The New Year provides us with ample opportunities to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. It is the reason that the first month of the year is named January after the Roman God Janus who is always depicted as having two faces, one looking back the other looking ahead. This is […]
Classical Music for the New Year
J Strauss – The Blue Danube Every New Year collection must include this, the most famous waltz ever written, always the penultimate piece played in the popular New Year’s Day concert from Vienna’s Musikverein. An der schönen, blauen Donau (to give it its proper title), one of the best pieces of classical music to celebrate […]
Songs for New Year
New Year’s Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year’s Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whilst most solar calendars (like the Gregorian […]
Tracey Thorn – Tinsel and Lights
Tinsel and Lights is a Christmas album by British singer Tracey Thorn (best known as the voice of Everything But the Girl) . It was released in October 2012 on Buzzin’ Fly Records and Merge Records. It is her fourth solo studio album. The album mostly avoids canonical Christmas songs but instead features covers of […]
Nick Lowe – Quality Street
Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family is a studio album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. The album was released in October 2013 by Yep Roc Records. The album was featured at No.17 on Rolling Stone’s “40 Essential Christmas Albums” list at the end of November 2019. Nick Lowe was approached by his […]
Warner Brothers Stars – We Wish You A Merry Christmas
“We Wish You A Merry Christmas” This vintage television-related LP was released in 1959 and features 15 great Christmas favourites sung by Warner Brothers Stars. Stars included are Poncie Ponce, Bob Conrad, Eddie Cole, Roger Moore, Ty Hardin, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Peter Brown, Ray Danton, Dorothy Provine, Ed Byrnes and Connie Stevens and Roger LaVerne […]
Weezer – Christmas With Weezer
Christmas with Weezer is a Christmas EP by American rock band Weezer. It was released through DGC/Interscope in December 2008. I’m willing to bet that Christmas with Weezer is the only Christmas EP by a major label artist to ever be originally released via iPhone game. The six tracks were originally recorded for the previously […]
The Jethro Tull Christmas Album
The Jethro Tull Christmas Album is the 21st studio album released by Jethro Tull in September 2003. This was the band’s last studio album for 19 years (until the release of The Zealot Gene in 2022), as well as the last album to feature the lineup of Ian Anderson, guitarist Martin Barre (and his last […]
Billy Idol – Happy Holidays
“Happy Holidays” is a Christmas album released 2006 and is the seventh studio album by Billy Idol. It includes renditions of many traditional songs and two original songs, “Happy Holiday” and “Christmas Love”. Music videos were released for “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Happy Holiday”, “White Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland”. In November 2021, Billy Idol released a […]
The First Christmas Carols
Jesus Refulsit Omnium is the oldest Christmas Carol historians have knowledge of, it is a 4th century motet or Epiphany: ‘Jesus Refulsit Omnium’ – Jesus, Light of All the Nations – The exact translation would be ‘Jesus, the brilliance of all.’ It depicts the sudden realization that enlightened the Magi, the Wise Men, when they […]