Jingle Rock Bell: the Bellrockoning Returns

December 5, 2019 6:00 PM

It's the 15th anniversary of the Mefi traditional Christmas carol, PinkStainlessTail/Lentrohamsanin's holiday classic "Jingle Rock Bell" (lyrics, music video, and mefite karaoke performance). Karaoke file courtesy of eamondaly! (And for more Mefi-written Christmas tunes, load up cortex's Endless Jingling.)
posted by WCityMike to MetaFilter-Related at 6:00 PM (24 comments total)

REPRISE last night. Shame we did not record that one.

Thanks for this PinkStainlessTail/Lentrohamsanin's. It's a grand holiday tradition.
posted by crush at 6:19 PM on December 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

15 years? seriously? I feel like this was just created a few weeks ago or something. Time is slipping past me rock after bell after jingle.
posted by hippybear at 7:43 PM on December 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

Semi-serious question: does the karaoke track defeat the chance of singing your own version to the karaoke track for traditional Jingle Bell Rock? You'd miss out on the "bell jock ringle" slip-up, and it wouldn't be the classic version, and people would (somewhat correctly) say you're just making it all up, but there's also the chance for endless riffing.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:49 PM on December 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I have always assumed every word placement was carefully chosen and that riffing would ruin the quality of the overall outcome of listening to the song.
posted by hippybear at 8:58 PM on December 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

Saying that Endless Jingling was "written" feels like a bit of a stretch, don't you think?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:56 AM on December 6, 2019

15 years? seriously?

I actually believe that we are being pranked
posted by thelonius at 4:41 AM on December 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

Some of my absolute favorite, regular-rotation Christmas music comes from MeFi Music. My Holidaytime playlist includes most of them - though I haven't made another pass in a couple years and there's probably wonderful new stuff to add.
posted by Miko at 5:08 AM on December 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

I have always assumed every word placement was carefully chosen and that riffing would ruin the quality of the overall outcome of listening to the song.

I'm flattered, but nope: it was always ex rectum as the kids say. And I'm happy "ringle jock" happened but it wasn't deliberate (though it was inevitable).

The last 15 years have been pretty damn amazing for me, but this is still one of my proudest achievements. Happy Merry everyone!
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:32 AM on December 6, 2019 [18 favorites]

flilthy light thief oh my no. Riff away. I mean, the folks n the bar might notice you're jingling when the screen is rock belling, but it's doubtful. We're all too lit anyway.

Also, there's no backing vocal on the track or anything to give you away,
posted by crush at 6:32 AM on December 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

endless jingling gave me a fun-ass couple of days last year
posted by gaybobbie at 8:00 AM on December 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

My wife always warns me not to play Jingle Rock Bell as the season approaches, but every year I just have to do it. My family hates it, but that only increases my giggling.
posted by dellsolace at 8:28 AM on December 6, 2019 [6 favorites]

Man I love this dumb thing so much.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:33 AM on December 6, 2019 [10 favorites]

You know what would be fun? A mega singalong version of it. Get anybody who feels like it to record themself singing along to a common backing track, send 'em in, someone just does a slapdash mix of all that into one glorious cacophony of bells and jingles and rocks.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:34 AM on December 6, 2019 [14 favorites]

what cortex said. It's in my holiday mix, nice and fun tradition.
posted by theora55 at 8:37 AM on December 6, 2019

Thank you, Lectrohamsin, for the recording, and , now, for ex rectum. Miko, how did I miss that excellent playlist?
posted by theora55 at 8:49 AM on December 6, 2019

For the reprise Wednesday night that crush mentioned upthread, it was chosen for me as a karaoke roulette, and when I tell you that when I turned around to see what song I was about to sing, I experienced a rush of joy rarely felt by me without hard drugs, I am only slightly exaggerating.

Of all the karaoke I do, there are few notes I hit harder and with more abandon than "BELL RO-O-O-O-CK JINGLE! BELL RO-O-O-O-CK JINGLE!" and I thank you for this gift.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:55 AM on December 6, 2019 [8 favorites]

Also, no thread about Jingle Rock Bell is complete (to me) without mentioning its karaoke cameo in the Playing With Fire queer romance series, which I enjoyed the pants of off, in which the men in the main romance drunkenly crash a corporate holiday party with the tune.

Thank you Avery Cockburn for this valuable representation of my lifestyle!*


* On the internet nobody knows I'm not a hot Scottish footballer.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:45 AM on December 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

This is the only christmas song I like.
posted by The Toad at 8:37 PM on December 7, 2019 [2 favorites]

I just played this unannounced and my husband turned his head with a look of absolute confusion. It was great. He then said "what...?" and then shook his head.
posted by freethefeet at 10:22 PM on December 7, 2019 [3 favorites]

I am a high school teacher. I do not like Christmas music, and resist playing it no matter how hard students ask. But every year, the Friday before we go on break, I put Jingle Rock Bell on blast every passing period. Sometimes with the video if I am organized. Such confusion as the kids come in.
Some love it. High schoolers are pretty absurd creatures, so the song is perfect for them. And they don't ask me for holiday music after that. Wins all around.
posted by Wulfhere at 2:53 PM on December 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

OK i can relax and just try to enjoy the holidays now. Thank you!
posted by vrakatar at 10:24 PM on December 8, 2019

Ah, "tidings of comfort and / Satan's power". Truly, an endless jingling lyric for the ages. Every year I want to sneak jingle rock bell in the mix at the in-laws' house, maybe this will be the year.
posted by mrgoat at 4:54 PM on December 9, 2019

Is this available on streaming anywhere? Is there a way to make that happen? Spotify, Google, Amazon? I'd love to put together a playlist and toss this in. Or just play it on our home speakers when I'm out of the house so I can tell my wife that it's the Ghost of Christmas Past's favorite song.
posted by Tehhund at 5:22 PM on December 11, 2019

Is this available on streaming anywhere? Is there a way to make that happen? Spotify, Google, Amazon?

Too late for this year, but if someone knows a way to do this, I’m quite happy for whatever pennies it generates to go to Mefi.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 2:50 PM on December 24, 2019 [1 favorite]