Xmas Music

[Doctor Bob]

No, but I'd love to hear them, if you have links or files!

Yep- no bother.  Leave it with me.

[Nick Ink]

Half Man Half Biscuit - It's Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas

Now how did I guess, you were going to express
Your disdain at the crane, with the bright fairy lights
And you moan at the snow, 'cos your car wouldn’t go
Oh it’s cliched to be cynical at Christmas

You don’t have a tree and your smile has a fee
All the same, here’s a card for your boring facade
Jingle Bells, piney smells , all the boys and the girls
Say it’s cliched to be cynical at Christmas
Oh it’s cliched to be cynical at Christmas

See how we yawn at your bile and your scorn
It’s a beautiful day, peace on Earth has been played
Make a noise with your toys and ignore the killjoys
‘Cos it’s cliched to be cynical at Christmas
Oh it’s cliched to be cynical at Christmas

I saw three ships
Come sailing in
Come sailing in
Come sailing in
I saw three ships
Come sailing in
On Christmas Day
In the morning

[Ignatius]

Is it odd that I prefer at this point to think of Half Man Half Biscuit as a smart and satirical band of myth created by Nick Ink and that I choose to perpetuate this illusion by refusing to seek out and listen to their actual songs?

[davy]

No, but I'd love to hear them, if you have links or files!

Yep- no bother.  Leave it with me.

Thanks, Dr.!

[Doctor Bob]

No bother- hope they hit the spot!

[G.C.R]

Tell you what though - that Fall track is awful!

Agreed heartily! And I love the Fall!
This looks a grand mix, davy. I will give it a listen - the only one of yours I have is that miserable country one you made last year, which yeilded some songs which have become firm favourites with me, my sister, my mother and father, which is rare given that the 4 of us rarely reach consensus re: music

[davy]

Was it miserably sad?

I'll be re-posting last year's xmas mix today, and I'll be making 2 or 3 year-in-review types in the coming weeks. One of those will be another country one. I hope there's enough music to make them...

[davy]

Also, as far as that Fall track goes, I don't mind it! I mean, it's mostly on there because the idea of The Fall singing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" cracks me up, but I rather like the chrous + drum break in the middle!

[Nick Ink]

Throwing Muses - Santa Claus

[Johnp]

Rubberbandits - Horse Outside

Destined to be Xmas no.1 in Ireland. All together: "Fuck your Honda Civic, I've a horse outside. Fuck your Subaru, I have a horse outside. And fuck your Mitsubishi, I've a horse outside."

[Doctor Bob]

Rubberbandits - Horse Outside

Destined to be Xmas no.1 in Ireland. All together: "Fuck your Honda Civic, I've a horse outside. Fuck your Subaru, I have a horse outside. And fuck your Mitsubishi, I've a horse outside."

I was fortunate - if that's the right word - to hear the Joe Duffy show today.  Priceless, for all the wrong reasons.

"On tomorrow's Liveline, short people ring up to complain about Randy Newman's attitude, while on Friday, we can look forward to humourless feminists giving it to Nellie McKay straight from the (non-childbearing) hip."

[Andrew_TSKS]

Haha one of my tumblr friends from Dublin posted that song last week. Good grief.

[Maaik]

Hey, I just checked that Mediafire link (I'm a little behind, I know) and it says it's set to "Private."  Huh.

[davy]

Yep, I re-posted it. Here's the new URL (and I'll update the original post):

http://www.mediafire.com/?ngcmn5wa44e4k2m

[Andrew_TSKS]

Y'all heard Kanye West's Christmas song yet? "Christmas in Harlem"? It's actually pretty great.

[mixed cats]

Every year, this label called No Sleep Records puts out a Christmas comp. Last year Bill's band did "Father Christmas" for it, and this year he did motherfucking "Christmas Don't Be Late" for it. I made him play it back for me sped up so it would be chipmunk-y and I cannot stop laughing

[fishjim]

Can't wait to hear the mix, davy. Always nice to see Los Straitjackets in the mood. That "Old Toy Trains" track is currently my 3-yr old's favorite (in Raffi's version) and I've come to trust her gut.

My annual harrumph is that I never hear "The Holly & the Ivy" anymore. O the rising of the sun! The running of the deer!

Anyone?

Anyway, every year my wife and I go see The Christmas Jug Band around this time -- closest we'll ever go to a nutcracker. Their 2002 release, "Uncorked," is my humble Yule pick:

[Andrew_TSKS]

"The Holly and The Ivy" is in the Christmas carol medley that the Muppets do in their original 80s era TV Christmas special, "A Muppet Family Christmas." To this day, that's the only version of it I've ever heard. They only do the first verse of it, too.

[mixed cats]

http://nosleeprecords.bandcamp.com/album/no-sleep-till-christmas-3

you have to send them at least a fifty-cent donation to download, and most of this is probably cruddy pop-punk

[monkeypants]

Jazz drummer Matt Wilson and his "Christmas Tree-O" (ouch) performing holiday tunes as part of NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert" series.  I fall pretty solidly in the "Christmas Music Haters" camp, but I really enjoyed this, perhaps because Matt Wilson is a) a king-sized dork and b) a very talented drummer.  Dig it:

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132118091/matt-wilsons-christmas-tree-o-tiny-desk-concert

[davy]

Sounds good to me. I'll check this out for sure.

[clare]

Have we talked through Die Toten Hosen yet?

[Ignatius]

My dad wanted me to make a Christmas music playlist for to play on his iPod at his girlfriend's house during the food and festivities tomorrow. He lost his cable so I had to put one together from an Aimee Mann album and various other Christmas songs, as well as a few random ones. While I was waiting for the bus today, I decided that Sweet Georgia Brown should be a Christmas song and lo! Louis Armstrong's Sweet Georgia Brown is right there on his thing, a few hours later! Tomorrow the Sweet Georgia Brown Xmas tradition begins. Also We Built This City.

[fishjim]

If it's open season on Christmas tunes, how about "Mary" by Dutchess & the Duke? If your Dad's not stocking D&D, maybe just loop their bloody video - plenty of festive red! - on a laptop somewhere. Sorta like a television Yule log:

Dutchess & the Duke - "Mary"



 

[Nick Ink]

Have we talked through Die Toten Hosen yet?

Wow, that's a name from the past! I remember reading an interview with them in Melody Maker or NME, maybe even Smash Hits(!) in the 80s where they explained that their name came from the band members' collective poor record with the ladies.