“I like fucked up holiday songs”

Phoebe Bridgers has spoken about her annual Christmas covers, telling NME she’s always been a fan of “fucked up holiday songs.”

Earlier this month, Bridgers released her take on The Handsome Family’s ‘So Much Wine’ with proceeds from the single going to the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which is one of the few federally qualified health centres with providers who specialise in substance abuse treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and those living with HIV.

It’s her sixth annual cover, having previously reworked Merle Haggard’s ‘If We Make It Through December’ and Tom Waits’ ‘Day After Tomorrow’.

In 2019, Bridgers shared a version of the Simon & Garfunkel track ‘7 O’Clock News/ Silent Night’ with Fiona Apple and The National‘s Matt Berninger, while in 2018 she collaborated with Jackson Browne on a cover of McCarthy Trenching’s ‘Christmas Song’. Before that, she shared her take on ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’.

Speaking to NME after her first performance as Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas Concert, Bridgers explained: “I like fucked up holiday songs. I always have. I remember being so inspired when I went to Nashville and saw where Elvis had done his Christmas album and, because he’s a crazy person, he had to make it feel like Christmas in July.

“It’s also a cool thing to do for charity every year, and it’s fun. I like tradition,” she added.

Danny Elfman, who reprised his role of Jack Skellington for the concerts, then added, “Oh god, Fucked Up Holiday Songs. I just found the title of my next composition!”

Elsewhere in the interview backstage at Wembley Arena, Bridgers spoke about how iconic The Nightmare Before Christmas was and talked about ‘Ghost In The Machine’, her recent collaboration with SZA.

Earlier this week, Bridgers appeared onstage with Billie Eilish to perform her breakout track ‘Motion Sickness’.