There are various theories about what Mew’s ‘She Came Home For Christmas’ is about. Some of them (listed on the video comments on YouTube) are slightly disturbing and not what I had taken from the song at all. Suffice to say it’s beautiful, sad and ultimately uplifting. It’s been released a number of times, and although was first released in the UK in 2002, its original release in their native Denmark was back in 1997.
Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ remains the biggest-selling record ever in the UK not to go to no.1, kept off by Band Aid’s original ‘Do they Know It’s Christmas?’ in 1984.
It has been covered a few times, including by Jimmy Eat World…(available on iTunes)
The Manic Street Preachers…(available on iTunes)
…and All About Eve, on their Iceland album, and Kim Wilde on her Wilde Winter Songbook album.
A few years back, Kate Bush released a Christmas album, 50 Words For Snow which was truly up there with the best of her work (read my review here). It wasn’t, however, the first time she’d released any Christmas music.
Back in 1980, when she was still putting out music pretty regularly, she had a Christmas hit single with the enchanting ‘December Will Be Magic Again.’ Which as it’s December tomorrow, I thought was appropriate.
Now, yet again this is a track that it seems is very hard to buy (note to record companies: you know how people went and bought lots of copies of the Adele album, which you couldn’t stream? Well, does it ever occur to you that maybe people might actually buy music if they could buy the stuff they would like to?), and as far as I can tell there was never a proper video either, but there is this footage from her 1979 TV special of her performing the song:
Meanwhile, this 1993 Christmas song by Ms. Bush ‘Home For Christmas’ does crop up on various Christmas compilations, and you can buy this song on iTunes (amongst other places). This is a fan-made video which is rather good. The song was the 12″ b-side to the ‘Moments Of Pleasure’ single.
So far, the Christmas songs I have posted on the blog are still available to go and buy. Today’s offerings from the Cocteau Twins seem to be long out of print, for reasons I’m not sure of, both physically and digitally (I had to write that last year, and sadly, nothing has changed. I have checked on Amazon and iTunes again – still nothing, at least in the UK.
In 1993 the band released a single called Snow which featured two Christmas classics done in their own, unique style. It comprised ‘Frosty The Snowman’ and ‘Walking In A Winter Wonderland.’
So enjoy these, hopefully one day they will be available to buy again…perhaps on a re-issue of Four Calendar Cafe, which was the most recent album the Cocteau Twins had put out, a few months previously. And if the band would like to re-issue Milk and Kisses, their final album, on vinyl, that would be nice, too…
What, another rather ‘anti-Christmas’ song, already?
Well, yes, sorta. The fact is that an email arrived in my warzone of an inbox of Wednesday evening, for a new single from Sparks. So ahead of its release on December 4, on Lil’ Beethoven records, how could I not share it with you?
As you would expect from the Sparks, wonderful high vocals, impressive synths and – and that Mael humour (but of course!). And a musical twist, but in the middle…
And as a bonus, from 1974’s Kimono My House album ‘Thank God It’s Not Christmas’
Yup, it’s that time of year again, and with a mere calendar month to go until the day itself, I give you Housewives On Prozac with ‘I Broke My Arm Christmas Shopping At The Mall.’
Housewives On Prozac are Martha Joy Rose, Kyleann Burtt, Donna Kelly, Jane Getter, and Susan Graham. Led by Joy Rose (check out her website here, she’s led a very impressive life) this track ‘I Broke My Arm Christmas Shopping At The Mall’ is one of my favourite Christmas (or should that be ‘anti-‘ Christmas?) songs. And the perfect way to start this series of posts.
The track is available to download from iTunes. Go and buy it
It’s been a busy few days. But I’m back tonight with a free Christmas EP given away a couple of years ago by my friends The Last Battle. I never tire of going on about how great a band they are (and I will continue to do so for as long as they continue to release records, I imagine).
I genuinely hold their album Lay Your Burden Down to be one of the best albums released this year, so if you haven’t heard it, get on it!
Whilst I still think they should be bigger than they are, it is, nevertheless, rather satisfying to see just how the profile of Frightened Rabbit has grown over the years since this blog started. I can’t take any credit for that, obviously, but today’s Christmas post is their Christmas single ‘It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop.’
Originally released in 2007, it got a re-recording a year later and it’s still available on download services. So if you haven’t treated yourself, go and do so!
Thus far, I’ve happily been able to point out on this blog that the songs I have posted are still available to go and buy. Unfortunately, tonight’s offerings from the Cocteau Twins seem to be long out of print, for reasons I’m not sure of, both physically and digitally.
In 1993 the band released a single called Snow which featured two Christmas classics done in their own, unique style. It comprised ‘Frosty The Snowman’ and ‘Walking In A Winter Wonderland.’
So enjoy these, hopefully one day they will be available to buy again…perhaps on a re-issue of Four Calendar Cafe, which was the most recent album the Cocteau Twins had put out, a few months previously.
As you’ve probably gathered, I do love Christmas music. And that includes Christmas carols as much as indie bands doing one-offs (not that the two are mutually exclusive).
Anyway, today’s post arrived a couple of days ago in my email, Mute labelmates Maps and Polly Scattergood collaborating on the pretty-lovely-even-on-paper ‘In The Bleak Midwinter.’
You can watch the video at the top of the page and stream and download the track just below here. Go on, take the time!