Crikey, it's December!

I've been so caught up with the development of my "response" to the last ever issue of the Dandy (should be good when it's done) that there's now only fifteen days until "the big day" - and not a single festive-themed post here. So here's the first one, to be getting on with while I'm working on the Dandy thingy:

Under-played Xmas Songs That Should Be Played More Often

Such a massive thing as that day in December has obviously inspired countless classic songs over the years - and the radio stations love to play around twenty of them from around the last week of November up to the first week of January.

And yet, for every Fairytale of New York (officially the best of the lot), there's this cracker from Britain's best band, Half Man Half Biscuit - It's Clichéd To Be Cynical At Christmas:

Full of the warmth that only December-based nostalgia can bring, it's fairly criminal that this one ISN'T played sixty times a day. And it's not often you'll find Nigel Blackwell with as positive a view on things as he does here.

For something a bit more on the silly-joyful side of things, we'll go back to 1991. Remember those Milky Way adverts? Well those smiling Cadillacs had their own festive release as well - Home For Christmas Day:

This may've been the first "chart" tape we ever owned, and it must've been played about nine or ten times a day (but the tape still works!).

Finally, for when it's all over (sort of), think about that fat bearded man who spends all year preparing for one night of work (he really does!). On Boxing Day, it's all over, and we just leave him to it for another 52 weeks. The Murder City Devils wrote a tear-jerker of a ditty about that - 364 Days:

May these songs become a part of your annual rituals, if they aren't already!