26 search results for ‘christmas’

24TH DECEMBER : CHRISTMAS EVE

We here at AGCS are running a traditional length Christmas Calendar so we’re sad to say that today’s post will be the last. We’ve decided to end with a suitably leftfield choice in the form of “Christmas Eve” by the Sugarcubes. It’s all distortion and spoken word passages - and obviously some mad vocals from Björk. We’ll be back very soon with a 2010 preview, but until then, have a good one.

Jed. x

23RD DECEMBER

Today we’ve got “Spotlight on Christmas” by Rufus Wainwright. It’s good. Listen to it.

Jed. x

22ND DECEMBER

We’re only a couple of days from the end of our Christmas Calendar, but it’s gonna go out with a bang. Today’s track, “A Christmas Duel” sees the Hives and Cyndi Lauper battling it out to see who can make the most mental christmas song, and the result is a pretty ridiculous proposition. The fact that it features Lauper singing the line “I went down on your mother” alone makes it awesome; couple that with a killer tune and some unbelievable vocal acrobatics from both Pelle and Cyndi and you’ve got a proper Christmas classic.

Jed. x

21ST DECEMBER
I really like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and even though they’ve never been able to top the sheer raw power of Fever To Tell they still know how to write a tune. “All I Want For Christmas” is evidence of this, a charming number which the band released this time last year and which is markedly different from the synthy pop of It’s Blitz. Not only is it better than half the stuff on that record but to my knowledge it’s the only Yeah Yeah Yeahs song to feature a key change. It’s lovely.

Jed. x

19TH DECEMBER

Here at AGCS we’re all fans of Ben Folds, and today’s track, “Bizzare Christmas Incident” is a typically humorous look at the festive season. To see Ben Folds explain the origin of the song watch this live video on youtube, but if you’d rather just listen then click above.

Jed. x

18TH DECEMBER

There’s been a tiny bit of snow here in the UK, and as such the entire transport system has ground to a halt, meaning my journey home for Christmas today is gonna be a fucking nightmare. I need something to cheer me up, and so its a good thing Eddie Argos decided to form Glam Chops, a band so fantastically silly they make Art Brut look po-faced. “Countdown To Christmas” celebrates all things great about the festive season, namely mulled wine and double issues of the Radio Times.

I listened to “Blame it on the Trains” by Art Brut this morning after finding out half my trains had been cancelled and it made me feel better. So thanks, Eddie, and god bless us everyone! (except National Express)

Jed. x

17TH DECEMBER

After yesterdays little piece of nostalgic sunshine it’s back to the pure misery of the festive season, in the form of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone’s “Cold White Christmas”. About a 22 year old graduate living on her own in St Paul, it’s a particularly bleak look at what us students have to look forward to in the real world. It’s full of uplifting couplets like this - Beer for breakfast who’s gonna scold / you’ve got your early hours dulled by the cigarettes you rolled. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Jed. x

16TH DECEMBER

Time to indulge in some nostalgia with perhaps the greatest festive film of all time, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Last year saw the release of Nightmare Revisited, which saw artists as diverse as Korn and Datarock tackle the film’s soundtrack, but it’s The Polyphonic Spree’s version of “Town Meeting Song” which really stands out. They attack the song with gusto, frontman Tim Delaughter donning the role of Jack Skellington while the band stretch the song out to three times it’s original length. It’s a gleeful reinterpretation which manages to bypass the “Bah Humbug” part of my brain completely, and that’s a pretty big achievement. For that alone The Polyphonic Spree are a worthy addition to our calendar.

Jed. x