SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 4: Don't Shoot Me Santa
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ed note: This article was originally published on December 3rd, 2015
The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.
Day 4: Don't Shoot Me Santa by The Killers
I used to live in an urban neighborhood just north of Downtown Cincinnati. Urban living introduces you to wide variety of personalities not always found in the suburbs. I was part of the yuppie community trying to "rebuild" the city. We had some extremely rich people living a few blocks away in their estates overlooking the Ohio river. A few blocks the other way we had a lot of low income people living in government assisted housing. Every single stoplight in our area was populated by panhandlers. Many of these beggars were drug addicts and con artists. Some times we would see college age kids end their "shift" by getting in a car and a new person would take up the empty corner. The started to internally identifying the regular panhandlers with descriptive names. There was one down on his luck guy who always wore a filthy shirt and nice jeans. He was named Clean Jeans. Professor Shakey was a talkative man who never outright asked for money, oh and he was very jittery. One particular panhandler had a bushy white beard and a jolly old face, this man was to be named Hobo Claus.
Since 2006 Las Vegas based band The Killers have been releasing a new original holiday song with part of the proceeds benefitting Product RED . Of the ten offerings, "Don't Shoot Me Santa" is far and away the most surreal. The song is a two character play backed by the rock stylings of The Killers. Singer Brandon Flowers is a naughty boy who has been killing people who tease him, and Santa is coming to deliver justice. Not many holiday songs discuss how Santa deals with the naughty kids. Popular culture has attributed the lump of coal as the go to gift for the naughty. The Killers decided to go a little bit farther. Flowers spends the majority of the song pleading, and Santa is not having any of it. At one point Santa points out that he was a troubled kid, unfortunately that will not be enough to save Flowers. As one last gift Santa does allow Flowers to indulge in the great memory of being young and tasting some sweet Mojave rain.
Outside of the strangeness in the dialogue of the two character play that is "Don't Shoot Me Santa", the song has the great music one expects from The Killers. The band has established itself as one of the greatest pure rock bands of the current generation (Greatest American Band Debate feature?). "Don't Shoot me Santa" has The Killers signature sound, but there is a nice mix of Mariachi like desert music mixed in. Every time I hear "Don't Shoot Me Santa" I image it as a signature tune for Walter White on "Breaking Bad".
Hobo Claus is the placeholder for Kris Kringle whenever I hear "Don't Shoot Me Santa". The naughty kids should not be visited by a jolly old Saint Nick, their Father Christmas should be dirty, smelly, and generally uncomfortable to be around. The video for "Don't Shoot Me Santa" seems to agree with me on the unkempt image. This holiday season pray for a jolly, nice smelling Santa. If you have been naughty, watch out, because Santa may be coming for you.
Ed Note: These Holiday music article are meant to be fun. Having said that, this is the most important time of the year to help the homeless in your city. Your time and money is needed to assist your local homeless charities. Contact the United Way to find a charity in your city.
RD Kulik
RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. He is trying to be really good this year. He hopes Santa can see the goodness through the small bits of naughtiness. Come bask in our goodness by liking us on Facebook.