White vinyl and Christmas

When I was in fourth grade, my brother and I stopped going to Fletcher School and started getting bused to Taft. There, we became friends with Brian Brown. Where he is now, we'll never know because his name is so common but he changed our lives in two ways. First, his family had a cabin in Big Bear at the base of Snow Summit and got us hooked on skiing. (In 1990 we transitioned into snowboarding with him, as well.) Second, he was neighbors with Billy Club, who was in The Dickies. When Brian played the band's 10-inch major-label debut for us, it was the first punk record we ever heard--on white vinyl, no less.

Okay, the following tune isn't actually on that EP but I wanted to say something more than Merry Kwaanzakah and that The Dickies' version of the popular Christmas carol kicks ass. (And Happy New Year to Brian, wherever you are.)



The actual 7" single: "Silent Night" b/w "Sounds of Silence" (A&M, 1978)