Bad Santa VI

You begged, you pleaded, you demanded, you litigated...and I ignored all of that and did it anyway. 

 

It's back...and it's bad...really bad...and that's just my slipshod sequencing and editing!

 

Yep, it's the sixth instalment of Bad Santa, in case you have just under an hour's gap in your festive playlist. It's the usual curate's egg of the brilliant (Du Blonde aka Beth Jeans Houghton, Hifi Sean & David McAlmont, Saint Etienne with Tim Burgess, Belle & Sebastian) and the not-so-brilliant (I'm looking at you, R.E.M.) but all delivered with love and best wishes for the weekend. I hope it's a good one, wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

 

1) The Beatles Seventh Christmas Record: The Beatles (1969)

2) Christmas Is For Lovers, Ghosts & Children: Billy Nomates (2021)

3) The Little Drummer Boy: Brave Combo (1992)

4) Holiday I.D. (Spanish): Apollonia (1988)

5) Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland: Grandaddy (2000)

6) The Other Side Of Christmas: The Boy Least Likely To (2022)

7) A Visit From Santa Claus! (Part 2): Santa Claus (????)

8) Slow Down At Christmas (Album Version): Billy Reeves (2022)

9) I Was Born On Christmas Day: Saint Etienne ft. Tim Burgess (1993)

10) I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter: Connie Francis (1961)

11) Oh Holy Night: Bastille (2012)

12) The Twelve Days Of Christmas (Live @ The John Peel Christmas Party): Belle & Sebastian (2002)

13) Xmassy: Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2023)

14) Christmas In Chicago: Leon Russell (1972)

15) Holiday I.D.: Peter Cetera (1988)

16) Satan's Little Helper: Pye Corner Audio (2018)

17) It's Christmas And I'm Crying: Du Blonde (2023)

18) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town: John Holt (2004)

19) Suzy Snowflake: Little Marcy (1967)

20) Silver Bells: R.E.M. (1993)

21) Little Saint Nick (Single Version): The Beach Boys (1964)

22) Blue Christmas: Danielle Dax (1988)

23) Soul Christmas (Single Version): Graham Parker ft. Nona Hendryx (1994)

24) Christmas Tree On Fire: Holly Golightly (2006)

25) Sleigh Me: Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler (2011)

Bad Santa VI (56:55) (GD) (M)

And, if you are a glutton for punishment, here are the previous Bad Santa selections from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2017 and 2016.

 

You can continue to 'enjoy' daily doses of Dubhed over the next week, but I won't always be 'in' to check and respond to comments ("no change there then", I heard someone say).

Each One Is Special In Its Own Little Way

Celebrate Christmas with The Boy Least Likely To. 

 

Self-proclaimed "Country Disco" duo Jof Owen (vocals) and Pete Hobbs (vocals and everything else) met at school and have been recording and performing as The Boy Least Likely To since 2002. I first heard them in 2006 on a Q magazine freebie CD and the occasional song since then. 

 

The Boy Least Likely To are also quite keen on Christmas songs, releasing a whole album of 'em (mostly originals) in 2010 called Christmas Special and three more festive one-offs in the past 5 years, the most recent being 2022's The Other Side Of Christmas.

 

The First Snowflake is the closing song on Christmas Special and was first released as single in December 2008 with a rather lovely video, which heads up this post.

Here's a breezy half hour of Christmassy Country Disco, ten songs pulled from the album and singles, plus a couple of extras. 

 

One is the song that introduced me to The Boy Least Likely To via the Q magazine compilation Q Covered: The Eighties, their version of the George Michael classic Faith (yes, I know it's not a Christmas song, but...)

The other is The Christmas Stick by Bubble & Squeak, a collaboration between Jof Owen and Poppy Hankin from Girl Ray. There's even a lovely video to boot.

 

More festive frolics tomorrow.

 

1) Blue Spruce Needles (2010)

2) The Other Side Of Christmas (2022)

3) The First Snowflake (2008)

4) The Christmas Stick: Bubble & Squeak (2018)

5) Jingle My Bells (2010)

6) Christmas Isn't Christmas (2010)

7) The Christmas Waltz (2010)

8) Faith (Cover of George Michael) (2006)

9) I Can't Make It Snow (2010)

10) It Will Still Be Christmas (2020) 

Each One Is Special In Its Own Little Way (30:10) (KF) (Mega)