Trama

An exclusive backstage pass into a fascinating underground world of alternative Christmas music. Starring an eclectic cast of characters - The Flaming Lips, Run DMC, John Waters - plus two dozen amazing and original songs, JINGLE BELL ROCKS. is a cinematic sleigh ride into the strange and sublime universe of alternative Christmas music.—Anonymous

With an eclectic cast of characters & songs, JINGLE BELL ROCKS! Is an exclusive backstage pass into the underground universe of original, alternative Christmas music. With titles like, Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas), Santa Claus Was a Black Man or Merry Christmas Someone these funny, sad, satirical, and scathing songs explored the flip-side of the standard Yuletide themes: racial inequality, religious freedom, nuclear war, familial angst, or simply the yearning sadness of being alone at the happiest time of the year. Filmmaker Mitchell Kezin uncovers the stories behind twelve of the most amazing Christmas songs you've likely never heard. Equal parts social history, pop culture pilgrimage and revealing character study, JINGLE BELL ROCKS! confronts the Christmas music mainstream, reinventing the seasonal soundtrack for the 21st century.—Anonymous

This documentary centers on the world of collecting Christmas music, especially of the obscure, and often offbeat variety. After talking about the reason for the popularity of Christmas music in general, collectors talk about their own collecting experience including what got them hooked on the process of collecting in the first place, their joy of searching most often of the unknown, and how they, after "coming out of the closet", share their love and pay it forward by putting together annual compilations. The reason for having so much of this obscure music produced is discussed. And the stories behind a few of these recordings are presented in interviews with the recording artists and the writers of some of these lesser known titles.—Huggo