published on in blog

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Every Throwback Christmas Song in James Gun

As tradition would have it, director James Gunn released an all-new mixtape across digital streaming platforms marking the Nov. 25 premiere of “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” on Disney+.

Set to an assortment of Christmas tunes hand-selected by Gunn, the holiday special follows Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) on a quest to kidnap actor Kevin Bacon from Earth and bring him back to Peter (Chris Pratt) as a Christmas gift.

The corresponding playlist — titled “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Awesome Mix” — consists of 11 tracks, which are a mixture of needle drops and original songs used in the one-off. Gunn enlisted the help of Rhett Miller, frontman of the Old 97’s, to write the special’s comedic opening number, “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here).”

Popular on Variety

Related Stories

Illustration of Apple logo wearing Apple Vision Pro VIP+

Apple Vision Pro Foray Into Film Won’t Define the Device

US comedian Tony Hinchcliffe speaks during a campaign rally for former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on October 27, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Tony Hinchcliffe Called Puerto Rico a 'Floating Island of Garbage': His Hate Disguised as Comedy Wasn't Funny or a Joke

“When I wrote a song for the #GotGHolidaySpecial I asked my pal @rhettmiller to write with me & then said, ‘What the heck, why don’t you and the @Old97s play the band?!’ Some of the most fun days on set ever,” Gunn captioned a Nov. 23 Instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn)

Clad head-to-toe in prosthetics and futuristic outfits, the Old 97’s were transformed into the alien rock band Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen for the production, singing lyrics like “Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho! / Earthlings are so weird!” The group makes a final on-stage reprisal at the conclusion of the special to sing their 2018 song, “Here It Is Christmastime,” but with Bacon taking on the lead vocals.

But the award for most effective use of a holiday song in the 45-minute picture goes to “I Want an Alien For Christmas” by Fountains of Wayne, which fittingly plays as Drax and Mantis chase Bacon through his Hollywood home in the throes of their kidnapping pursuit.

A close second is “Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses, an upbeat horn-driven track that plays as Mantis and Drax experience going to a bar on Earth for the first time.

The Smashing Pumpkins, Low and the Wombats are among other artists hand-picked by Gunn for the original soundtrack. Hollywood Records also released a 74-track version of the mixtape, which includes cues from the score and additional needle drops from past films in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.

Below is a full list of the tracks included in the “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Awesome Mix.”

  • “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime is Here)” — Old 97’s
  • “Dead by X-Mas” — Hanoi Rocks
  • “Christmas Treat” — Julian Casablancas
  • “Mrs. Claus” — Little Jackie
  • “Just Like Christmas” — Low
  • “Christmastime” — The Smashing Pumpkins
  • “Fairytale of New York” — The Pogues, Kirsty MacColl
  • “Christmas Wrapping” — The Waitresses
  • “Is This Christmas?” — The Wombats
  • “I Want an Alien for Christmas” — Fountains of Wayne
  • “Here It Is Christmas Time” — Kevin Bacon, Old 97’s

    • Read More About:

    Jump to Comments

    More from Variety

    Most Popular

    Must Read

    Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

    By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Variety Confidential

    A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

    ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN%2BjpqpraGjlru0e82erqxnpJ2ybrPUmqmdoZGjwG67xWaroZ1dnK6trdeyZKGnnJ6xosWMrKeem5mWuW6x1Z6psmWknb%2Bww8GamqRlk52%2Fqr%2FTppisZaOku6h5xaumpmWalrqmv4ygrKemXWZ%2FdIGTbW1paWdk