Synopsis
The Dandy Warhols turn the traditional Christmas carol into a hazy, irreverent rock performance. The band plays in a darkened room decorated with strings of lights, while footage of a young drummer moving through town adds a loose narrative thread. Courtney Taylor-Taylor appears in deliberately comic holiday attire, including a Santa hat and underwear, matching the song's psychedelic humor. The result feels less like a sentimental Christmas clip than a scruffy mid-1990s indie-rock holiday postcard.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video comes from the band's early Portland period and is associated with the mid-1990s release of "The Little Drummer Boy." The song was first issued by Tim/Kerr Records in 1994.
- The track also appeared on Tim/Kerr's holiday compilation "It's Finally Christmas!" and was released as a Christmas single with "Dick" as a companion track.
- The Dandy Warhols later recorded a shorter "New Version" for Capitol Records in 1997. The original recording and the later version are often treated as separate releases.
- The official video upload identifies an appearance by Jefferey Wonderful.
- The band has described performing "Little Drummer Boy" at its concerts between Thanksgiving and Christmas as a long-standing holiday tradition.
- The clip is notable for presenting a familiar religious carol through the band's early psychedelic and deliberately unserious aesthetic rather than treating it as conventional seasonal pop.