laast year is still there, as it was, including the specific event page of X-MASsacre VIII)--this year, all the pre-X-MASsacre activity went on at facebook. A facebook account is *not* required to see all the information associated with the page or event, but one does need a facebook account to "like" WXYC X-MASsacre (please, do!), write on the wall, *post* pics, make comments, or to "officially" join/attend the event (i.e., admit to all facebook you intend to listen to some of the show!). Hopefully anyone who had been relying exclusively upon this page for X-MASsacre updates saw the facebook feed in the right column and didn't miss a thing! I have the sense that blogger is still overall more reliable in terms of lifetime, so this blog will remain here, and will be updated, even if it is currently acting as rather a sort of back-up.

Now on to the damage report!

I admit the spirit of X-MASsacre was slow to infect me this year, even though I knew well-in-advance it had been successfully instilled in vivo. The symptoms took hold roughly 48 hours prior to transmission, thanks to a nudge from the Germ Warfare Repository, conveniently located right next-door to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault...


This year, perhaps surprisingly for the first time, we had a repeat winner for All-Time Favorite Holiday Tune. The Pogues' "A Fairy Tale Of New York," a perennial nominee since the very first X-MASsace, as well as the 2007 winner, was first into the race, but shortly afterwards was languishing in a tie with multiple other single entries for about two hours, then during the last 45 minutes of voting, a ballot hailing from New York City, itself, helped push it past "Christmas Time in Hell" (Satan, The Dark Prince), both of which surpassed Jethro Tull's "Christmas Song," and the rest of the tunes which had been nominated, but received no additional votes.

All of this year's nominees for All-Time Favorite Holiday Tune:

A Fairy Tale Of New York* - The Pogues *(2007 winner)
Christmas Time In Hell - Satan, The Dark Prince
Christmas Song - Jethro Tull
Happy Ghoul Tide - Ray Oddis (!)
Christmas Wish - NRBQ
The Christians And The Pagans - Dar Williams
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John & Yoko
Father Christmas - The Kinks *(2009 winner)
Little Drummer Boy* - Bing Crosby & David Bowie *(2002 winner)
Last Christmas - WHAM!
I Am Santa Claus* - Bob Rivers *(2010 winner)

(!) Since this was the first time I'd ever heard of "Happy Ghoul Tide," and it was not on any of our station's discs and I did not have it on any of my discs, it did not get played, yet it is still a valid nomination. Nominees need not be in our collective libraries. You know, for anybody wondering about that. That said, if this request had been sent via email or to the facebook page in advance, it probably could have been actively included. Please drop off requests, *any*time, year-round, through email or the facebook page or even in comments on this blog. When and if we begin preparations for X-MASsacre-X, requests will much more likely be included in the setlist if we learn of them before the show actually starts. This applies for all requests, but goes x10^6 for anything truly unusual, rare, or out-of-print. Since there are so many different ways to submit advance requests, I must assume last minute requests and entries for truly rare cuts are from first-time listeners. If you are a repeat listener, and you truly want people to hear your brilliant, original, rare request, you will contact us in advance! Thanks! In conclusion, if we can find this Ray Oddis tune, we *will* play it, when and if we do an X-MASsacre-X.

(There are a few requests that I hurriedly scribbled on the All-Time Favorite tally sheet, which I'm pretty sure they were simply requests, especially by the way I wrote them down, *but* if you were the person who called it in, and it was supposed to be a nominee, let me know... I'll amend the above list.)

So once again, now for the ninth time, we've had a successful sleigh of air-waves, thanks most especially to all the people who called in with requests, votes, and enthusiasm, as well as all the happy people who played with us on facebook. Join us there, and invite all fellow fans of the celebrations of December. The page and event is only active a couple weeks each year, so no one has to worry about us clogging the newsfeeds on a regular basis.

Finally, here is the text-based flowsheet of this year's damage:
2011 XMASSACRE IX
...and click da pic--pull the pin, if you will!--to get blasted over to the associated facebook event page....



Hope everyone had a very, very, very, very, very, very, very happy/grim, warm/frostbitten Solchrismachannakwanyaksmasuhzaastice!


From the same guy that brought us the superlative Slayer holiday light show of 2009, here's my pick his !3 offerings! this year:

 

Damage Report 2010 XMASsacre

This X-MASsacre was indisputably one of the best, ever. The first hour was so quiet it was almost scary, but the request for Steve Mauldin's "O Holy Night" instantaneously whipped listeners into a festive frenzy, honing their antlers to wicked points in order to extract the jolliest holiday DOOM! ever heard in reindeer games north *or* south of Finland.

Voting for All-Time Favorite Holiday Tune was even more fantastically popular this year than as noted in 2008 for X-MASsacre VI. Voting was even more wildly *diverse*: As in 2008, many, many single votes were cast; at 8:30 the leaders were once again in a three-way tie. In 2008, Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy" won by two votes that came in during the mandatory 10-minute sudden-death overtime. This year, Bob Rivers' "I Am Santa Claus" made its sudden appearance just shortly before 8:30, entering the race and almost immediately tieing the front-runners, just in time to make the final cut. The announcement of sudden-death brought a flurry of calls and IMs that easily pushed "I Am Santa Claus" furlongs ahead, heavy boots of lead and all.

Here is the text-based flowsheet of the show:

2010 XMASSACRE VIII

Hope everyone had a very, very, very, very, very, very, very happy/grim, warm/frostbitten Solchrismachannakwanyaksmasuhzaastice!

 

...another Besser Spät Als Nie™ Production...

But even for me, this is slightly outrageous.

I guess I just assumed whoever was curious about our efforts towards breaking the 7th seal would get the info from my regular, year-round blog at wordpress: X-MASsacre VII - Tale of the Tape.

If you're just interested in the text of the setlist, hit this one:

2009 XMASSACRE VII

...and... if anyone is interested, I do have all the mp3's of the entire 8 hour massacre. Not super, super hi-fi quality, but sweet enough to thoroughly enjoy at >192kbps, 44kHz, average about 46 MB each, as they're all in half-hour blocks. If ya see a half hour or so you wanna have from the setlist link above, drop me an email, I'll see what we can do to hook you up! :)

Anyways, I've returned, in actuality, to prep up for this year's X-MASsacre, so I'm just gonna zip on out of *this* way over-due post and set in on the main course...

Trumpets and bowls will be provided!

XMASsacre VII
approaches!

...as always on the last day of exams at UNC...
Friday, December 18, 2009

...at the same time as last year...
3:30 - 11:30PM

...at UNC's student-run radio station...
WXYC Chapel Hill
89.3FM
www.wxyc.org

Be there!

Preliminary Damage Report 2008 XMASsacre

2008's XMASsacre had a stalwart onset, with WXYC's electronic flowsheet fully functional, performing without so much as a hiccup or twitch from beginning to end, save those arising from inevitable operator error. (Spectators and participants of last year's massacre may recall the flowsheet failed during the first hour of desecration, and was not recovered until well after the damage had been committed, foiling all who had wanted to follow the blow-by-blow hits as they happened.) Hail the electronic flowsheet that flows!

Despite lessons learned from last year's holiday havoc, it appears Richard made a last minute decision to extend the massacre an additional half hour, for better or for worse... updates on that, as incoming observations are collected.

Voting for All-Time Favorite Holiday Tune was especially popular this year. As this preliminary report is published, voting was apparently more wildly diverse in 2008 than shown in any extant records of all previous XMASsacres. Many, many single votes were cast; at 8:30 the leaders were in a three-way tie with 2 votes each. Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy" won by two votes (a total of 4 votes cast) that came in during the mandatory 10-minute sudden-death overtime.

There were--what has turned out to be--a few missing albums from our library that had been there for massacres previous. Having all but given up on the return of the Carnival of Shame's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" from their Happy Alcoholidays 7", which has been missing since at least 2005, Richard is shocked and still in denial that Bing Crosby's "Merry Christmas" album has vanished, as has a particular Muppets album. The search is on-going for these two lost (misplaced?) vinyl LPs. Final results pending.

A more poignant exposition of XMASsacre VI will be posted in the coming days. Until then, however, we have the most incriminating evidence recorded in the setlist, linked below, from which you may draw your own conclusions:

2008 XMASSACRE VI

If I don't see or talk to ya before, hope everyone has a very, very, very, very, very, very, very happy/grim, warm/frostbitten Solchrismachannakwanyaksmasuhzaastice!

If man is five, then the devil is six...

...that is to say:  

XMASsacre VI
   is on!   

...as always on the last day of exams at UNC...
Friday, December 12, 2008

...at the same time as last year...
3:30 - 11:30PM

...at UNC's student-run radio station...
WXYC Chapel Hill
89.3FM
www.wxyc.org

Be there!

 

 

 

Final Assessment: 2007 XMASsacre

'Twas a consummate 8-hour sleighing December 14, 2007!














However...



Despite this (self-congratulatory) verdict of success,

and in spite of 2008's grim and frostbitten economic climate,

the capitalists--who created the need for the X-massacre in the first place by promulgating the tenet that love and friendship are best determined via a function of "amount of merchandise purchased to be presented as gifts on December 25" and objectifying our winter celebrations to a mean, base exercise in gross commercialism for their corporate ambition--the capitalists *still* seem to be breeding like the vermin they are.

(...or should I say *Stihl*?...)

I think you all know what this means.

It's time for a bit of aggressive

Merrrrrrrrrrrrry Maintenance!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

You got it, Rudolph!

It's time to liquidate the 2008 assets.

Firmly grasp the front handle, pull out the starter grip, and let 'er rip...

A commission to enact XMASsacre VI has been prescribed, so we're breaking out all our best sonic weaponry to do it once again.

WXYC's XMASsacre VI

...because the "Sonic Devestator" is for amateurs...

Friday, December 12, 2008

3:30 - 11:30
89.3 FM
www.wxyc.org

Preliminary Damage Report 2007 XMASsacre

Results of this preliminary damage report provide conclusive evidence that 8 hours is exactly the perfect amount of time in which to instigate and execute the ideal XMASsacre! Sleighers may celebrate the carnage!


Here is the setlist revealing the intial impact of destruction:

2007 XMASSACRE V

I'm pretty sure that is the accurate setlist for XMASSACRE V (and it includes preage and postage, i.e., it's 3pm Friday - 3am Saturday) Please feel free to ask any questions about the show, the tunes, etc.

Sorry to those who wanted to use the live online setlist feature we typically have available at WXYC's website, located about midlevel on the left of our homepage... Before we finished the first hour of the massacre, the flowsheet was starting to clog up, so I had to shift to the notepad method, although the setlist's server *did* apparently stabilize by the time the massacre was complete...maybe sooner... but I was too busy trying to find tunes and get it on to know precisely when the problems ended!

Yes, I was only supposed to be here for 9 hours, 3pm - midnight. There was supposed to be a midnight-3am dj, but no one showed up. Yeah I was tired, but it also gave a chance to get caught up on the flowsheet entry, so no harm, no foul to whoever it was who was supposed to be here at midnight. Anyway, that's the reason the XMASsacre's flow sheet runs 3pm - 3am instead of 3pm - midnight.
I'm goin' home to rest up. There will be more XMASsacre updates and improvements over the next few days... Check back!

X-MASsacre 2006

The 9 hour massacre - originally, after that first one, back in 2001, I thought 8 hours would be just right. 9 hours was OK, but I was really tired afterwards, so I believe I had it right after that first one.

Eight will be great!

Last year's blog entry at myspace

X-MASsacre 2005

...a 2 year hiatus... but behold, it raises it's rifle once again to the reindeer, in spite of everything!

X-MASsacre 2002

The Xmassacre that almost wasn't.

With gaping disbelief, in 2002, Richard was accused by the station manager of promoting a religious agenda! It is true.

FWIW, I have never been a member of any faith categorized as "Christian," even when I was a small child. The station manager in 2002 (and 2003 and 2004) was a spin doctor of more than vinyl and CDs, however, and he convinced several people I had a traditional Southern U.S. Christian-centric up-bringing and ideology. Over the next two years, he successfully disinformed those not present for the first two massacres that the purpose of the Xmassacre was exclusively intended to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. I shit you not. In the process, he contended this was a Christian-themed radio show, and therefore inappropriate for WXYC.

"Who approved this last year?" he asked in 2002. "The Music Director," I answered, "In fact, everyone seemed entirely supportive." "I find that hard to believe," he told me. I told him to ask them.

A regular Scrooge (unvisited by the future spirit) regardless what faith or belief system you apply, he seemed even more angry that there were so many requests during the 2002 show. I always felt kind of sorry for him.

This particular station manager would not allow another massacre while he was in control of WXYC, which explains the 2 year sabbatical for those who wondered why there was no Xmassacre in 2003 or 2004. He did, however, time the release of a CD--in which he had financial interest--to coincide with this gift-giving holiday which he seemed to so loathe. I guess he only loathes the elements which don't put cash directly in his pockets. Seems a tad hypocritical to me, but then, my belief system tends to be incongruous with Judeo-Christian capitalism.

In spite of his personal vendetta, in 2002 we blued the barrels and honed the blades to bring the brutality at least one more time:

X-MASsacre 2001 - The On-slaughter begins!

...essentially this is a placeholder, because back then, we actually wrote out our setlists by hand on paper, and I don't have access to the sheets in question for this one, nor the one of 2002... but... I do have the original promotional blurb that was in our weekly email! It went like this:

'XYC XMASsacre Xtravaganza, Monday, Dec. 17, 3-9 p.m.
Get aurally primed for the holiday season this Monday with
the 'XYC XMASsacre Xtravaganza!  Pack for home, bake
cookies, go shopping, trim the tree, bask in the light of
the menorah--whatever your holiday pleasure--while
listening to 6 hours of  the best holiday music on the
planet.  From Gene Autry and AC/DC to Weird Al Yankovic
and Woofing Cookies, it doesn't get better than this!
(Requests are definitely welcome; e-mail title & artist
to wxyc@unc.edu* in advance of the show if you like.)
Happy Holidays to all!

*As of 2007, please email your XMASsacre requests to:

wxyc dot xmassacre at gmail dot com

---

4 December 2008

NEW! IMPROVED!
FIRST XMASSACRE BLOG ENTRY
NOW
WITH FIRST XMASSACRE SETLIST!!!