10 Songs for Surviving Black Friday

OK, so close inspection of lyrics makes it fairly obvious that this song isn't exactly about Black Friday, but the fiercely uptempo punk ditty is perfect for dealing with the vitriol you are sure to experience while pushing your way through the rude shopping hordes. Taken from the 2004 compilation 'The Best of Babes in Toyland and Kat Bjelland,' it was recorded by singer Kat's post-Babes project, Katastrophy Wife.

Taken from Weezer's 2009 release 'Ratitude,' 'In the Mall' gets you in the Christmas spirit with snarky lines like "Holidays are on their way/ These decorations have so much to say." Unfortunately, you'll probably be too busy to actually appreciate the all festive visual delights.

There's more to the holiday spirit than just buying stuff, but Everclear's Art Alexakis has a different agenda on 'I Will Buy You A New Life.' It's not exactly a new approach -- material goods often are used to make up for shortcoming, especially around th holidays. Jesus would be so proud.

The anti-shopping anarchists of Adbusters magazine would be proud this selection, a cut by Brit six-piece the Go! Team that proposes the exact opposite of Black Friday. Why not stay at home and buy nothing instead?

Sad to say it, but Black Friday has been known to get bloody at times-- even deadly. Nothing like this jam from Scotland's finest post-punkers to cut to the chase.

If you are going out shopping on Black Friday, why not consider shopping at one of our nation's fine independent record stores. Today marks the Black Friday edition of Record Store Day -- check out our guide to the best offerings from the Record Store Black Friday event -- and even if you don't "buy Amiercan records," as Saint Etiene suggests in this tune, at least buy independent.

On Black Friday, you can easily find yourself in one of those big-box hellholes, but as we said in the previous blurb, salvation is waiting at your local indie record shop, where Record Store Day will be in full effect. The Tweeds' 1980 power-pop gem 'I Need That Record' celebrates the simple, timeless joys of buying music. Consume without guilt.

This one's kind of obvious, and no one really hits the food store on Black Friday, unless they're looking for a sale on frozen peas or something, but few songs better capture the loneliness of modern capitalist society.

If you get dragged to the mall, you might as well make the best of it. There's never been a pluckier tune about buying crap than this.

"You are not what you own," Fugazi famously sing on 'Merchandise' -- and that extends to your family and friends not being what you buy them. So just keep that in mind in the middle of all the madness. Maybe making your mom something with your own hands could be a million times more meaningful, don't you think?