Musician Dw. Dunphy Contributes New Song to Christmas Collection

Red Bank, NJ, November 13, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Indie 'zine Down The Line, in association with its Basement Tapes Collective, a group of like-minded independent musicians, will be releasing the album A Down The Line Basement Tapes Collective Christmas in December through Bandcamp.com. Musician and Introverse Media artist Dw. Dunphy hopes he won't spoil the party too much.

"There's a lot of talk right now about 'wars on Christmas' and taking 'Christ out of Christmas,' and so I expect that there might be a few people who will take umbrage with 'Neon Green Xmas'," Dunphy says of his contribution. "I hope they'll take the time to actually hear the lyrics."

Dunphy suggests that when the listener does, they'll find a much more personal set of ideas. "Yes, I take a swipe at commercialism, how we'll separate ourselves from family on family holidays to get purported good deals on things we probably don't need, and throw it all on credit cards that will handicap us until the middle of the year. There is that, for sure."

But he also is quick to say that Christmas is defined by the individual as much as by society and commerce. "At my age, elements of what Christmas meant to me are gone and they're not coming back. Family members, their homes, certain landmarks, are just gone and a lot of that feeling is gone with them. My relationship to the holiday has to change because aspects of it are irretrievable."

He says that does not mean the individual has to tacitly accept the holiday's redefinition. "I think the false victimization that those preaching a 'war on Christmas' express is misguided and ignores how commercialized this has been for a very long time," Dunphy stated. "If you look at Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' there is only one instance of a Biblical allusion, when Bob Cratchit admires his crippled son Tiny Tim. He said that it was good for people to see him and to be reminded of the one 'who made the lame walk and the blind see.' The rest of the story is about how one individual, being Ebeneezer Scrooge, made life worse for others but could instead make life better. It was a call to responsibility, in a way.

"That's where one wins this 'war on Christmas,' not by browbeating those who say 'Happy Holidays' or protesting or advocating very non-Christian behaviors to somehow defend their Christianity, because that's not going to work. You don't bring the joy of the season back by drowning it in your bitter reactions. You approach it with the joy you want to feel in return. If someone wishes you a happy holiday, you accept it graciously and wish them a Merry Christmas in return without the snotty sarcasm. Don't like the barbarity of Black Friday? Don't engage in it. Take your family to the park instead."

The tracklist for A Down The Line Basement Tapes Collective Christmas features a who's-who of artists that have been profiled in Down The Line.

1. Barefoot Journeymen - Go Tell It On The Mountain
2. Theo - Baby It's Cold Inside
3. Bram Cools - Why Should She Care
4. Dann Gunn - A Light Has Come Into This World
5. Dw Dunphy - Neon Green Xmas
6. Mike Indest - When You Cried When You Were Born
7. Radiant Dregs - Secret Santa
8. Jim Wiita - Merry Christmas Darling
9. The Banos - Krumpus
10. Eddie Parrino - Around Christmas
11. Theo - Kalos Nuktos

When asked what he meant by the line "Sometimes I wish I could be selfish again" from "Neon Green Xmas," Dunphy replied, "We have a brief period of time when a holiday is all about us, but that changes. We then must become aware of our responsibility to others and cannot engage in these events the way we used to. We grow up. That's healthy and that's good. When we allow ourselves to be of service to others, that's really what the meaning of Christmas is about.

"We can still enjoy it, but it isn't for us to bully and bait corporations into seeing things our way. It is inside our homes and families, how we treat our neighbors and friends, and our individual witness and demeanor to strangers that will either ensure that Christ is a part of Christmas, or whether it is a sham we perpetuate."