Thank you to all who have emailed, left messages or contacted some other way. Genuine gratitude to those who've pointed out the typos - I do really appreciate it - and a big titfer touch to those mad enough to ask me if I can suggest a Christmas record for their wife! I hope it worked for you.
Please visit the blog over Christmas as it helps the whole endeavour, but feel free to listen on Spotify and pass it on to your friends and family - whether you like them or not!
The Lifters are Ron Preyer, Terrence Brannon and Clarence Metheny and, following the toll of the bells, they are praying for love and peace and understanding for the world.
'Cos my time is your time and Yuletime is my time, baby!
It's time for love, not only now but beyond December. And why not?
December 24th. Another Christmas Eve. That noise is either one of two things; it's the sound of a man traipsing the West End hand-in-hand with the Ghost of Christmases Past but equally, this year, it could be me chewing on some humble pie.
On Day 7 of last year's Calendar was a version of 'Santa Baby' by the usually excellent Wolf Alice. I was very dismissive of it, saying 'File under Must Do Better' but actually it was me that needed to improve, because had I searched more thoroughly, I could have ignored the dull seven-year-old Eartha Kitt cover that I went with and replaced it with this dreamy, shimmering gem from December 2022.
With Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday this year I needed a Carol of substance, and though I try to avoid putting artists on the Calendar who've appeared the previous year I just couldn't leave this majestic, haunting rendition off.
Have a Peaceful Day and be with the one you love - wherever they are.
A gorgeous, gospel-tinged, festive tour-de-force - that voice! - that will have you reaching for the brandy and Christmas pudding flavoured crisps. If you get chills at four minutes odd when the strings and gospel choir come in, it might not be because the cat has pushed the door open.
A seasonal heartbreaker from Bear's Den - an Indie folk/country outfit from London - telling of how she left in '99 and nobody knows where she went but every year he hopes she'll return. Did he love her? Probably not, but he'll think of her this and every Christmas and wonder where she went and what he did 'cos that's what December is for.
An affecting video of a London street and a suspiciously empty pub make this an enchanting experience, and since we've all moved on apace from when this Calendar used to go out on a C90 cassette, I suppose this immersive audio - listen on your headphones! - stops only just short of a time when I will beaming this directly into your brain. Perhaps next year? Who can say?
I'll confide in the quiet Winter light gathering / Hoping to find / Some peace of mind / This Christmas, hopefully
There's nothing like a driving home for Christmas song and Ms Hackman has managed to capture the essence of a Winter's night on the road, snow in the headlights, heater up full, festive music on the radio, looking forward to getting home for a festive kummel and a bag of Tesco Finest Maple Nut Selection.
Echosmith were originally a quartet of siblings Sydney, Jamie, Graham and Noah Sierota from California - now a trio after the eldest Jamie left - and this is from a three-track Christmas single called, not unreasonably, 'An Echosmith Christmas' that features an Indie version of 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)' - better than you might have expected - and 'I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day' which is also worth a listen.
...Because it's Christmas in Hawaii but, seemingly, not in the West End, where yesterday I witnessed Christmas Trees being taken down in The Conran Shop in Marylebone High Street to accommodate the store sale. There's another week to got! I hope their tinsel has mites in and they escape and find solace in their furniture. No fate is too bad.
K.T Tunstall's version of the old Bing Crosby song is a pure delight and features a wonderous kazoo solo - and who doesn't want that? The Xylophone Union must have been happy when they got the call for this one too. But I realised as I was searching for K.T's version that there is also one by Jimmy Buffett who we sadly lost back in September and this Calendar does not want the loss of the man who gave us the wonderous 'Margaritatville' or who was half-responsible for the equally joyous 'It's Five o' Clock Somewhere' to go unrecognised so Jimmy's is being attached here too.
There needs to be room in your heart for both of them this Christmas. Unlike stores that take down their decorations a week before Christmas Day!
"I'll slide down your chimney and bring you lots of joy / What I got for you mama it's not just a toy"
Well, that certainly sounds exciting, doesn't it? I wonder what he has for her? I'm guessing one of those Air Fryer things. I'll be at the Royal Albert Hall tonight for Trevor Nelson's Soul Christmas so I need to be in a funky mood, and this seasonal stormer is guaranteed to get me doing my thang. I hope it gets you doing yours too.
Here's one for all geeks and nerds. Remember when Windows 95 came with an installation CD that had Weezer's 'Buddy Holly' song on it? The video where the band perform the track blended into scenes of TV's 'Happy Days' with the Fonz, Ritchie, Ralph and Potsie at Arnold's Drive-In?
Whaddya mean 'No, how old are you Grandad?' Cheeky *****! If you've not seen it then you need to.
Watching a video on a PC was rare then and the popularity of the song - and more significantly the video - was seismic. You could barely find anyone who had Windows 95 who hadn't watched it what seemed like a hundred times. It catapulted Weezer into the mainstream, landed them with a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and gave them a career they still have today.
Anyway, I mention this as Weezer have a six-song Christmas CD where every track sounds vaguely like 'Buddy Holly'. Want to hear 'O Come All Ye Faithful, 'The First Noel' or 'Hark, the Herald Angels Sing' and be reminded of Windows 95? Then 'Christmas With Weezer' is for you. It only lasts just under 15 minutes and is the record you didn't know you needed.
'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' is a Carol that's not been on the Calendar before and at 1' 24" it doesn't outstay its welcome either. Play it while you convert some MS-DOS files.
Well, if it's not the Bopping Elf himself on something of a festive rarity.
Mooted for release as a Christmas single in 1975, it was eventually pulled just as T-Rextasy started to wane. With that curious Glam / Soul hybrid that was permeating his output by then, had it been released it might just have provided Bolan with one last top-ten hit.
Meanwhile, our Marc implores us to:
Get out your silk jeans and your space shoes
And you know I would, but mine are still at the Dry Cleaners.
"The Orchids? Again, Blagg? Won't it mess with your latent OCD to have the same group on the same calendar?"
Well, au contraire mon ami because this isn't the same Orchids. Nearly 3,400 miles from Coventry comes this US version of the group of the same name with a lovely Christmas song just right for Friday party night.
I can't tell you much of interest about this group but what do you care? It's 2' 30"'s worth of opportunity to shuffle along with Tracy from HR.
A brilliant quote from the wonderful 'Nothing Compares', Kathryn Ferguson's documentary film about Sinead O' Connor that was made available on Netflix this year. It's well-worth watching.
Sadly, O'Connor died in July of this year, and though the documentary only scratches the surface of what a complex, fascinating and brave individual she was, it does underline her astonishing musical legacy and made me go back and listen to some things I'd missed.
In Calendar terms, I'm pleased to report that Sinead was on the very first edition of this nonsense back in 2007 and I'd link to the day (12) but, because the page was created on MySpace - Can you imagine such a thing? - you can only see the whole page and not the one day (Not that that should stop you, mind).
The song posted there was her version of 'Silent Night'. I've listened to a lot of versions since then (you can imagine!) but Sinead's breathless, sparse and haunting renitin is still my favourite by some distance. If you've not listened to it yet, then you must.
'When a Child is born' isn't a song that's appeared on the Calendar before and I suppose it should, so this version with Sinead accompanied by Danny O'Reilly from the Coronas and the full weight of the RTE Orchestra is probably the way to go, particularly as I can match it up on Spotify.
If the lush orchestration isn't for you though - and I could fully understand why - several live versions available on YouTube highlight Sinead's beautiful voice with sparse accompaniment. Many of those are taken on mobiles and capture the warmth and humour of someone who was taken far too early.
We've not had any Christmas Reggae for a while, so here's a great track from 1972 from New York-born Rupert. If this doesn't have you looking for the nutcrackers and trying to pick the end off the Sellotape then you probably need to see a doctor.
Plain White T's had a successful 2007 in the UK with a No:2 single 'Hey Dear Delilah' and a No: 3 album 'Every Second Counts'. In 1999, they released an EP called 'I'm Dreaming of a Plain White Christmas' which is a good title and I salute them for it. Feel free to seek that out, though this track isn't on it.
Instead, this offering from the Illinois four-piece outfit is a track from a Christmas sampler called 'All Wrapped Up' that features artists from the Hollywood Records label.
Christmas won't be the same without you. Ain't that the truth.
The Orchids could probably lay claim to being Britain's first girl group. Formed in the early 60s in Coventry and consisting of three 14-year-olds from Stoke Park Grammar School, Georgina Oliver, Pamela Jarman, and Valerie Jones found themselves with a Decca recording contract and in the orbit of people like Kinks manager Larry Page, who heard them at a talent contest and brought in top producer Shel Talmy - later to produce The Kinks, the Who and the Easybeats - to work with them.
Sadly, despite accumulating an enthusiastic following, the Orchids never made the big time, but despite some marketing techniques that would be considered unsuitable today - getting the girls to only perform in their school uniforms - their small legacy has endured mainly because their records owe a lot to early Tamla and 'Wall of Sound' Spector.
In 2016, the Orchids met up again as part of the celebration of the Coventry Music Museum providing us with a wonderful visual reminder of the passing of fifty years.
There's another reason I've added this to the Calendar though. When I found it originally, I was a bit puzzled by the quality of the video considering its age, but then discovered it's a clip from a film called 'Just For You' and I have a strong memory of my mum taking me to see this film when I was a small lad. So this is dedicated to anyone who hasn't got their mum with them this Christmas.
I'm thinking the Orchids should reform and tour with similarly-returning Girls Aloud and The Sugarbabes next year. Who wouldn't want a ticket for that?
"Every now and then an artist emerges whose vision is so unique that it creates an entirely new musical paradigm. Stretching the realm of technique by introducing harmonic or rhythmic contexts far removed from the norm, they're often unappreciated in their time, but the passage of years can ultimately bring recognition for their genius. Ornette Coleman was one such artist. Now we have singer Johnny "Bowtie" Barstow."
So says John Kelman back in 2005 on the allaboutjazz website. I assume those passage of years haven't yet reached fruition.
This comes from the album 'A Bowtie Christmas and More' and if you're 'unshackled by musical convention' and appreciate 'a truly emancipated harmonic approach' then you can enjoy other such Calendar favourites as 'O Come All Ye Faithful', 'Winter Wonderland' and 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer'.
The Blagg Advent Calendar: "He listens so you don't have to"
