Office Of Future Plans and Damon Locks cover "Holiday In Cambodia"
From the beginning, we've played pretty loose with the "holiday" part of Holiday Undercover. The songs didn't have to be carols or even necessarily Christmas-related—they could just have the word "holiday" in them, for instance. Make no mistake: Dead Kennedys immortal punk classic "Holiday In Cambodia" isn't about spreading yuletide cheer to the less fortunate; it's a searing indictment of phony liberalism and the murderous totalitarian regime of Pol Pot. Fa la la la la, la la la la!
We've often cited "Holiday In Cambodia" as a way of explaining the flexibility of Holiday Undercover to prospective bands, but none took the challenge until Office Of Future Plans. That name may not be familiar—the group just released its excellent, excellent self-titled debut on Dischord Records—but it's led by J. Robbins of Jawbox and Burning Airlines fame.
Robbins enlisted his best pal, Damon Locks of The Eternals, to sing lead, and the results are pretty spectacular. Maybe "Holiday In Cambodia" can now enter the rotation on your local light FM's Christmas music month.
- Electric Six covers "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"
- Mannequin Men cover "Nuttin' For Christmas"
- Peter Wolf Crier cover "Last Christmas"
- Dawes covers "Christmas Time Is Here"
- Little Scream covers "Jesus" by The Velvet Underground
- David Bazan covers "Just Like Christmas" by Low
- Little Red covers "Christmas Lights"
- Office Of Future Plans and Damon Locks cover "Holiday In Cambodia"
- The Mountain Goats cover "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (with special guest)
- Wye Oak covers "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day" by Brenda Lee
- The Mountain Goats cover "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"