The Leisure Society - The Last Of The Melting Snow
Too much partying leads to forgetfulness… looks like I failed to post yesterday. Not to worry, this song is beautiful enough to cover two days.
Belle & Sebastian - The Fox In The Snow
I make it twee o’clock. Time, then, for Pete Waterman’s favourite band: the 1999 Brit Awards gate-crashing Belle & Sebastian.
Sufjan Stevens - That Was The Worst Christmas Ever
I hope, like me, you had a wonderful Christmas. This one is for anyone who wasn’t so fortunate.
Saint Etienne - I Was Born On Christmas Day
Seems appropriate to pluck this out of the vault today. Merry Christmas!
Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
And on the reverse? Perhaps something from Birkenhead’s Half Man Half Biscuit - a national treasure some would say, who? everyone else would ask - riffing on the oft overlooked frustrations of a childhood wasted...
Wham! - Last Christmas
Two sides of an 80s coin: this, perhaps represents the obverse side - the 1980s of which The Futureheads speak so fondly. The snow certainly is deep; as deep as the hair is beautiful. With...
The Futureheads - Christmas Was Better In The 80s
Was the snow really deeper in the 80s? I'm not so sure.
Perry Como - It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas
The tree is up, lit up, baubled and straight. More or less, anyway. So take it away Perry, and watch out for interrupting carollers.
Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Here’s the late, great Andy Williams in a TV spot that looks like it’s being colourised in real-time by an excitable child.
Aimee Mann - Calling On Mary
It’s a mark of Aimee Mann’s songwriting craft that a song can include the words “Merry Christmas” this many times, and at the same time be so very unmerry. Enjoy! (and then go and buy...
Sufjan Stevens - Christmas In The Room
The only downside to Sufjan Stevens’ prodigiously epic Christmas output is that you sometimes have to pan through incidental instrumentals and throwaway studio jams to find the stunning highlights.
Laura Marling - Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)
Not quite perfectly accurate: England’s brilliant white covering has faded to grey this past week, with skies the colour of the roads. The early morning countryside frost was a surprising and beautiful sight nonetheless.
Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler - Home For The Holidays
And back to the schmaltzier side of the festive season, with a reunion fantasy from regular collaborators Tim Wheeler and Emmy The Great.
Sufjan Stevens - I'll Be Home For Christmas
In which a WWII soldier, writing to his family back home, tells them he’ll be home for Christmas, adding poignantly: “if only in my dreams”.
Ron Sexsmith - Maybe This Christmas
I bet you can’t guess which 2012 Christmas album a cover of this song appears on. Anyone? Anyone?
The White Stripes - In The Cold, Cold Night
Oh, look! Another song covered by Tracy Thorn on Tinsel & Lights, and another song I didn’t even realise was a cover. Shows how much attention I’ve been paying to White Stripes album tracks lately…...