As the holidays approach, who isn't looking for a way to incorporate their love of rubber bands into the celebration?
I wasn't sure what to expect from "A Rubber Band Christmas," which seems to be a collection of holiday songs played primarily on rubber bands. There are such classics as "Rubber Bells" and "Rudolph the Rubber-Nosed Reindeer," though "Oh Rubber Tree" might be set in a different climate than where your typical evergreen thrives.
When a song calls for rhythm backup, other office supplies such as staplers and rulers get involved, such as in the surprisingly solid track "Little Rubber Boy," posted on YouTube.
The snaps and twangs aren't always pitch-perfect, but a lot of spirit comes through. Even the off notes sometimes sound catchy in a new and interesting ways.
The album seems to have been out of print for some time, but Amazon might be able to help track down a copy for that relative who always plays that one Singing Dogs single on repeat. Even if the new tracks get added to the holiday mix, they won't go on too long to become annoying, since the whole album finishes within 30 minutes.
Rubber bands are good at so many things. It's completely forgivable that they're not the best at music. But it's truly in the spirit of the season that they give us one more reason to enjoy them.
Kyle Brown is a reporter for Rubber & Plastics News who watched a lot of Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye while growing up. Follow him on Twitter at @kbrownRPN.