#songsofseasonspast — Public Fediverse posts

A full album for today, Master Harker.

"Christmas music from Guildford Cathedral" came out in 1966.

1. Fantasia on Christmas Carols (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
2. All in the morning (arr. Vaughan Williams)
3. Bethlehem Down (Peter Warlock)
4. Adam lay ybounden (Peter Warlock)
5. Wassail Song (arr. Vaughan Williams)
6. Carol Symphony (Victor Hely-Hutchinson)

"Carol symphony" begins at 22'45, and the best bit is 35 minutes into the video.
https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=mJSkGp-OUfU
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #BoxOfDelights

Such a choice for 1973. Slade! Steeleye Span! Elton John!

Have a piece of Wizzard, Roy Wood's band. Mr. Wood dresses up as Santa, and the children perform as themselves.

The glam rock chords are spot-on for 1973, and the song's become as much part of the furniture as that slightly-dented third bauble down.
https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=62S-v337wd4
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #RoyWood #Wizzard

The Wombles - Wombling merry Christmas

The stars of 1974 end their Imperial Phase with a festive glam rock slice.

Mike Batt and his furries were denied the top spot by Mud, not that they cared. The explosive chords are spot-on, and the B-side ("Madam Cholet") is worth a listen.

From the album "Keep on Wombling".
https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=DzAL9ELsFRw
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #TheWombles

Jacob Miller - On the twelve day of Ismas

Back to 1978, and a very different take on the bird collection scheme. Fewer birds, more leaf-based substances.

From the dancehalls of Jamaica, via the Top Rank label, to reggae fans around the world.

The album "Natty Christmas" features Inner Circle, and Sly & Robbie.
https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=CE8XZ9ZcXGk
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #JacobMiller #reggae

Emmylou Harris - O little town of Bethlehem

Every time I look at Emmylou Harris's career, I'm amazed at how long it is, and how she's managed to remain relevant throughout. Folk with elements of country and rock, singer and songwriter and inspiration to so many.

Her first (!) Christmas album was 1979's "Light of the Stable", human and pure of heart. From it, a traditional carol.
https://invidious.projectsegfau.lt/watch?v=YaZEDxdutCk&list=OLAK5uy_kFXWaj4j5ocZZLOMIzchGr6kLKjjhvifI&index=1
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #EmmylouHarris

There have been many covers of "Walking in the air". Aled Jones the most famous, we'd expect versions by show stoppers like Elaine Paige and Hayley Westenra and Cliff Richard and Connie Talbot and Bloody Gareth Malone.

But who ever bet on a cover version by Iron Maiden?! From their 1986 tour.
https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=hcTfAbtmbwc
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #TheSnowman #IronMaiden

Peter Auty - "Walking in the air"

Seminal animation "The Snowman" first aired on Channel 4 in 1982. It's been repeated every year since, as integral a part of the Christmas experience on these shores as Donald Duck is in Sweden.

Howard Blake's soundtrack is based around a musical motif in D-minor, forever mysterious and slightly melancholic. Eventually, the hum resolves into a full song.

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=X986dthrhaQ
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #TheSnowman #PeterAuty

Peter Auty - "Walking in the air"

Seminal animation "The Snowman" first aired on Channel 4 in 1982. It's been repeated every year since, as integral a part of the Christmas experience on these shores as Donald Duck is in Sweden.

Howard Blake's soundtrack is based around a musical motif in D-minor, forever mysterious and slightly melancholic. Eventually, the hum resolves into a full song.

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=X986dthrhaQ
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #TheSnowman #PeterAuty

Peter Auty - "Walking in the air"

Seminal animation "The Snowman" first aired on Channel 4 in 1982. It's been repeated every year since, as integral a part of the Christmas experience on these shores as Donald Duck is in Sweden.

Howard Blake's soundtrack is based around a musical motif in D-minor, forever mysterious and slightly melancholic. Eventually, the hum resolves into a full song.

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=X986dthrhaQ
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #TheSnowman #PeterAuty

Peter Auty - "Walking in the air"

Seminal animation "The Snowman" first aired on Channel 4 in 1982. It's been repeated every year since, as integral a part of the Christmas experience on these shores as Donald Duck is in Sweden.

Howard Blake's soundtrack is based around a musical motif in D-minor, forever mysterious and slightly melancholic. Eventually, the hum resolves into a full song.

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=X986dthrhaQ
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #TheSnowman #PeterAuty

Peter Auty - "Walking in the air"

Seminal animation "The Snowman" first aired on Channel 4 in 1982. It's been repeated every year since, as integral a part of the Christmas experience on these shores as Donald Duck is in Sweden.

Howard Blake's soundtrack is based around a musical motif in D-minor, forever mysterious and slightly melancholic. Eventually, the hum resolves into a full song.

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=X986dthrhaQ
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #TheSnowman #PeterAuty

In the last week, they've released some B-roll footage from "Last Christmas", not properly used in the clip.

It shows Andrew Ridgley playing with matches, which is even more dangerous than #Whamageddon.

Yes, this is soundtracked by the original song.
https://invidious.projectsegfau.lt/watch?v=CkfU3MXU1OU
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #Wham!

Another day, another film soundtrack song.

"Last Christmas" by Wham!, the middle in their run of five successive number one singles.

George Michael was ill and couldn't promote the song on TOTP. Here's the video, which (thinking of those poor unfortunates doing Whamageddon wrong) shouldn't auto-play...
https://invidious.projectsegfau.lt/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #Wham!

"Mistletoe and Wine" - Twiggy

Written for ITV's "The Little Match Girl" from 1986.

Lyricist Leslie Stewart came up with the lyric, Keith Strachan set it to a tune.

The song became a lively knees-up music hall number, sung by well-to-do revellers utterly indifferent to the suffering around them. It's surprisingly socialist, this.

Cliff re-wrote it to fit his parochial agenda, and had the big hit of '88.
https://invidious.slipfox.xyz/watch?v=UOx2WZ0Cx6A
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #Twiggy #CliffRichard #MistletoeAndWine

#SongsOfSeasonsPast is in something of a run of Christmas movie soundtracks.

From 1988's "Scrooged", Natalie Cole sings "The Christmas song". You know, chipmunks roasting on an open fire... Released as a single, just tickled the top 75 over here.

Natalie was a superb jazz singer, the equal of her famous father, taken from us too soon at the end of 2015.
https://iv.melmac.space/watch?v=F2GCgOWSK3s
#NatalieCole

Is there a better adaptation of the original than "The Muppet Christmas Carol"?

From the soundtrack, "It feels like Christmas". The Ghost of Christmas Present as he explains to Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) the different sounds, smells, sensations, and emotions associated with the season.

Look at what you're missing, Scrooge! Fun! Joy! Happiness!
https://invidious.projectsegfau.lt/watch?v=3eSx9lxjfOQ&list=PL3EEBC548773DC9C0&index=9
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #Muppets #AChristmasCarol #CharlieDickens #Dickens

"Player's ball" - Outkast

Confession time: I didn't listen to "A LaFace Family Christmas" when it came out in 1993: didn't know Toni Braxton from Eve, hadn't got TLC. If I had done, I'd have been blown away by this debut from Mr. Boi and Mr. 3000.

An unlikely theme for a festive album, the rap is a sardonic take on how the Yankee snowy Christmas is meaningless in the heat of the south. Not all Christmases are plentiful, happy, or white.

https://invidious.slipfox.xyz/watch?v=iCe2wcSh1mE&list=PLwp9dFE8YP_LdFQCLaq4-JqgnSjBQxZzf&index=3
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #Outkast

Looking through the #SongsOfSeasonsPast schedule, I see we're short of some traditional Christian carols.

Hanson come to the rescue. Yes, Hanson, Oklahoma's finest musical export before AleXa.

The lads made a festive album "Snowed In", and a medley of "O Holy Night/Silent Night/O Come All Ye Faithful". Tick three carols off the list!

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=H1W1lLDwvf0
#Hanson

Debbie Friedman - The latke song

Hanukkah continues, the festival of oily things. Candles and lamps burning from remarkably little fuel, jam doughnuts, fried shredded potatoes.

The celebration is marked by singing and dancing, and with Debbie Friedman's song. Debbie was a leader in post-war Jewish worship music, folk-inspired singing to make prayer relevant.

This live performance comes from Boston in 2001.
https://invidious.fdn.fr/watch?v=DhFiszfdt18
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #DebbieFriedman #Hanukkah #judaism

"Xmas cake" - Rilo Kiley

"Maybe This Christmas Too?" was a charity compilation album put out by Nettwerk Records in 2003, and showcases many of the indie rock stars of the time - Badly Drawn Boy, The Be Good Tanyas, Flaming Lips, Chantal Kreviazuk and Avril Lavigne.

From it, here's Rilo Kiley, answering the question: what happens when you've grown out of a juvenile holiday?

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=i3KYOdTZgUg&list=PLiVD1nP0nxAXR6rWE6q9tlglKDHRQ36hw&index=3
#RiloKiley #SongsOfSeasonsPast

"Breath of heaven" - Oleta Adams - from 2006's "Christmas Time with Oleta Adams"

Soul voice of the early 90s Oleta Adams came back after five years off with a gospel album. Lots of choirs, lots of arrangements familiar to Black congregations - "Allelua allelua" a standout, "Silent night" shows Oleta's vocal power.

Here's the other hit by Chris Eaton, "Breath of heaven", here sung with maximum drama.
https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=G9DqIV1NPkE&list=OLAK5uy_mgDQ4lkZ7SW3bim4a1FdQjkpHHfy1bBMw&index=4
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #OletaAdams

"Trains and winter rains" - Enya

Although she's been making ambient music for any season since the dawn of time, it wasn't until 2008 that Enya put an album out for the Christmas market.

"And Winter Came..." is answers the question "How does snow sound? How does it form, and how does it affect those around?" The answer appears to be close to Enya's familiar calm and contented peace, with a prog rock shock late in the album.

https://invidious.protokolla.fi/watch?v=cuDDPF6vE6Y&list=OLAK5uy_nIp4IKRzYn1XckZtXvkiU86QwSt6tPoj8&index=4
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #Enya #NewAge

For sheer artistic merit, it's hard to fault "A Christmas Cornucopia", Annie Lennox's album from 2010.

More than a by-the-numbers recitation of festive greats, Annie dives into the depths of the canon, with folk songs and unusual arrangements - "Coventry carol" gets an African beat and becomes worth a listen.

"Gd rest ye merry, gentlemen" is another highlight, a very 2010-modern take on the traditional carol.
https://iv.melmac.space/watch?v=ZlsJD8RlhbI&list=OLAK5uy_koj2dha9axar_WfsPOPmbZuMrDE2sqrLQ&index=1
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #AnnieLennox

Happy tenth birthday for tomorrow, "Christmas is in the air" is on The Tuts' Bandcamp page.
https://thetuts.bandcamp.com/track/christmas-is-in-the-air
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #KateNash #TheTuts #London #Punk #Bandcamp #BandcampFriday

"Christmas is in the air" - Kate Nash

"Have Faith with Kate Nash this Christmas", was a short ep: breakup punk song "I hate you this Christmas", takes on "Silent night" and "Auld lang syne", a new song called "Faith", and this little gem Kate recorded with The Tuts.

Harrow meets Hayes in a guitar-led festive choon, with plenty of harmonies to make the ears go a-tremble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqVT2pKQYF8
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #KateNash #TheTuts #London #Punk

... also recommend "Little bilberry", "Cornish wassailing", and gently smutty "The goose".

Copies of "The Frost is All Over", and streaming links, from Kate Rusby's website. https://katerusby.com/album/the-frost-is-all-over/
#KateRusby #SongsOfSeasonsPast

"The frost is all over" - Kate Rusby

Folk singer Kate Rusby has made half-a-dozen seasonal albums. "The Frost is All Over", from 2015, is a collection of familiar songs in unfamiliar arrangements, and songs from her South Yorkshire roots.

Kate's voice is backed by a brass section, with twiddling banjo and accordion. She evokes the pub singing tradition, people too rowdy for austere churches.

Here's the title track.

https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=V9j3Jj3ydog&list=OLAK5uy_ly446ZTqXXGCIoUt8xhQw9o4Oa3-cwvjs&index=10
#KateRusby #SongsOfSeasonsPast #FolkMusic #Yorkshire

John Legend - "Bring me love"

John Legend is blessed with a powerful soul voice. For 2018's "A Legendary Christmas", he worked with producer and arranger Raphael Saadiq to make a full aural landscape.

"Bring me love" is the standout catchy song, easy enough for new listeners to appreciate, rich enough to hint at the warming tenderness pervading the rest of the album.

Also recommended: "Purple snowflakes", "No place like home".
https://invidious.slipfox.xyz/watch?v=tRjfq6QUjGM
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #JohnLegend

#SongsOfSeasonsPast takes a diversion into Hanukkah. Specifically, "Hannukah+", a compilation album released in 2019.

"Hanukkah in '96" is by Alex Frankel. It's a personal reflection on his roots in New York.

Also recommended on this album: Adam Green explains the holiday on "Dreidels of fire"; Haim perform "If it be your will".
https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=Z6eJ_TElQFk&list=PL9tY0BWXOZFsXFA0OJZIXDMJi0SBOgXfo&index=5
#AlexFrankel #Hanukkah

Francesca Battistelli - "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer"

There's nothing new to be said about Johnny Marks' classic song.

There is something new to be said about this version, call-and-response from the Battistelli children turns the saccharine tune into something brighter.

From 2020's album "This Christmas". I also recommend the a capella "Snowy day" and new song "December we'll remember".
https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=YZkILs-1vvs
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #FrancescaBattistelli

All seasonal songs are twinkly and bright and schmalzy, right?

Of course not.

"It never snows in Florida" was the highlight of New Found Glory's pop-punk album "December's Here".

https://iv.melmac.space/watch?v=f60gpv6Msak
#SongsOfSeasonsPast #NewFoundGlory

What did Sausage do next?

After winning #TheMaskedSinger disguised as a banger, Joss Stone made a festive album.

"Bring on Christmas day" was the big track - big in promotion, big in sound, big in emotion.

From 2022's "Merry Christmas, Love".
https://iv.melmac.space/watch?v=odMCScqYu10
#JossStone #SongsOfSeasonsPast

This month's theme is #SongsOfSeasonsPast. Start in the present, go backwards in time, and all posts are vaguely seasonal.

Remember how Jade West proved her vocal chops on the Victorious festive episode? Liz Gillies can properly sing, and has made an album with Seth MacFarlane from "The Orville". Bright jazz singing, festive and jolly and spirited.

"That holiday feeling" and an interview.
https://invidious.lunar.icu/watch?v=sO2TF9mlnkk
#ElizabethGillies #SethMacFarlane