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“It’s Christmas Eve and I don’t want to hear bloody”

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Steely Dan.

Shout my wife and daughter, just back from London today. As Mothers and daughters do they are conferring in another room. I have since put on Coltrane, Marley, Martyn, Mitchell, Cinematic Orc., Tzuke.

I am only trying to wind down with good music and a Glenmorangie.

I will not allow Boney M, Madonna (did she actually ever do a Christmas song?) and definitely not Jusin Beiber (jeez).

Afterworders, your Xmas Eve listening suggestions please. Both wife and daughter generally receptive to good music.

Help.

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Comments

  1. The Beatles ‘Live at the BBC’, as it came out at Christmas and sounds vaguely festive throughout.
    Throw in ‘Christmastime Is Here Again’ just for good measure.

  2. For that mellow Christmas solo piano vibe, you simply cannot beat the “December” album by George Winston, and particularly the opening track, “Thanksgiving”. Niiiiiiiiice.

  3. As one half of a recently married couple recent christmasses have involved the invention and augmentation of our own Christmas rituals. These include Mojitos for Christmas Day breakfast accompaniment, vinyl only (and Beatles heavy) Christmas Day listening and the (soon to leave the house for) mandatory dine in fish and chips on Christmas Eve.

    Literally minutes ago we made a new one up; soul music only Christmas Eve.

    This has peaked with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings’ ‘Give the people what they want’ (though any Daptone release will suffice) and Kings Go Forth’s ‘The Outsiders are Back’.

    Al Green Explodes Your Mind currently spinning and providing a fine festive soundtrack.

    Happy Christmas, all. I never say anything on here but I consider you to be both essential musical tipsters and a fine soap opera. I’d be lost without you all.

  4. “Stay Anuvver Day” by East 17?
    You could watch the video and enjoy the lovely white parkas they bought with their ill-gotten car-radio nicking gains.

  5. So we are in the middle of a 6 hour drive to Kentucky. The GLW and I each make a 8 song playlist and the 10yo in the back “grades them”. I lost by a single point. Of course you want to know the playlist-

    Santa Claus Got Stck in the Chimney – Ella Fitzgerald
    Let Me Sleep (it’s Christmas time” – Pearl Jam
    merry Christmas – I don’t want to fight tonite – The Ramones
    what Are Yiu Doing Christmas Eve – King Curtis
    the man with all the toys – beach boys
    Christmas is painting the town – The oak ridge boys
    The Nutcraker Suite – Brain Setzer Orchestra
    Christmas All Over Again- Tom Petty

    reviewing the grading I lost as two of my songs had no lyrics – which equals zero points

    Happy Christmas to All !!

  6. Madonna did actually do a Christmas song: Santa Baby on this all-star charity album: http://carbootvinyldiaries.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/car-boot-christmas-countdown-day-1.html

    Having just watched both the Snowman animations on TV, I’m just about to settle down with an LP that I won in a competition this week, Ella Fitzgerald’s A Swingin’ Christmas. I’ve not heard it before (I was holding out for a boot sale find), but I bet it’s brill.

  9. Shout my wife and daughter, just back from London today. As Mothers and daughters do they are conferring in another room. I have since put on Coltrane, Marley, Martyn, Mitchell, Cinematic Orc., Tzuke.

    I am only trying to wind down with good music and a Glenmorangie.

    I will not allow Boney M, Madonna (did she actually ever do a Christmas song?) and definitely not Jusin Beiber (jeez).

    Afterworders, your Xmas Eve listening suggestions please. Both wife and daughter generally receptive to good music.

    Help.

    All I can suggest is a new wife and daughter.

    If they can’t appreciate the Dan, there’s no hope. You should be able to get a good deal on a px somewhere.

    • Jeez, I’m not actually sure now who I was relying to in my earlier response. It seemed to have got mangled in my iPhone. Seems not seemed.

      Yes, I agree with the Don/Walt trade in (is the what you suggested – sorry on the port now – ) My wife’s just asked me what I’m doing? I’m doing the Afterword. Why? Why? Why do any of us do it? God knows – shit, my phone has just enabled dictation. Do we have no control? NO. Not over wife’s, daughters or phones it seems.

      I’m going now.

      A very merry Christmas to you all.

  11. finally got my Bruce 15 cd radio broadcast set ( thanks amazon. your 24 hr delivery service as good as ever ) played half today, the rest will be the soundtrack to this Christmas day

  12. 30 years ago, at the tender age of twelve, I got heavily into the works of Grace Jones, prompted by the then-recent Slave To The Rhythm.

    Thanks to a late-November birthday (=record vouchers) and infrequent visits to half-decent record shops, it took me a good few weeks to collect the great Compass Point trilogy and the then-new Island Life compo. I therefore associate Warm Leatherette and Living My Life with Christmas – especially as there was quite a decent snow that year for the first time in my life, which I remember looking at while enraptured by Sly’n’Robbie’s snaking FunkinRastaRock. Those snare sounds were as delicious as that year’s Christmas pud.

    “From the nipple to the bottle, now the turkey must die!”

  13. My wife likes cooking Christmas dinner to Scott 4. There’s nothing like “The Old Man’s Back Again” to make a soul feel festive…

    Right now I am listening to Roygbiv by Boards Of Canada. Merry Christmas!

  16. ‘Scott Walker 4’ at Christmas? That’s bordering on genius.

    I’m off to get out 1 to 4 so that they’ll be in place for the post-pub afternoon lull. My wife’s sure to be pleased.

  17. The John Fahey Christmas album is an unexpected hit here. Otherwise the David Willcocks / Kings College choir CD of carols recommended here is quite beautiful.

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