A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats From Santa's Bag

Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (108 ratings)
ALBUM INFORMATION

Total Tracks: 12   Total Length: 40:43

eMusic Review

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Dan Epstein

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
Fed up with Yuletide records that put the “white” in “White Christmas”?
Label: Ubiquity Records

If you're fed up with Yuletide records that put the “white” in “White Christmas,” Shawn Lee's A Very Ping Pong Christmas might just cure what (wass)ails ya. Lee's previous Ping Pong outings have suffered from a paucity of memorable melodies, but here he applies his knack for funky beats and atmospheric grooves to twelve holiday classics, resulting in one of the cooler Christmas waxings in recent memory. There's a heavy '60s/'70s soul vibe goin'on, and it's easy to picture Santa pulling up to your house in a red Cadillac with matching velvet double-breasted pimp vines to the tune of Lee's clavinet-stoked “Do You Hear What I Hear” or wah-inflected “Jingle Bells.” His takes on “Deck the Halls” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” would surely have Ramsey Lewis's 'In Crowd 'doin'it to death around the ol'Tanenbaum. Hopefully we'll get a Volume 2 in next year's stocking.

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Retro-kitsche

kafkatastic

Fun. Kinda like is Gershon & Kingsley had made a Christmas album. And apparently I can't edit the title of this review after realizing my gross misspelling of the word kitsch. Oh well. Still a fun album.

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God Rest Ye, if you dare

germdiva

For those of you bored with the standard holiday fare, try "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." It's simultaneously an ominous yet charming track, a mash-up with "House of the Rising Sun" that really shouldn't work but somehow does.

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ah yeah...

KuriousOranj

swank! This is the most phun phat xmas album to drop in years. spin this at your hipster-geekster holiday fete homies.

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Smoothest Christmas Ever

Squidopotamus

Too 70s?? There's no such thing. This album gives The Birth of Our Lord that touch of ghetto cool which has been lacking all these years.

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CHiPs Meets Beck In December

JClick

Great retro-modern funk vibe with Cranberry sauce.

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Yikes!

metrogirl75

Okay, track 1 = Little Sitar Boy, track 2 = MUZAK on an elevator plunging to its demise, and track 7 = Peter Frampton after he swallowed a kazoo. Nuff said. Word.

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Have a funky new year

searles.mike

Hot holiday wax, man. This was a healthy addition to my holiday mix. Kept things light, made booties move in spite of the cheese, and was always a great talking point at parties. At least grab a FEW of the trax!

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Take small bites

pixy_led_2000

The full album was a little to 70's for me, but taken in small bites it can be fun. I chose the following tracks to sprinkle in my own compilation: Little Drummer Boy, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Carol of the Bells, and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

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Make No Mistake

EMUSIC-tstarkmi

This is a great christmas album. It's funky, it's fresh, it maintains the smoothness that one would hope for during the holiday season. Kudos to Shawn Lee. And his ping pong orchestra, whatever that is.

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Wasn't Impressed

pastelpunk

This reminded me too much of old 70's disco lounge bands- I kept expecting guys in blue polyester suits with Afros and mustaches to pop out of my computer. " CArol of the Bells" was okay, but the other tunes I could definitely leave.

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