Free Republic

In HateSong, we ask our favorite musicians, writers, comedians, actors, and so forth to expound on the one song they hate most in the world. The hater: Kyle Kinane hates a lot of things: unsliced pizza, boasting about voting, and those Subway ads where adults talk in child voices. Thus, on the eve of Kinane’s Comedy Central special Whiskey Icarus, The A.V. Club thought it only fitting—and in keeping with the season—to ask the comedian about his least favorite Christmas song. The hated: “The Little Drummer Boy,” originally written in 1941 Kyle Kinane: Musically, there’s nothing wrong with the song....

Christmas carols are a favorite part of the holidays and 46 years ago the sentiment was the same. In 1970, country music legend Johnny Cash took part in the tradition of performing holiday songs when he performed his own rendition of the Christmas classic “Little Drummer Boy” on The Johnny Cash Show. The variety television show was hosted by the “Ring of Fire” singer and ran on air for two seasons. Country stars that were featured on air included Bill Monroe, The Carter Family, Bob Dylan and many more. All episodes were shot at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, which at...

The Little Drummer Boy is a bigger villain than the Grinch. The Grinch at least has some sort of heart-size condition and soul-gunk problem that he can blame for his lack of basic compassion. What excuse does the Little Drummer Boy have for his behavior? None. The Little Drummer Boy is just a plain old jerk. Specifically, the kind of jerk who insists on telling us about a time he showed up at a party without a gift and made everyone there miserable by playing what he thinks was a sick drum solo. But he cannot just tell us. Instead,...

The late, great radio icon Don Vogel as Howard.

Avery Molek (6 year old drummer) drumming to "Whistle" by Flo Rida

Bruce Bain doesn't attend church regularly, but nothing was going to keep him from showing up on the corner of 17th Street and Tremont Place on Friday night. "How can you have the Parade of Lights without the 'light of the world'?" he asked. "Christmas is a religious holiday." So the 56-year-old Englewood man joined hundreds of Christmas carolers from metro-area churches and sang along the Parade of Lights route. They sang on 15th Street. They sang at Court Place. And they sang at Colfax Avenue and Bannock Street. What they didn't do was raise hell. Yes, it was a...