Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Music: The year the second-greatest Christmas song beat the greatest to number one

Farmer Green

Thu, 31 Dec 2015 07:59:11 +1300

Sheesh that would have been good to read before we did this.
Mind you , as Ian wrote , old timers oughta know this stuff.
Live in the Cabana, a couple of years ago :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShlMcLUus

Russell Brown

Wed, 30 Dec 2015 17:51:48 +1300

Heads-up:

http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/music-lemmy/

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 30 Dec 2015 14:27:33 +1300

Tex Tips…
Was at the Cabana website today and noticed the excellent guide for musicians performing there compiled by the late Ian Morris seems to have disappeared;
Found it on the Wayback machine – it is still applicable to most live performing situations and should maybe be added to Audioculture’s…

Ian Dalziel

Tue, 29 Dec 2015 16:04:06 +1300

RIP – Lemmy
I think I might go and eat the rich in his memory…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h45WnW0ASFY

Meanwhile here’s a Silver Machine to be going on with...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yao_T2adl14

and

RIP – Stevie Wright
Easybeats’ singer dies…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VU8rvdsswA

Ross Francis

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 09:15:22 +1300

There is of course this version of 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' with Mariah Carey and, um, Jimmy Fallon. It doesn't sound like a girl band at all!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWEfszb9h8Q

chris

Fri, 25 Dec 2015 23:55:55 +1300

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvVr2uks0C8

Mike O'Connell

Fri, 25 Dec 2015 13:20:27 +1300

A sinful Christmas wish... that Aaron Tokona does something magical funk heaven mashup with the Nielson brothers in 2016! Enjoy your day wherever you are... i'm heading outside and Into the Sunshine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6MrcCdz_rI

JacksonP

Fri, 25 Dec 2015 08:23:34 +1300

Merry Whatsits, all you saints and sinners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pds_K2j3RKM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vm9_mXmtKo

Mike O'Connell

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 21:21:30 +1300

It's been a another tough year under a layer of Teflon... where would we be without the Fall at Christmas time?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fHVvu8yzZA
Yes, that is William S Burroughs. And this is pretty cool from Tom Waits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_PfwVNmckc

Russell Brown

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 21:05:19 +1300

From Billboard: Nadia Reid, Otherworldly Voice of New Zealand, Is Saving Folk Music.

Wow.

Russell Brown

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 19:55:40 +1300

Apologies if anyone posted this one already. Gotta be one for we soul freaks .
Only Xmas song with a bit of 7/4 timing , and the BEST voice:-

Chip Matthews just played this on Base FM (maybe, possibly because he saw it here). Farmer Green, you're trending in Ponsonby!

Danielle

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 14:48:06 +1300

PS That Mariah song has always reminded me of some sort of Darlene-Love-Phil-Spector-type thing and I’ve had a soft spot for it for some time as a result. I’d like to hear it done in a different style. (In my mind it’s lumped in with Beyonce’s “Love on Top” as…

Danielle

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 14:44:50 +1300

Unlike the rest of you grinchy bastards, I really like (good) holiday music and my current Christmassy Spotify playlist is at about 500 songs, none of which will make you want to stab anyone and are all on the gently groovy, kitschy, soulful or twangy tip. I promise. Here is…

Howard Edwards

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 11:39:09 +1300

Thanks for posting that, I have been an ELP fan for almost 50 years but didn't know about this particular song. Interesting to read about its release on Wikipedia:

"The song was recorded by Lake in 1974 and released separately from ELP in 1975, reaching number two in the UK…

Craig Ranapia

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 11:18:21 +1300

Phil Spector may be a full-service douche canoe, but come on... Darlene Love is the Queen of Christmas. Let's not argue about it. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EvZOXEoJ84

Gareth

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 10:09:59 +1300

The Pogues: definitely in my Christmas top ten – as is this one...

https://youtu.be/2HkJHApgKqw

Farmer Green

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 07:54:45 +1300

Apologies if anyone posted this one already. Gotta be one for we soul freaks .
Only Xmas song with a bit of 7/4 timing , and the BEST voice:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDhUTHb-0r4

Biobbs

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 07:18:15 +1300

In a Xmas miracle, McGowan gets new teeth

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/20/shane-macgowan-a-wreck-reborn-new-teeth-tv-special

– as long as he can still sing this with his new chompers, we're all happy for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8

Rosemary McDonald

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 01:41:31 +1300

If we must do Christmas (Bah Humbug), the only song that springs to my mind is this one...

https://youtu.be/F_cmnxep67k

there is a story here...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huron_Carol which leads to this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huron_Carole

which is kinda what its all about.

Rich Lock

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 01:09:41 +1300

Personal favourite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVu4c7dhDRE

Rich Lock

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 01:06:28 +1300

Seeing as how we've got a new (and very good) Star Wars film out, we should probably give the Star Wars Christmas album a whirl:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzo4QDfJhvA&list=PL48kxp7t6vm9yFz9Dd0oVzCaiKflKvAgz

Or there's always the Megadeth Christmas album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OanWwoKjU2w

Rich Lock

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 00:53:56 +1300

Snoopy vs Obama

Snoopy as as icon of the Tea Party? Good Grief....

Joe Wylie

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 21:48:31 +1300

Joseph Spence and Santa Claus is comin' to Town.

Thanks for the reminder, you can never have too much Joseph Spence. He's like a cross between Popeye the Sailor and Thelonious Monk.
https://youtu.be/OUrWE5SWNss

Robyn Gallagher

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 21:35:13 +1300

For the near decade I lived in the UK, it never seemed like Christmas until I heard Snoopy’s Christmas, which no-one had heard of.

It’s actually most popular in New Zealand, one of those weird cultural moments!

Curiously enough, I never heard it until 1997, and that was via slightly…

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 20:08:52 +1300

it never seemed like Christmas until I heard Snoopy’s Christmas,
Ditto...
:- )

Trevor Nicholls

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:11:25 +1300

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPm6CheT6rs

Angela Win

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:06:01 +1300

For the near decade I lived in the UK, it never seemed like Christmas until I heard Snoopy's Christmas, which no-one had heard of. Every year I'd try to introduce it around the office, but they just didn't get it! Maybe shows how much more influence American bands had over…

chris

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:02:38 +1300

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR07r0ZMFb8

kw

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 18:44:44 +1300

I was too young for Slade and Wizard at the time, but both of those songs are great fun. It's a toss up between the two, isn't it?

A couple of months back, there was a charming piece in the Guardian about Noddy Holder – "people think I live in…

simon g

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 18:01:07 +1300

One advantage of a southern hemisphere Christmas is that the mall muzak tends to start later – compared with the UK, anyway (there are other countries, it says here). So by today I'm only irritated by these songs, not borderline homicidal as I was back there and then. (The disadvantages…

Kumara Republic

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 17:49:28 +1300

Right now I'm being amused by Bob Rivers and Spike O'Neill, who pulls off the perfect Bon Scott impersonation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kabePykp08Q

TracyMac

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 15:28:57 +1300

Mariah Carey and caterwauling – such an appropriate juxtaposition. She's alright when she's not doing the really annoying vocal acrobatics, but I don't think she's managed an entire song without them.

I vote for Boney M as well. Disco and Christmas go campily-well together.

As for a "vinyl-only mix" promoted…

Gareth

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:30:09 +1300

And because we should never forget the man:

https://youtu.be/npvUJPp8IpU

Gareth

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:27:54 +1300

Clarence Carter:

https://youtu.be/s0NoalRsk5w

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:26:27 +1300

I feel like the second paragraph of this post is basically a mansplaining of “All I Want For Christmas is You”.

I think that’s more Columbusing than mansplaining :-) Like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star’d at an ocean millions of people had been living beside and navigating…

Mike O'Connell

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:03:53 +1300

Oh yes, Spinal Tap... try this, one louder! Joseph Spence and Santa Claus is comin' to Town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpEWh9sg_7A

B Jones

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:01:48 +1300

I feel like the second paragraph of this post is basically a mansplaining of "All I Want For Christmas is You".

I think that's more Columbusing than mansplaining :-) Like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star'd at an ocean millions of people had been living beside and navigating…

Jeremy Andrew

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:36:23 +1300

I usually need an xmas schmaltz antidote around this time of year:
The Ramones
https://youtu.be/4Y5GtaTrPHM
Spinal Tap
https://youtu.be/KneOdEDwDEc

Mike O'Connell

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:35:46 +1300

Some oldies but goodies tucked away in these six alternative Christmas songs including Laibach's wintry take on Across the Universe.from 1988. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTQcJx7xqAc

Tim Welch

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:23:01 +1300

White Wine In The Sun...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNvZqpa-7Q

B Jones

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:18:12 +1300

I worked retail in the 90s, so I have to say anyone who's managed to avoid All I Want For Christmas for the last twenty years has done extraordinarily well. Cheer, bah humbug. There are very few songs that can be played eight hours a day on repeat for a…

Tony P

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:07:00 +1300

Have taught the kids at school both the Slade and Wizzard songs. Great singalong tunes and cool to bash out on the guitar. Makes a change from having to do the Boney M version of Mary's Boy Child all the time. I read somewhere that Slade makes 500,000 quid every…

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:06:10 +1300

Yule log, stardate 23.12.2015
For all the Charlie Browns in the world
It has to be done
– sorry...
:- )
Snoop Doggy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pxw-RbdUow

Robyn Gallagher

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:02:17 +1300

I feel like the second paragraph of this post is basically a mansplaining of "All I Want For Christmas is You". Tbh, the song is over 20 years old and anyone who hasn't heard it by now has essentially missed out on 20 Christmases without maximum levels of joy and…

Glenn Pearce

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:42:54 +1300

In a Xmas miracle, McGowan gets new teeth

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/20/shane-macgowan-a-wreck-reborn-new-teeth-tv-special

Jolisa

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:29:47 +1300

The definitive ambivalent Christmas tune. Happy lyrics, plangent chords.

(For all the Charlie Browns in the world)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPG3zSgm_Qo

Sacha

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:29:01 +1300

Gordon Campbell has some xmas clips (scroll down).

Mike O'Connell

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:27:50 +1300

How about this, The Twelve Days of Christmas a la Twin Peaks cast – it's all there, talking logs, donuts, coffee ...oh, and that body!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti9XNrOPZZs

BTW Twin Peaks is set to return in 2017

Jason Kemp

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:24:05 +1300

Kate Tempest on Friday, 15 January 2016 at Kings Arms Tavern looks to be sold out. Here's hoping they get a bigger venue or an extra show.

Jolisa

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:21:41 +1300

"Christmas time is here, by golly; disapproval would be folly..." Can't beat Tom Lehrer for festive spirit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtZR3lJobjw

Jolisa

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:18:51 +1300

This one goes out to my sister <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yJNiphUc3E

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:53:42 +1300

a huge crowd of people cheering on while listening to a big stereo, to me that is just very sad

It sounds like my ideal night out ;-)

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:53:16 +1300

John Lennon:

https://youtu.be/S84RLgnz7Rs

Matt Woods

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:51:29 +1300

Great XMas song selection. I can't understand the appeal of Jamie Xx though – a huge crowd of people cheering on while listening to a big stereo, to me that is just very sad. Next we could have a circus where people watch a big screen instead of having performers.

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:44:14 +1300

Can we embed youtube vids in the comments?

Yes! All you need to do it paste in the URL (not the embed code) and it automagically embeds.

Jumma

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:43:26 +1300

Sharon Jones just did a Christmas themed Tiny Desk Concert on NPR: http://www.npr.org/event/music/460562287/sharon-jones-the-dap-kings-tiny-desk-concert

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:42:11 +1300

Also, this: a beautiful Christmas song by Buzz Moller from Voom and his daughter Grace. Awwww ...

https://youtu.be/JMa-p4Pnco8

Soon Lee

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:38:33 +1300

Can we embed youtube vids in the comments?

Stephen Colbert & Henry Rollins Sing “Carol Of The Bells"

https://youtu.be/VhTp22WZm8o

Jolisa

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:36:10 +1300

"Here it is once again – the dark horse for this year's Christmas number one..."

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yVcieIZb3_U

Public Address

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:36:10 +1300

Discussion from blog post.