''Christmas Drag'' is the second extended play from the American musical duo

I Dont Know How But They Found Me I Dont Know How But They Found Me (stylized in all caps), often shortened to IDKHow (stylized as iDKHOW), is an American indie pop solo project based in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah, fronted by singer-songwriter Dallon Weekes. It was ori ...

. It was released through

Fearless Records Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...

on November 15, 2019.

Background and recording

In 2007,

Dallon Weekes Dallon James Weekes (born May 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the frontman of the indie pop band the Brobecks, which temporarily operated as a solo project through the late 2000s. He was then a ...

wrote the song "Christmas Drag" and recorded it with his band

the Brobecks The Brobecks are an American indie pop band formed in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Led by vocalist and bassist Dallon Weekes, the band experienced numerous lineup changes throughout the 2000s and reunited in 2024. Its current members include W ...

onto an

8-track cartridge The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic-tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, ...

. It would later be re-recorded for I Dont Know How But They Found Me by Weekes in mid-2019, stating "I’ve always been a sucker for Christmas music, and this was one of the first Christmas songs I ever wrote for myself". The second song on the EP is a cover of

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

's " Merry Christmas Everybody", which Weekes discovered through the television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. While discussing the original song, Weekes stated "it's a crime that it isn’t as popular in the States. It's a fantastic song". The band intended to additionally create a cover of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

's "

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" is a Christmas song performed by English singer-songwriter David Bowie and American singer Bing Crosby. Recorded on 11 September 1977 at ATV Elstree Studios near London for Crosby's television special '' Bing ...

", but wasn't finished due to a failure to schedule a collaboration with

Puddles Pity Party Michael Geier, better known as his Pagliacci-inspired clown alter ego Puddles Pity Party, is an American singer and entertainer based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Geier now performs almost exclusively as Puddles, and he also refers to Puddles in th ...

. Specifically for the ''Christmas Drag'' EP, Weekes wrote the song "Oh Noel" with Nate Pifer. The song was recorded in one take by Weekes and

Stuart Maxfield Stuart Maxfield (born 9 April 1972) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the Swans' captain until 5 May 2005, when he stood down from the position. ...

, with the former recalling the moment: "After we did the first pass, the engineer asked us if we wanted another take. We looked at each other and said no at the same time". In an interview with

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

, Weekes described the song's meaning, stating "a lot of people seem to have or at least come across, at some point in their life, people on a more troubled path than they are. That's what Oh Noel"ended up being about".

Music videos

A music video was released for each song on ''Christmas Drag'', beginning with a video for "Merry Christmas Everybody" on November 18, 2019. In the video, Weekes sings while drummer

Ryan Seaman Ryan Eric Seaman (born September 23, 1983) is an American musician, best known as the longest tenured drummer for the band Falling in Reverse. He also formerly served as drummer and backing vocalist of the rock duo I Dont Know How But They Foun ...

lies motionless in a chair with various people setting up Christmas decorations behind them. A music video for "Oh Noel" was released on November 29, 2019, with Weekes singing the song alone in front of a fireplace with a bottle of alcohol. The final video released on December 2, 2019, with Weekes singing "Christmas Drag" while Seaman decorates him with Christmas-themed items. All three videos were directed by Weekes and filmed in a singular take each with a still

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

. Weekes used a "30-plus-year-old VHS camera" for filming and passed it off to an engineer for digital transfer.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. I Dont Know How But They Found Me *

– lead vocals, piano,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, recording producer (all tracks), bass (1) *

– drums (1, 2), vocals (2) Additional personnel *Jed Jones – recording engineer *

– guitar (1), vocals (2), piano (3) *Ted Merritt – bass (2) *Walter Hamen – cello (2) *Emily Barrett Brown – viola (2) *John Shin – violin (2) *Rebecca Moench – violin (2) *Skyler Patzer – piano (3)

References

{{Authority control 2019 EPs I Dont Know How But They Found Me albums Fearless Records EPs