So, here we go with the 9th part of my record by record retrospective. Finishing off the letter L, we have Kenny Loggins with Footloose and Los Lobos with La Bamba. The former was a hit song that became much better remembered than the film it came from. On or off of the dance floor, Footloose was exciting and energetic to sing or dance to. He had more success in his native America, but during the 80s you could pretty much guarantee that he would pop up on a film soundtrack somewhere! Another song that became bigger than the film it hailed from was La Bamba by Los Lobos. Famously, the first Spanish language track to hit the top of the charts and led to many of us singing along in quite appalling Spanish. By British standards this was about as outward looking as we got lingually speaking!
The first single in the M section is in fact by M! It is of course the all time synth classic Pop Muzik. What a song and what a sound. It completely captivated me and introduced me to a musical genre that would become central to my musical life. What a song it is, and a song that still sounds current. Only one Kirsty MacColl single, which is surprising given how much I have always loved her voice. That’s something I’ve noticed as I have worked through the collection, the way that I have a number of singles from artists that now appear peripheral in my musical life and so few from artists I still love. Mind you, if you are going to have one song from MacColl it had to be A New England for me. A song with great Billy Bragg lyrics and one of the best vocal performances of her career at least in my opinion. rom the sublime to the absolutely ludicrous! Kinky Boots is silly, throwaway and the type of song that could only be a hit in the UK and then only at Christmas! For all that, it’s just fantastic fun, extremely catchy and performed by two consummate performers who know how silly it all is. Take a listen when it goes on my Spotify playlist and I dare you not to smile!
Now on to the Magnificent 7 – Madness! What a quintet of singles. Baggy Trousers, Grey Day, It Must Be Love, House of Fun and Tomorrow’s Just Another Day. Baggy Trousers was their breakthrough hit, and it really brings back schooldays for so many 70s and 80s kids, and possibly beyond. Grey Day was possibly their best piece of social commentary with the mundanity of working life front and centre. It Must Be Love was a brilliant cover of the Labi Siffre song that became perhaps their most abiding track. House of Fun went to Number 1 and was a good track, but definitely not their best. How often does that happen? Finally, Tomorrow’s Just Another Day had a brilliant track on a Double A Side single called Madness is all in the Mind. Outside of fans, probably few people remember it, because it was played infrequently and eventually became a B Side in all but name. However, for me at home with a record player it was the more frequently played track. Take a listen to it when you can, it’s brilliant. So, there you have five of the best from one of the best bands of the era. Madness, I tip my fez to you!
Madonna next, and oddly enough only three singles. I could have sworn I had more!. Anyway, first up is the largely overlooked but excellent earlier track Gambler. If you don’t remember it, give it a listen. The next single is Crazy for You, an absolutely marvellous ballad that really shows off her fantastic voice and her ability to deliver a song. However, my favourite Madonna single is True Blue which fizzes with energy and joy throughout. I have the Immaculate Collection and during the 80s she did not release a single that wasn’t top class. One of, if not the most important artists of the decade without a doubt. Next up The Mamas and The Papas with a four track single that starts off with one of my all time favourite songs, California Dreaming. I mean, how amazing is that track? Luscious harmonies and a tune of genius that never fails to entrance. Manfred Mann were 60s chart toppers and thanks to my favourite label, Old Gold, I was able to get a copy of The Mighty Quinn which I loved singing along with as a kid. Marillion had a long chart career, but are really only remembered by non fans for one track, Kayleigh. It happens to many artists, and is maybe a matter of some irritation in many cases, but when that song is as iconic as Kayleigh, then perhaps that may sweeten the blow. After Bob Marley died, I took a while to dip in to his catalogue of songs, but One Love provided me with my ‘in’ and after that I started to understand his true genius. His voice and the amazing musicianship of The Wailers combined to give us so many iconic songs, and the world was blessed with his presence, albeit for a very short time relatively speaking. Finally, in this picture we have Canadian New Wave excellence from Martha and the Muffins whose Echo Beach still speaks to the soul crushing tedium of sitting behind a desk wishing your days away. Put that together with an instantly recognisable tune and you have a record that never dates.
So, for this set, we start off with Suicide is Painless by The Mash. The instrumental theme from the all time great TV show M*A*S*H* was instantly familiar to huge numbers of people brought up in the 70s. It was one of three shows my Dad and I both loved. The vocal version was from the original film and had pretty much vanished without trace until it was rediscovered by Noel Edmonds. He was one of those rare DJs who could ‘break’ a song on his own. The lyrics are as bleak as you could imagine, and the tune can both augment and undercut the effect of the words. It’s a fascinating track that I could analyse in much greater depth if I had the space! Next up we have a couple of singles from Rockabilly stalwarts Matchbox. The first one, When You Ask About Love made full use of the gorgeous vocals of Graham Fenton and I thought it was one of the best ballads of the time. Then they released my absolute favourite song of theirs, a mash-up of two songs, ‘Over the Rainbow’ which I was very familiar with and ‘You Belong To Me’ which I had never heard before. It was the latter song which caught my imagination and at the time I could often be heard singing about ‘Pyramids along the Nile’!
Yes, I was Snooker Loopy, yes I loved Chas ‘n’ Dave, yes I bought the single and played it frequently. No, I don’t regret it, and yes I still love it! For some reason, the creators of Rockney don’t get the credit they deserve for their ability to write tunes that you can’t get out of your head. I have already waxed lyrical about them in an earlier blog. Suffice it to say, it’s one of the great novelty records, and still as catchy as anything 40 years later!
Now on to the great Paul McCartney with four singles, of which three probably divide opinions like few others. ‘Pipes of Peace’ is not a Christmas song, even though it has a Christmas themed video, and reached Number One in January, so don’t let anyone tell you differently, particularly the compilers of bargain bucket Christmas Compilations. It is a call for an end to fighting in a time when we half expected to be blown up by nuclear weapons at any moment. To some it’s incredibly corny, but to me it’s an absolute classic. I certainly prefer it to ‘Give Peace a Chance’! Next is the song that even the McCartney detractors grudgingly admit to liking. No More Lonely Nights is simply an amazing ballad that contains one of the greatest guitar solos I’ve ever heard, courtesy of David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. It reached Number Two the week before I joined the RAF and was only kept off the top by another classic, Freedom by Wham!, which I will revisit towards the end of this trawl through my collection. McCartney’s real Marmite song is ‘We All Stand Together’ credited to Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus. If you don’t like it, I will never be able to persuade you otherwise, but I can’t think of any other song that my young children sang along to while watching the video endlessly, and myself and my friends belted out at the top of our voices at a house party when fairly drunk! It is a truly joyous song that I will always love. The final single of the quartet – well it’s not his finest moment by a long, long way! It does contain a really good Beatles style riff, but otherwise it’s best forgotten!
Well, this journey through my singles is not over by a long chalk, but you’ll have to wait until 2024 for the next instalment!
It’s that time of the year where everyone seems to be reflecting on the 12 months past. In 2023 I have written 56 new blogs, beating my intended target of averaging one blog post a week. The 26 posts associated with Blogmas helped of course! Some of my posts got a lot of views – by my standards anyway – and some definitely need more! So, I will choose 5 of my most successful blogs for those who might have missed them, and my 5 favourite blogs this year that didn’t pick up a lot of readers first time around. I will go chronologically and add a line or two to explain why I think they are good reading
Blog 1 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the BFI
Only 19 reads for this, but this reflection on a childhood movie and a childhood crush was well received by those who did read it.
Blog 2 What Are You Doing Here? by Floella Benjamin
56 reads for this blog about the autobiography of the year, my highest of the year for one of my 2023 entries. Floella Benjamin’s life is simply an incredible and inspiring read.
Blog 3 The Sound of Being Human by Jude Rogers
25 reads for this review of a book that is one of the best I have read this year. Give the review and the book a read if you have any interest in music.
Blog 4 A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll – A Personal Reflection
A book that explained to me why my Asperger’s has affected me in the way it has. It is the most revealing book I have ever read on a personal level. 20 views so far for a book I am incredibly evangelical about.
Blog 5 Extended Review Lines of Flight More Than Human EP
30 views for this first in an ongoing series of reviews followed by a Q&A. Lines of Flight kindly agreed to help me out by becoming the first subjects for this in-depth treatment.
Blog 6 Villager by Tom Cox
My second most read new blog of the year was seen 47 times, which is very pleasing for such a good book. Find out why this very original novel is a must read.
Blog 7 The Tomorrow People Re-View
The most famous episode of the original series, The Blue and The Green still hits the spot 50 years on. Just 23 views, but for any child of the 70s it’s a real trip down memory lane.
Blog 8 The World of Work 1983 Style
A look back at my first ever job and the way we worked back then. It is a reflection on changing times that 23 views, but which would strike a chord with anyone who was in the workforce then.
Blog 9 Extended Review Karmaa – Thrones EP
My favourite artist of the past 3 years is simply amazing on this EP and the Q&A is really revealing on both sides. It has to be worth more than the 15 views it has received.
Blog 10 Blue Peter Eleventh Book Re-read
A large proportion of my Blogmas entries have received fewer than a handful of reads. This one only has 3 to its name, but I think you’ll find it really interesting.
Well, thank you for reading to the end. There are 10 blogs here, and another 40 or so for you to choose from, so please consider giving them a first, or even a second, look.
I will keep this short and sweet because I know that most of you will have better things to do than read my blog on Christmas Day! However, as I sit here composing this message, during a break in between preparing the various salads for today’s meal, I find myself reflecting on the season in all its complexity.
Christmas is, as Fred says in A Christmas Carol, ‘a kind, forgiving, charitable time’ and I believe that to still be true. Whatever people believe or don’t believe, whether they celebrate Christmas or ignore it, whether they feel festive or not, the simple truth is that donations to charity are higher at Christmas than at any other time of the year. There seems to be an acknowledgement that, if we have the ability to donate, we should donate to people and animals who really need our help. Christmas is probably the only time I can believe that my fellow human beings have a kinder side, although I am aware that many do not share my rather negative view of human nature. Fred believed that this nature was always there, but that it was most indulged at Christmas time, and for a few days at least I can acknowledge that he is correct.
We do indulge ourselves at Christmas, often to excess, but I think that in many ways we need to, especially after a hard year, and let’s face it we’ve had a few recently! Some people, like me, find that being with family is all we need. Others like to escape the season and they head for sunnier or snowier climes. Some will treat Christmas as just another day, for reasons that are individual for each person. However, you perceive Christmas, and you know what a fan I am of it, it has to be acknowledged that the pressure to make the day perfect is far too overpowering. Whether that be choosing presents, preparing food or hosting others, the expectation is that it will be the best day of the year. I think the only thing that has changed for me over the years is that I have started to learn to settle for as good as it can be. As a result, I find Christmas a much more relaxed experience and it only took just over 50 years to realise it!
I am a massive fan of the marvellous Richard Osman, and he put into words what so many of us struggle to express at a time when happiness is expected from all of us, whatever our situation. At the end of the Christmas episode of Pointless Celebrities, he signed off with
Have a lovely Christmas. If Christmas is a hard time for you then have a peaceful one
Osman, 2023
I think all of us can agree with that wish, so whatever you are doing today may you find peace and contentment. So from my family to yours, may your day be the best it can be, and may your year ahead be easier than the one just gone.
During the 24 days of Blogmas 2023 I have reviewed a number of very different types of Christmas music, as indeed I did last year during Blogmas 2022. It is an area that fascinates me from a Popular Culture perspective, as Christmas music is one area where the gatekeepers of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture seem to be quite powerless to intervene. I put high and low in inverted commas purely because they are terms that mean whatever the speaker or writer decides they mean. There is a real cultural snobbery at large when it comes to Christmas music, and even music lovers who are live and let live at other times are more than happy to give their opinions about the quality, or otherwise, of Christmas music past and present. So, how did we get here? Join me on a whistle stop tour of the way that seasonal music has changed over the years, together with some observations from my own reading on the subject from a variety of sources.
The Earliest Christmas Music
As I observed when I reviewed my CD of Gregorian Chant the idea of music to celebrate the birth of Christ was codified at the end of the 6th Century. This meant that it had been in the common experience before then. Hymns like Veni Redemptor Gentium have been around since the 4th Century, as far as music historians can ascertain, and that’s just one of the musical fragments that have survived through chance. There will clearly be many other songs that have been lost to history. These songs were both devotional and instructional in nature. They celebrated the birth of Christ and they introduced, to those who could not read or write, the vast majority in those days, that story in a way they could easily access. For the first carols written in a language other than Latin, we turn to St Francis of Assisi who, in the 13th Century, collected devotional songs translated into the language of the population. The first set of carols written down in English date from the 15th Century, so clearly they were well known already and had been around for many years. Some of the songs we still sing, such as ‘God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen’ and ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ were first written down in the 16th Century. The Puritans vehemently opposed the celebration of Christmas, considering it to be sinful. You can see in the approach they took to music in particular, the tone set for attitudes that persist to this day. This idea that popular culture in some way cheapens the celebration of the divine lies at the heart of the disdain for seasonal music we see to this day.
Classical Music at Christmas
The development of orchestral and choral works celebrating Christmas came to the fore in Europe towards the end of the 17th Century when the English were still wrestling with the complicated legacy of puritanism. Some of these early pieces contained devotional words. They required only limited musical accompaniment such as Corelli’s Christmas Concerto which was designed for string instruments that would have been accessible to many churches and wider communities. This was clearly designed to ensure that as many people as possible could hear it. In this way, the idea of Christmas music became more focused on listening rather than performing, as the original carols had been, which, in my opinion, was a very important step in how the genre developed.
The Victorians
The age of A Christmas Carol, Christmas Cards, Christmas Crackers and the Christmas Tree in the UK saw music brought to the fore, and that, for the Victorians, meant Christmas carols. The practice of Wassailing had fallen from favour, associated as it was with drunken singers going round to rich houses and demanding food and drink, often quite aggressively. This practice is of course referenced in ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ which contains the lines,
Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding and bring some out here. / And we won’t go until we’ve got some, we won’t go until we’ve got some, we won’t go until we’ve got some, so bring some out here!
Traditional
This Wassailing was replaced with the far more socially acceptable door to door carol singing. Money was still requested, either for charity or for the poor families themselves who were out singing, but a refusal merely meant that the carol singers moved on to another house. In this way, Christmas music once again became something you took part in, rather than listened to, for the general population. However, for the richer people, the gatekeepers of culture, classical oratorio like those written by Handel and Bach were a more socially acceptable form of seasonal music, played by professionals and listened to in silence, a view that is influential to this day.
During Victorian times, many carols from the past such as ‘The Holly and The Ivy’ and many new carols such as ‘Silent Night’ which have since become an integral part of our Christmas culture. They were not always religious in nature, but they were repurposed to reflect the importance of the festival where necessary. It is likely that it was this explosion of Christmas music in churches, and the fact that the story was much happier in nature, which led to the general public attaching far more importance to Christmas than to Easter. Amongst religious people there is a tendency to treat Easter as the more significant festival, though even here the Pagan forerunner of Easter, the celebration of the Goddess Eostre, was marked by the general giving and receiving of eggs, the symbol of new birth, and the iconography of lambs reflecting her probable place as the deity of Spring. It seems as though the religious, secular and Pagan are intertwined throughout the most important festivals of church and society.
The 20th Century
In cultural terms, the 20th Century Christmas had much more in common, musically speaking, with the Christmases of the Victorians and their ancestors than it did with our more familiar celebrations. Christmas Carols and classical music still dominated until after World War II, although in America the first stirrings of our modern secular Christmas can be seen in the 1930s and early 1940s. During a 10 year span from 1934 – 1944, the following songs were written
- Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
- Winter Wonderland
- Carol of the Bells
- White Christmas
- The Little Drummer Boy
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
- The Christmas Song
It’s an impressive list of Christmas standards, and only two of them can be seen as religious in any way. The rest play with the iconography of Christmas including snow, snowmen, Santa Claus, fires and family gatherings. These songs became American Christmas standards long before they became Christmas standards around the world, but that was because of the extreme difficulty and prohibitive cost of getting hold of records from the US in those days.
These elements have become incredibly familiar and, I am sure that for many, when we see the Christmas season in our mind’s eye, it is always snowing, even though I have only seen it snow on Christmas Day once in my lifetime, in 1970. It was my first Christmas in England and I was assured by my parents in the lead up to Christmas Day itself, that it never snowed on Christmas Day, even in England! Apparently it was a few years before I stopped expecting it as a matter of course!
The second half of the 20th Century was when the Christmas record, be it a single or a whole album, became a must for many artists, and the Christmas variety special with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Andy Williams et al became an integral part of the season. They sang the songs from the 34 – 44 decade mentioned above plus newer standards like ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ and ‘A Holly, Jolly Christmas’. Now, those three have one person in common, the songwriter Johnny Marks, who no doubt looked forward to his royalty cheques every January!
The UK Christmas record was a little bit later in starting, but after a few false dawns, along came the 1970s. Now I have written at great length about the Christmas Songs of my childhood and teenage years in my two H2G2 entries covering the 1970s and the 1980s which contains everything you could wish to know, and perhaps other things you don’t need to! If you’re interested in a deep dive into the season please take a look. Suffice it to say, the Christmas Number One battle between Slade and Wizzard made the top spot on December 25, a national obsession that has endured to this year (2023), despite the worst efforts of the appalling Ladbaby over the previous five years. The appearance of Last Christmas this week at Christmas Number One was undoubtedly the sign of the festive universe righting itself!
The 21st Century
What has been interesting in the era of streaming is how the Christmas pop record has come to totally dominate the festive charts particularly in the UK, with the same songs reappearing in the upper reaches of the charts year after year. If we look at the Christmas Chart of 2023 and compare it to the Christmas Chart of 2017 you will notice this phenomenon, one that has become more and more marked in the last decade. These chart positions are based on streaming figures, so they reflect what people are putting on their Christmas playlists, and it seems that all generations from Grandparents to Gen Z are listening to the same songs year after year as they have become an indelible part of our shared Christmas cultural heritage. They have not replaced the Christmas carols of previous centuries as the music of the season, but they are, I argue, far more significant nowadays. They carry the memories of Christmas with family and friends. Our children have grown up with those songs from their earliest days and they are word perfect on them, as are most of their friends. Their quality, or otherwise, is immaterial as they have become a cultural shorthand that epitomise the modern Christmas. The unfortunate by-product of this has been the huge difficulty new Christmas songs are faced with in terms of getting airplay against the avalanche of older songs. There have been some great new Christmas songs over the last decade, but if very few people are hearing them, how are they going to become the Christmas classics of future years? A perfect example of this is the brilliant My Kind of Christmas by Cats in Space, itself influenced by the 70s classic of Slade and Wizzard. Take a listen and introduce yourselves to a Christmas classic that just needs a chance.
The Future?
So, what lies ahead musically? My guess is that the current situation will continue for a few years yet, but if the last millennium and more has taught me that the world of Christmas music is always evolving. I await the next development with interest.
In this blog post I am going to take a look ahead to five elements of the festive season that I can see being transformed either by technology or society in the next 20 years or so. These ideas are not based on anything other than extrapolations or hunches, but I think I can make a reasonable case for all five. So, please join me as I look ahead to Christmas 2043.
1. Family Time
Christmas 2023 style is much the same as it has been for many years. People either take their cars or public transport, and make their way to someone else’s house or to a venue like a hotel or a restaurant for their celebrations. It is stressful, time consuming, environmentally unfriendly and often gets the Christmas period off to the worst possible start. Christmas 2043 will see many families using the full power of technology and joining each other using VR headsets. They are already very advanced, but for the moment require a virtual landscape. I think that in 20 years time you will be able to sit in a real life living room or around the Christmas dining table with other family members with the simple use of cameras in the host venue. Let’s face it, cameras are becoming increasingly powerful and the days of grainy images are pretty much gone, as doorbell cameras demonstrate. This could be a way to make the family gathering a more relaxing occasion for all as we are invited to each other’s homes without leaving our own.
2. Present Buying
Now, I absolutely love present buying. All year I listen to little comments people make, or take notice of what they are listening to, watching or reading, store them away and then start buying presents from July or August onwards, safe in the knowledge that they will love their gifts. I am also very straightforward to buy for with three themed gift lists on Amazon! However, I am aware that I am something of an outlier in this matter, so what will be done for those who hate present buying. Well in Christmas 2043 one of the tried and trusted pieces of Christmas tech will be the AI Shopping Assistant. The basis for this technology already exists because of our huge digital footprints. However, I see different levels of AI present choosing, with the lower level being based on any wish lists on any site, the medium level being based on the searches made by the intended recipient, and the highest level looking for unique presents based on the person’s entire digital footprint that moves past any lists or any searches that the person may have made. Yes, I am developing technology in my own image, but I firmly believe I am the best model for this!
3. Christmas Decorations
A common theme of Christmases past and present has been the many decisions to be made when putting your decorations up. We’ve all heard variations on the following. ‘Does this look good here?’ ‘Where can this go?’ ‘We can’t possibly fit everything on to the tree!’ This year, I reluctantly accepted that the children’s Christmas decorations, made at primary school or beyond, needed to be left in the attic due to lack of room. It got me thinking about how we avoid this situation in the future. How will technology help here? Well, I think it will be a two step process. Stage 1 uses existing technology. Even now, it’s a fairly straightforward process to take a picture of each room in the house and get AI to suggest a design. We can look at those designs using our VR headsets and then utilise the decorations we have to their best effect. Stage 2 is where the process gets more personal. The user uploads pictures of all of their decorations and the AI then fits each one into the room to their best effect. You can prioritise certain decorations above others at this stage to ensure that homemade decorations get their place in setting the tone for the festivities.
4. Christmas Cards
The decline in the number of people sending Christmas cards seems to be the end for a tradition that will be 200 years old in 2043. The days of hanging up Christmas cards, or putting them around the fireplace and on every available surface, are over for many in my generation and my children’s generation. Many of my online friends announce that they are not sending Christmas cards anymore. You now send cards in the hope rather than the expectation that they will reach the intended recipients before the end of Twelfth Night, due to the problems that the Post Office now has in terms of getting anything to us in time. Why would anyone send them in the future? Well, I have a theory that the 200th anniversary of Christmas cards will see a resurgence in the practice as the younger generation search for something more tangible. It happened with music, after all, as vinyl became a format of interest, not just for oldies like me, but for my children and their friends. They love the tactile nature of the vinyl records and they can see the way that it changes the way you listen to music. Cards will become, initially I think, a way of showing a real connection with your closest friends, and they will take their place as Christmas decorations as they did for my parents and for us. Christmas is about tradition and nostalgia and the resurgence of cards will provide both for a new generation of Christmas lovers.
5. Christmas Entertainment
For my entire childhood, and well into my twenties and to some extent beyond, Christmas television was a shared experience with massive audiences as all the family sat in front of the TV. Surely that is a thing of the past? Well, maybe not. There are Christmas Movie channels, repeats of Christmas TV in years gone by and communal experiences where people gather together to watch Christmas classics on the big screen, sometimes with full orchestras playing the music. It is already common for people of all ages to have favourite films that must be watched every year, so those films are the ones that, around the country, sell out venues months ahead of time. Looking ahead, I think that there will be more and more call for these shared experiences as our increasingly separate lives leave us ever more in need of real world connections. What form these connections will take is less certain, but I see the large screen events becoming a part of most people’s Christmas celebrations, and this will, I think, lead on to a resurgence in shared Christmas TV programmes on broadcast channels that can tap into this need.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. Some aspects of Christmas Yet to Come may well look more familiar than we expect, but technology will change other aspects beyond all recognition. I hope you have found my predictions interesting, and perhaps persuasive. I would love to hear from you in the comments if you agree or disagree with any of them.
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 