If ever there was a group MADE for sounding like Christmas then the Puppini Sisters are them. Their tight harmonies and warm timbre could be mulled wine, egg nog, chocolate logs and mince pies all rolled into one - actually, that's more like vomit, but you get what I mean. Marcella Puppini, Stephanie O'Brien and Kate Mullins released their version of Jingle Bells last year and today's Christmas song, was the other a-side. It ain't very jolly, but hey that's life: The Little Match Seller (Silent Night) - The Puppini Sisters (zShare)
For more unjolly Christmas songs, nip over to Mine for Life. And then take time to have a nose around. A Johnny Hates Jazz lead singer Clark Datchler post! Bona!
Picture the scene, I'm passing St Paul's Cathedral on the way into work (as you do) when who do I bump into but some Cybermen! They were a bit busy being filmed so couldn't stop to chat. Even the pigeon wrangler was hard at it.
K-9 was in the middle of the stairs (though quite how he got there I'll never know) and there were even two Tom Baker lookalikes (marked 'TB' on the pic).
So what a bloody letdown to find out from Detective Dan it was actually Eastenders filming a storyline about a day out at a Doctor Who convention and not the (un)real thing. Pah! And here's the confirmation. And here.
Today's Christmas song is a classic. Eartha Kitt's version of Santa Baby purrs old school cheekiness especially when halfway through she asks for a yacht, "And really, that's not. A lot."
This post reminds me of a great story about the veteran singer. Appearing in cabaret in London about 15 years ago, nightly she was carried in by nubile young stallions on a chaise longue as her trademark entrance. One evening though, the boys hadn't quite got it down when she leapt off too high for the opening line and landed so heavily, her mouth snapped open and out flew her false teeth straight into the first row. She obviously didn't hang 'round to look for them and the next day cancelled the rest of her run and went home. Someone, somewhere has those gnashers!
Cascading violins, like Santa Liberace just came down the chimney, open this camp Christmas classic by The Hollyridge Strings. In the 60's they were Capitol Records in-house band producing hugely successful instrumentals of current acts (The Beatles were their biggest sellers) for the easy-listening crowd. You can just imagine some dandy sixties queens languishing in a gay cocktail bar nodding away to this gleeful rendition of Jingle Bells.
Take That's Gary Barlow has been flogging his songs for years as this clip from 1986 shows. Looking like Aled Jones with hair on his bollocks, this earnest 15 year old lad is singing his little heart out with a self-penned composition. Every Christmas, the daytime BBC show Pebble Mill at One (Tricky knows this programme ALL too well) would hold their Song For Christmas competition. These were songs written and performed by school children with the finals happening over the Christmas holidays so everyone could laugh at the spods taking part!
Apparently, Gary played his song Let's Pray For Christmas to his mum and his music teacher. His mum, being all supportive and that, thought it was a "bit slow and dull" but the music teacher loved it. It came third or fourth in the semi-finals. Bless.
Here's today's Christmas song. With the gorgeous silky "Ooohs" doing a jazzy Jingle Bells intro, this song by Julie London (born Gayle Peck, wonder why she changed her name?) should be listened to by a Christmas tree with a Hendricks Gin and Tonic in one hand and a boyfriend/girlfriend in the other.
Here's a right old mixed bag of witterings and ting. I can't pin anything down to one cohesive post, so in the style of XO and his Mixtape, here's my version. The 10p Mix-up.
So, here we are. As Chelsea Kelsey puts it so succinctly in his blogShang-a-Lang, "that gaudy old tart December" has rolled into town. Armed with emailed discount vouchers for every high street name imaginable, London is heaving today. It's like Christmas Eve. You can guarantee, come 5pm, the family shoppers will be walking through town with a look of disdain as they dodge the boozy shoppers out on the streets with a Smirnoff Ice in one hand, a fag in the other and tinsel round their neck. Aw, Britain at Christmas. Can't beat it.
Here's the first of a Christmas song a day. Think of it as a worrapolava advent calendar... This first track is a firm festive favourite here in the UK which made Freheit (known as Münchener Freiheit in Germany) one-hit wonders in December 1988. Keeping the Dream Alive - Freiheit (zShare)
Is this The Spice Girls or French and Saunders? It's hard to tell. Watch how Mel C, ever the bloody politician, tries to convince HERSELF it's going to be great. And Geri: "We're working mothers". Argh!
If you've been living under a stone, you won't have heard that the all-conquering Swedish pop minx, Robyn has a new (*splutter*) single out at the end of this month. To everyone else, here's a fab electro dance remix of said tune. Be Mine (Verschwende Deine Jugend Remix) - Robyn(zShare)
In Pet Shop Boys land, there are a few things happening. Two new tracks in the EXCLUSIVE tracks section taken from their Closer to Heaven musical. The demo version of For All of Us is better than the finished theatre version methinks! The next issue of the fanclub's magazine Literally the boys are requesting questions from the floor in letter form. How quaint! If you have a question for the boys, then WRITE to: Questions, PSB Club, PO Box 102, Stanmore, HA7 2PY, UK. The issue will be out early next year. And their soundtrack for Battleship Potemkin will be performed again in January, this time under a roof in the Barbican Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra. I must admit, I lasted 20 minutes of the 2004 performance in Trafalgar Square. Pissing down rain, biting cold and melodramatic silent Russian movies even with the PSB involvement aren't exactly ingredients for a 'good night out'. I think we ended up in dodgy gay bar Halfway to Heaven instead.
Talking of dodgy gay things, which member of Girls Aloud are you? Try this quiz, clicky here. Apparently, I'm Sarah (just by selecting the "Am I bovvered" type answers!).
This Human League track, Mirror Man was winging it's way up the charts to number 2 twenty five years ago this week. My excuse for posting it? I'm going to see them tonight! They're performing the entire Dare! album as part of their set at Hammersmith Apollo. It's a huge venue and has been sold out for weeks. Can't wait.
The weather outside may be frightful, but indoors this band have been keeping me warm. Boat Club, a Swedish duo, produce melodic, wistful electro-tinged music reminiscent of China Crisis and The Lotus Eaters. Their 6-track ep Caught the Breeze is available here at Klicktrack. And have a nebb at TheirSpace Warmer Climes - Boat Club (zShare)
Heads up to do1frood for his post about this funny-for-five minutes electro novelty track, Charlie Brooker is Right About Everything by The Attery Squash. The irony-laden track would be HATED by Charlie Brooker, but that's why it's good. And that's why Charlie Brooker would like it. It's not available anywhere until after Christmas (would you buy it?) but you can hear it at TheirSpace.
Charlie's piece in The Guardian about this year's I'm a Celebrity was, as ever, spot on and belly-laugh funny. His description of Janice Dickinson: "An undernourished waxwork of Sandra Bullock carved by inmates in a hurry" and Christopher Biggins: "The ultimate jolly old uncle, who doesn't appear to be capable of experiencing negative emotions, and would probably guffaw at a bus crash".
*mops dignity up from floor after laughing too hard and following through*
Bloggers' delight Glass Candy have come over all kind and that with four free downloads on TheirSpace. These wondrous tracks are also available on the incredibly hard to find B/E/A/T/B/O/X tour album.
Together with partner in grime, Johnny Jewel, singer Ida No, (me neither, honey), whose voice has a distinction all it's own, talks of emancipation and going au naturel on this new and improved version of Candy Castle. A track that sounds like the Pet Shop Boys doing a demo with Hazel O'Connor circa Breaking Glass. How marve.
What makes an also-ran? It's easier to explain when the song is crap (Kelly C, Spice Girls). But for a song that had 'hit' written in 200 foot letters in the sky it's an eternal puzzle as to why it doesn't connect. Here are a few that not only missed but either damaged or killed off careers.
Kelis underwent major career resuscitation after the abject failure of this track. The so-so album Wanderlust went on walkabout and disappeared. The States didn't even get a chance to make it a flop. It wasn't released there. But this is a brilliant mix by Timo Maas of a solid song. This should have been the main radio version and maybe then it would have gone higher than 32 in November 2001.
All the stars were in alignment with this track: radio had it on a permanent loop; one half of the duo was Groove Armada's Andy Cato and DJs loved it because everyone went mental. But the Weekend Players were destined to remain a Capital Radio favourite and no more when it stalled at 22 in September 2001.
This fabulosa title track from Shola Ama's million-selling album was that one single too far. If your name's not Jackson, don't release more than three singles from a hit album. Although it wasn't exactly career damaging, as the fourth song it did signal a turning point in the London singer/songwriter's fortunes. Her expensive follow-up album In Return failed to make any chart returns in the UK. Massive success in France ended up being really annoying because everyone spoke French. She couldn't understand the plaudits "Vous etes incroyable" etc. and so hit the bottle. If only we had known how it would all turn out when Much Love finished up at 17 in February 1998.
It's not just the backing track that has dated with this N-TYCE flop, lyrics like "tied to my telephone line" and the title itself place it firmly outside the noughties. But it's still funkin' great! The best track from Chanta, Ario, Donna and M'chelle's album All Day Every Day gave up the ghost at 16 in February 1998.
A really expensive looking cheap video from N-Tyce.
Time and again Made in London (bloody AWFUL name) pop up in girl band lists. They're probably more famous for never making it. But this track should have been a big fat hit. And they seemed like such nice girls too, definitely not the "sisters in crime" portrayed in the urban spoken intro. At least they'll have made their mums proud even though the song floundered at 15 in May 2000.
As if Nine Million Bicycles wasn't bad enough: "There are nine million bicycles in Beijing/That's a fact/It's a thing we can't deny/Like the fact that I will love you till I die", Katie Melua has trumped herself with this stinker. I wouldn't really mention it but if you live in the UK, there's no escape. The TV advertising for the new album features the last single Sailboat. And it's the second line below which earns my biggest guffaw; especially as she pauses after "nail you". Here are the verses in their full awfulness... "If you were a cowboy I would trail you, If you were a piece of wood I'd nail you to the floor. If you were a sail boat I would sail you to the shore. If you were a river I would swim you, If you were a house I would live in you all my days. If you're a preacher I'd begin to change my ways.
If I was in jail I know you'd spring me If I was a telephone you'd ring me all day long If I was in pain I know you'd sing me soothing songs.
If I was hungry you would feed me If I was in darkness you would lead me to the light If I was a book I know you'd read me every night"
If I was Katie Melua I'd laugh all the way to the bank.
It was bitingly cold yesterday. Even thick scarves and coats couldn't keep out the winter weather, so we took refuge in the House of Homosexual Culture. Well, their Christmas Fayre, to be precise, which was full of warmth and winter cheer. It was cupcakes and pom-poms a-go-go at St John's Church in Waterloo.
Bona! This is a music blog. If there are any mp3 files uploaded which need to be taken down, get in touch! Also, email me if you have any music you want nice people to hear...
If ever there was a group MADE for sounding like Christmas then the Puppini Sisters are them. Their tight harmonies and warm timbre could be mulled wine, egg nog, chocolate logs and mince pies all rolled into one - actually, that's more like vomit, but you get what I mean. Marcella Puppini, Stephanie O'Brien and Kate Mullins released their version of Jingle Bells last year and today's Christmas song, was the other a-side. It ain't very jolly, but hey that's life:
