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Tuesday 23 December 2014

23 December 2014 - Christmas special

Our 100th show! Wooo... And also our third christmas spectacular. A bumper crop this year.

Wild Billy Childish and The Musicians Of The British Empire - Poundland Christmas
2008 was when capitalism fell and was propped up on the backs of the people at the bottom of that particular pyramid scheme. That's when this was recorded and it's as relevant now as then. Thatcher's Children is the album and there's new stuff from Childish coming soon, both with his band CTMF and in collaboration with the Wave Pictures. Both are keenly anticipated round these parts.

The Fall - Jingle Bell Rock
The traditional Fall festive cover version. This is off a Peel session from 1994. Unmistakeable.

Broken Down Lorry - All I Want For Christmas Is A Bit Of Peace And Quiet
Twitter is, contrary to popular opinion, a wonderful thing. I put a plea out for new and unsigned to send me their christmas records and one that came back was this. Recorded around 2010 for no particular reason. Key change!

Eels - Christmas Is Going To The Dogs
Originally recorded in 2000, you can find this on Useless Trinkets... a collection of B-sides, rarities and previously unreleased stuff which came out in 2008.

Slow Club - Christmas TV
To Sheffield and this lovely number dates from 2009 and the Christmas Thanks For Nothing EP. Just a lovely record.

Teenage Fanclub - Christmas Eve
You can't beat Teenage Fanclub. Indeed, I've been a fan since I was a teenager. This is on a compilation done by XFM for the Big Issue which came out in 2000 called It's A Cool Cool Christmas.

Alton Ellis and The Lipsticks - Merry Merry Christmas
The legendary Trojan Christmas Album has many gems on it and this is no exception. The album is just wonderful and gets such an airing round ours that christmas without ska just isn't a real christmas.

Bootsy Collins - Diss Christmiss
And now to funk it all up. From the 2006 album Christmas Is 4 Real. I play those last two to reflect how christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world where it isn't grey, miserable and damp. Just a totally different mindset.

Lullaby For The Working Class - The Utilitarian Christmas Jingle
This really paints a Dickensian - maybe even Hogarthian - image of christmas past. I don't know too much about it other than they're from Lincoln, Nebraska and it came out in 1998.

Los Campesinos! - The Trains Don't Run It's Christmas Day
The Crookes - You're Just Like Christmas
Two new releases for this christmas and two of my favourites - I'm holding my favourite back until later in the show. The Crookes are from Sheffield and that's very jolly while Cardiff's Los Campesinos! do something different. It's quite like I see the season. It can be boring, you do the same things year after year, it can be fraught and tetchy, but you know what? I wouldn't change it for anything.

The Kinks - Father Christmas
A traditional story of a department store Santa getting mugged. From 1977 and made an appearance on the 1978 reissue of the album Misfits.

Tomorrow's World - I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You
We've played these a few times before, it's Jean-Benoit Dunckel, erstwhile of Air, and Lou Hayter from New Young Pony Club. This is from 2009 and the Cherry Red Records compilation Christmas Cocktails.

Broken Record - My Beer-Drunk Soul Is Sadder Than All The Dead Christmas Trees In The World
Hell of a title. Hell of a tune as well to be fair. This is brand spanking new from the Edinburgh outfit.

Matt Bouvier - Santa Give Me Something To Live For
To Sweden now, Malmo in fact, and another brand new record. This starts horribly, but that doesn't last for long before it gets going. Out now on a Small Bear Records compilation.

Clinic - Christmas
The B-side to the 2002 single Come Into Our Room, that's a jolly pleasant tune.

Christ. - Making A Snow Angel
Straight out of the Boards Of Canada envelope, Christ. is Scotsman Christopher Horne and that's off the 2007 album Blue Shift Emissions.

Mike Harding - Christmas 1914
From 1977, but in this centenary year even more poignant. Just what did happen that christmas may never be truly known, but the accepted tale certainly has an air of the myth about it. Anyway, top record.

DJ Yoda - 5-Minute Christmas Mini-Mix
The star of Huddersfield's Festival of Light earlier this month, here's him doing his thing with christmas clips and samples back in 2010.

John MOuse - When A Child Is Born
This is the christmas record of this very christmas time. Bloody brilliant. His album The Death Of John MOuse was one of the highlights of the year and this caps off 2014 nicely. Absolutely love it. The right balance of bitter and light.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Got to finish with this one, as is now traditional. From 1986 and the EP Trumpton Riots, an all-time classic.

Here's that on YouTube:



and a tiny bit of it on Soundcloud:


So there we are. 100 shows. Raise of the bat, acknowledge the crowd on all four sides before digging back in. The 90s were nervous, but we got there. Now, nothing silly for a few overs and get focus back.
Merry christmas to you all. Back for one more time in 2014 next week.

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