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
As soon as I heard the spikey post-punk sound of The Futureheads I knew that they would be a band that I'd grow to cherish. Their first album is a masterpiece of the genre, with fifteen short, sharp pieces of energetic post-punk, and including arguably the only Kate Bush cover that's surpassed the original, with 'Hounds Of Love'. From that point on I sought out everything that they released, and that was something of a mammoth task with the issue of their 'Decent Days And Nights' single, with its myriad formats and variety of b-sides. Their follow-up record 'News And Tributes' was another great album, with a slightly more mature sound, and the band continued to grow with the release of 'This Is Not The World' and 'The Chaos', until they issued their most ambitious album yet in 2012, with the acapella 'Rant'. Eschewing musical instruments, the whole record is composed of just voices, and despite how daunting that sounds, it really worked, and was a triumph. Around 2006 I decided to collect all those hard to find songs onto one CD, and as with the Arctic Monkeys and Laura Marling discs from previous posts, they then sat on my shelf for thirteen years before I decided to share them, so I hope that some of you will remember with affection this superb indie band, and will appreciate hearing songs that you might not have known existed.
Track listing
01 Ticket (from the '1-2-3.nul!' EP 2003)02 Piece Of Crap (b-side of 'First Day' 2003)03 A Picture Of Dorian Grey (from the '1-2-3.nul!' EP 2003) 04 Cabaret (from the '1-2-3.nul!' EP 2003)05 Fit But You Know It (b-side of Mike Skinner & The Streets CD 2004)06 Banquo (b-side of 'Decent Days And Nights' CD single 2005)07 Boring The Children (b-side of Australian 'Decent Days And Nights' CD single 2005)08 Balsh (b-side of 'First Day' 2003)09 Appreciate The Effort (b-side of 'Decent Days And Nights' 2004)10 Tearing Holes (from the '1-2-3.nul!' Promo EP 2003) 11 Park Inn (from the 'Nul Book Standard' EP 2002) 12 Remote Control (b-side of 'Decent Days And Nights' CD single 2004)13 Area (single 2005)14 Easy For Us (b-side of 'Skip To The End' 2006)15 Help Us Out (b-side of 'Area')16 We Cannot Lose (b-side of 'Area')17 Outro (from the 'Nul Book Standard' EP 2002)
