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 alternative christmas playlist
Merry Christmas from Collective! On 16 December, 1965, Jingle Bells became the first song to be broadcast from space. Gemini 6 astronauts contacted Mission Control with a report of a satellite in polar orbit. Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra reported “eight small modules pulling a command module”, before noting “the pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit”. They then performed Jingle Bells on a smuggled harmonica and sleigh bells. Clearly, it gets pretty boring in space. Likewise, if you’re tiring of the over-familiar Christmas mix, if Noddy Holder’s war cry at the start of Merry Christmas Everybody is already beginning to grate, perhaps Collective can help. This Christmas, treat yourself to twelve festive tracks of a different kind. They are by turns surprising, melancholic and heart-warming. As are all the best Christmases.  listen to the 12 track playlist the fallhark, the herald angels sing! John Wesley’s 18th Century hymn as knocked out by the Manc punks. Happy Christmas-ah! the fall - hark, the herald angels sing mother and the addictsoh no! it's christmas again “When my family comes round and I’m at my wit’s end...” The Glasgow garage-rockers feel the pressure. mother and the addicts - oh no! it's christmas again aidan moffatsanta claus is coming to town Now Arab Strap have gone their separate ways, enjoy this no-fi version of the festive favourite. aidan moffat - santa claus is coming to town headcoateessanta claus Originally a limited 7" release, enjoy this burst of scratchy garage doo-wop from Holly Golightly and friends. headcoatees - santa claus sufjan stevensthat was the worst christmas ever! Stevens' contribution hints at the claustrophobia of family gatherings. sufjan stevens - that was the worst christmas ever!quasimerry x-mas A beautiful composition taken from this year’s album, When The Going Gets Dark. quasi - merry x-mas1990sjingle bells OK, so it's not actually THAT song, nor is it particularly festive. But damn it’s good. 1990s - jingle bellsenvelopespink christmas A glorious seasonal cacophony - a bit like if all your Christmases really did come at once. envelopes - pink christmas chevronrudi the techno pioneer Planet Mu’s electronic maverick drops a ragga-jungle mash-up of We Wish You A Merry Christmas. That’s nan sorted then. chevron - rudi the techno pioneer the knifechristmas reindeer Having conquered 2006 with their Silent Shout album, The Knife get festive. Weird, but festive nonetheless. the knife - christmas reindeerscissors for leftychristmas intentions The Cali rockers regret misbehaving all year. Don’t they know he’s making a list and checking it twice? scissors for lefty - christmas intentionssufjan stevenssister winter It’s that man again. Another present from his five-CD Christmas box set. sufjan stevens - sister winter
James Cowdery
 comments
Read members' comments related to this music.
comment by phizzpop
Dec 16, 2007
there's some good stuff here, but there is an awesome indie, alternative, rock, pop christmas songs playlist feed going on right now that will eventually include 120 or more xmas songs, half of which are unknown even to regular listeners of bbc (i love BCC radio!)the feed is at feeds.feedburner.com/indierockcafe/ycjd and offers a number of options plus security and other cool features. the site where the series is officially being published is very interesting Indie Rock Cafe (not the greatest name, but good content) at indierockcafe.com
comment by Spawn_of_Loucifer
Dec 20, 2006
How about "No Presents for Christmas" by King Diamond? 
comment by CombineHarvester OfSorrow
Dec 18, 2006
Frank Kelly's (Fr Jack Hackett) take on the 12 days of christmas has never had the popularity it deserves. My top tune for the Season.
comment by amir
Dec 17, 2006
We all know that the best Christmas song is 'In The Bleak Midwinter' by Bert Jansch.
comment by Jody
Dec 17, 2006
Good work team!
comment by atlanticpat
Dec 16, 2006
What happened to the De Rosa MP3?! I hadn't saved that and I loved it! Please put it back up collective!!
comment by Republik of Mancunia
Dec 15, 2006
Christmas songs are brilliant. All of them. And thats final.I do an "indie" night on Thursdays in manchester and last night we finished with Mariah Careys christmas effort and it was immense. Everyone loved it.
comment by rowan
Dec 15, 2006
Hey, currybet, lovely to see your little eyes around on Collective! Happy Christmas to you too.
comment by currybet
Dec 15, 2006
We usually rely on an old copy of an XfM alternative Xmas compilation at this time of year, but now I can fend of Noddy Holder with The Fall. Fantastico!and a Happy Xmas to the collective crew in White City
comment by atlanticpat
Dec 15, 2006
The De Rosa song is superb. Like Arcade Fire meets Low meets Arab Strap or something. I love it. And the Sufjan stuff is just beautiful. Long live the xmas song!
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related info
 useful linkswww.chemikal.co.uk www.planet-mu.com www.asthmatickitty.com www.theaddicts.2ya.com www.visi.com/fall www.theknife.com roughtraderecords.com domino: quasi www.scissorsforlefty.com www.brillerecords.com www.damagedgoods.co.uk
note: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
see also
 l. pierrealbum review  arab strapalbum review chevronalbum review sufjan stevensalbum review  mother & the addicts reviewthe fallinterview  the knifealbum music  music archive Watch music sessions and interviews from 2002 to 2008. books  books and comics archive Author interviews and reviews from 2002 to 2008. |
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