I was watching the penultimate episode of the latest series of 'The Simpsons' the other day, and at the end we were treated to the end credits played by Weezer, which got me thinking about other T.V. themes that have been covered by rock bands, and there are more than you would think. Some have even been hit singles for The Manic Street Preachers, The Timelords and The Dickies, and in their naive Australia for Silver Studs, and many famous bands like to pay homage to their favourite T.V. shows by covering the theme tune. The James Taylor Quartet jazzed up 'Starsky & Hutch' for their second album following the success of their mini-album of film themes in 1987, and the latest example is a frankly unrecognisable version of 'The Golden Girls' theme 'Thank You For Being A Friend' from St. Vincent. Pantera have shredded 'Mission Impossible', just as Weezer have done with 'The Simpsons', whereas a couple of the best covers are from artists previously unknown to me, Shagpile with a lovely cover of the theme from 'Cheers', and Mateo Oxley with a similar version of the theme from 'Friends'. Also tucked away on here is Sun Kil Moon's take on 'The Partridge Family', 'Laverne & Shirley' from The Squealing Pygmies, 'Welcome Back Kotter' from Swedish hipsters jj, and Husker Du paying tribute to their hometown-based 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'. The theme from 'Batman' has been covered by many rock bands, including The Who, The Jam, Link Wray, REM, and The Ventures, but I've gone with The Flaming Lips' version here, and we round the whole thing off with the track that started this idea, Weezer playing out 'The Simpsons'. Hope you enjoy this little diversion, and now that I've got this out of my system I'll get back to the normal rock stuff.
01 Theme From Starsky & Hutch (The James Taylor Quartet)02 Making Our Dreams Come True (The Squealing Pygmies)03 UFO (The Wedding Present)04 Theme From M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless) (Manic Street Preachers)05 Mission Impossible (Pantera)06 Thank You For Being A Friend (St. Vincent)07 Batman Theme (The Flaming Lips)08 Banana Splits (The Dickies)09 Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Shagpile)10 Doctorin' The Tardis (The Timelords AKA The KLF)11 Love Is All Around (Husker Du)12 Get Smart Theme (Agent 86) (Agent Orange)13 C'Mon Get Happy (Sun Kil Moon)14 Theme To The Persuaders (Jah Wobble)15 Welcome Back (jj)16 Happy Days (Silver Studs)17 I'll Be There For You (Mateo Oxley)18 Spider Man (Ramones)19 The Simpsons Theme (Weezer)
If, like me, you've heard the same dozen Christmas songs over and over on the radio and in the shops over the past few weeks, then here's an album to take the edge off the festive period. They're still Christmas/Winter-themed songs, but by some of my favourite bands (most of them already have a post on the site), and the majority are in the alternative genre, with just a couple of more mainstream acts, but with songs that tend not to make it to the ubiquitous Christmas compilation albums. Low issued one of the best ever Christmas albums in 2010, and I was tempted to include the up-beat 'Just Like Christmas', but instead I went for a lesser-known song from it, although do check out the whole thing as it's a classic. Cheap Trick, Ramones, The Flaming Lips, Sparks and AC/DC give us a cynical or left-field viewpoint of the holiday, while the offerings from Squeeze, Smashing Pumpkins and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are surprisingly restrained. Galaxie 500's take on Yoko One's 'Listen, The Snow Is Falling' is simply breath-taking, and I've also included songs by two of my favourite current singer/songwriters, with 'Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)' from Laura Marling and 'Winter Song' from Billie Marten. I hope that this hour-long collection of little-heard Christmas songs adds some joy to your holiday. 
Track listing
01 Christmas Christmas - Cheap Trick02 A Christmas Song - Jethro Tull03 Christmas Was Better In The 80's - The Futureheads04 Listen, The Snow Is Falling - Galaxie 50005 Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) - Ramones06 Christmas Time - The Smashing Pumpkins07 If You Were Born Today (Song For Little Baby Jesus) - Low08 All I Want For Christmas - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs09 Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers10 Winter Song - Billie Marten11 Christmas At The Zoo - The Flaming Lips12 Father Christmas - The Kinks13 Home For Christmas - Kate Bush14 Thank God It's Not Christmas - Sparks15 Christmas Day - Squeeze16 (We Wish You) A Protein Christmas - The Fall17 There Ain't No Santa Claus On The Evening Stage - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band18 Mistress For Christmas - AC/DC19 Goodbye England (Covered In Snow) - Laura Marling
