“Christmas in Kenmore Square” is a Boston Holiday Classic

"Christmas in Kenmore Square" is one of those forgotten local holiday classics that I feel like not enough people know. Let's fix that.

This one's a slice of Boston radio history, courtesy of the late, great WBCN. Yes, I worked there. Yes, you probably listened to me while I worked there. Thanks for that, by the way. And thanks for finding me and listening to me here at ROCK 92.9. Now, my time at BCN was 2003 through the bitter end in 2009; I wasn't there during the station's heyday. But I know a bit about those times, so I can share.

WBCN was The Rock of Boston and owned the airwaves in the 1980's. A big part of that was The Big Mattress, the station's morning show, which was anchored by Charles Laquidara and featured a revolving and talented crew of broadcasters and characters. One of those characters was local musician Billy West, a kid from Rossie who would do comedy routines for Charles in the morning.

And yes, it's that Billy West. The Ren & Stimpy Show Billy West. The Howard Stern Show Billy West. The man responsible for hundreds of voices and characters you know and love. In short, one of the greatest voice actors of our time. Back in the '80s, he was doing bits on BCN. One of those bits was a Boston-centric holiday collaboration with production legend Tom Sandman.

As Billy writes on his YouTube page: "Christmas in Kenmore Square features 6 or 8 tracks of vocals by Billy & Tom in true Beach Boys style. Billy on acoustic guitar and an unknown player on some small drums with brushes. I always had ratty copies of this magnificent recorded. I was contacted by Tom about 9 years ago and he sent me a copy direct from his own master which I was thrilled to get!"

Those of us in the know have been enjoying this one for years. Now, you can, too. Happy Holidays. And Rest in Power, Mr. Butch.

I'm Adam 12. I love making lists of 12. And I love making playlists. And it's the holiday season, so I'm making a Christmas punk playlist.

Straightaway, allow me to manage some expectations. When I say "playlist," I'm talking about a list of 12 holiday punk songs with music video links (when available). I'm not talking about Spotify. I know Spotify is the popular playlist-maker of the day. But I don't use Spotify. That streaming platform is absolutely awful to artists and I won't support it. I explain the reasons why here.

What's more, my way is more interactive. Instead of just pressing play and letting Danny Ek's algorithm spit out randomness, I've hand-picked these songs and shared a little bit of the "why." It's like when we used to make mixtapes and mix CDs back in the day. You get the songs, you get a little bit of hand-made liner note action. But no artwork, sadly. I can't draw worth a sniff.

I'm a radio DJ, and have been one for over a quarter of a century. I collect music. And my holiday music collection is pretty vast and varied. I might have to flex that fact one more time before the holiday season has come and gone and maybe give you some more offbeat selections or maybe just a straight up "Christmas songs that rock" playlist. But not today. Today, I'm all about the punk.

Shoutout to my boy Tim, who back in the day when we'd exchange Christmas gifts once gave me this. There's a few cuts from that gem that I've included below, as well as some personal punk rock holiday favorites from my collection. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a safe, happy, and punky holiday season.

Yes, the original music from the actual musical is iconic. But this is my favorite version of "White Christmas," courtesy of the British punk legends.

I would be remiss if I didn't include this newer cut from our beloved Boston Irish punks. I hosted them in a holiday session back in 2012 when this first dropped and it was a delight.

"He was born in a box / in a barn on some sand / and he walked out of there / with some hay in his hand." Bad Religion's take on "The First Noel" is iconic.

This one pops up on a lot of punk rock holiday comps. Giving Chuck Berry a run for his money.

Lee Ving & Co. getting the message across in :45. Because hey, Christmas isn't jolly for everyone, you know?

Drop the "e" from Fear and you get Far. Are they technically a punk band? Not really. But Jonah and Chino Moreno from Deftones doing impersonations and goofing on the Band Aid original is pretty punk rock.

Gotta add this one to the mix or all the pop punk holiday enthusiasts will be filling my stocking with coal.

Back to Boston we go for some festive ska-punk. The band has a handful of holiday tunes, but this one's the most upbeat.

Another Boston punk staple. I actually own this on 7". Now, if only I could find it in my record stacks...

If you own "A Boston Rock Christmas" on vinyl from 1983, you own a Christmas collectors item.

Another "Christmas ain't all that great for everyone" type of tune. A punk take on the Big Man in Red.

I saved the best for last. There's a couple of versions, but I gotta go with the music video for this one.