Christmas A Go Go!

Marcel Martel from Drummondville, Québec, was a pioneer of the country and western genre. One of his daughters is a famous country and western singer, Renée Martel, who has a few Christmas albums of standards. Over the course of a 35-year career, he released nearly 200 records, frequently collaborating with his wife Noëlla Therrien, his daughter Renée, who also had a very long career, and fellow country singer Paul Brunelle. Irène McNeil recorded a song with a similar name called 'Rock N' Roll Du Père Noël' in 1957, produced by French immigrant businesswoman Michèle Sandry, who also sang and recorded herself. Good luck finding those rarities. McNeil was also nicknamed 'Mademoiselle Rythme' ('Miss Rhythm'), the title of her first album. Listen to the entire album here , which features another Christmas song, 'Noël en Italie' ('Christmas in Italy'). Unlike Marcel Martel's 'Rock'n'roll du Père Noël', which he wrote hi...

Yes, we did celebrate 40 years of Last Christmas earlier with a blogpost ( THIS ONE ), but then we ran into more fine versions from 2024. So we had to do another one. Because, this version by baritone Daniel Knox is quite something. Reminds me of Neil Hannon (of Divine Comedy-fame), Dougie Poole and Stuart Staples (Tindersticks), but with just one red wine too many: Last Christmas by Daniel Knox Smart arrangement, smart instrumentation (ooh that organ). You need to buy this one to hear 'Lost Christmas', an eerie instrumental of one minute long. Nice, tho. Already posted on Christmas Underground , but if you missed that, here is Kestrels in all it's dreampop fuzz-pedal-down-glory: Kestrels · Last Christmas Boyz of Kumbia ! Totally different vibe, electronic cumbia, in Spanish: Boyz of Kumbia · Last Christmas (Español) I don't know what to make of this track by Thomas Kavanagh , is it emo-pop? Layerrrrsss of guitars, pop singing: Thomas Kavanagh · Last Chri...

"Hit it boy" , well allright then. It's friday night after all. Lots of covers over the years of this one , which is originally performed by Eartha Kitt in 1953. And you may think that this one doesn't add much to all the previous covers, but come on, it's sooo tasty, tempting, sweet and lovely. So let's give it up for Mary Moore (I'd buy her anything she wanted anyway).  Her Insta over there .

We have known her for a while at CAGG and unfortunately she was absent last year, but this year Trella is back with a beautiful cover of ' Grown-Up Christmas List '. Her sultry voice is still as irresistible.  Buffalo Tom, the eighties alt-rock heroes, are still going strong and so is Bill Janovitz , their singer, as we can hear on his first (!) subdued solo Christmas track. There's a first time for everything. He sketched this one out on Christmas Eve 2023 and finished it on Thanksgiving 2024. Christmas Eve by Bill Janovitz An Overnight Low has an original take on Santa's sleigh in this this track that is slightly reminiscent of R.E.M. from the Murmur era and bands like The Feelies. We met them earlier , Sugar World , with a cover of Low's 'Just Like Christmas'. This year they recorded their very first Christmas original. Call it indie, call it dreampop, call it DIY, but love it.  Guitarróns, accordion en mariachi music in the U.K. you wondered?...

Robin Kester is one of the artists playing the Christmas A Go Go spectacular in Paradiso, December 16. In 2020, she released an original Christmas song, Small Christmas Tree: Small Christmas Tree by Robin Kester This was a commissioned song, plus an ode to her granddad. Robin writes: ' I recorded Small Christmas Tree with Marien Dorleijn at his studio last month, but I actually wrote Small Christmas Tree a while ago, back in 2020. I was asked to write a Christmas song by Into The Great Wide Open . It was December 2020, and earlier that month, my grandfather had been moved into a care home because his advancing Parkinson’s disease made it impossible for him to continue living at home with my grandmother. I was so sad for him, especially because, on top of him losing the life he knew, he had to stay in isolation from the other residents because of COVID. It was a very difficult and sad transition for him. When I tried to write the commissioned Christmas song, all I could thi...

The yearly Christmas A Go Go spectacular in club Paradiso Amsterdam is NIGH, people. On December 16, the cream of the alternative Christmas scene will perform a very versatile bunch of Christmas(-y) songs in the upstairs room. New names, old faves, they're all there. And we hope YOU will there too! So what's in store? GINGE will be present, the Utrecht-based, sultry soul singer who surprised us with her latin-flavoured, anti-Xmas dinner pop song this year. S.LOIS will be performing. Our mascotte. The banjo-wielding maestro from Meppel. The bluegrass boogieman. it's his third time at CAGG and certainly not his last. This is the gorgeous tearjerker he released this season: We are very pleased that Patrick PONDERTONE is performing with a band. His Christmas songs have been highlights on the blog every year. He is upfront about his politically tinted, humane and anti-capitalist opinions in such a way that you can sing along. And although he said he wouldn’t reco...

It remains the great mystery of Christmas how, despite all the sweaty hours we spend here at the CAGG headquarters, we still manage to completely miss some gems. This semi acoustic, folky track from 2022 is another one of those and we are deeply ashamed. Sophie Janna from the Netherlands is the singer and she wrote this beautiful and moving 'Fairy Lights' thinking about how we can celebrate without some wonderful people who passed away. In just over three minutes she knows how to tell a true story and create a sensitive, serene spot-on Christmas atmosphere. And as if all that wasn't enough, it comes together with a beautiful animation video by Mark Lohmann. (Wait, Mark Lohmann you said?) So enjoy Sophie Janna, even though we are a little late to the Christmas Party. Luckily we always make room for good music.  Sophie Janna Insta here . Sophie Janna also is half of The Lasses , the other half is Margot Merah .

Artificial intelligence and Christmas songs; if you can have Chat GTP write your essay, you surely can have AI (or an AI-music app like Suno) write a Christmas song. When I was over at the Falalala-forum ( HERE ), I found some cussin' and grumbling about the stream of AI-generated Christmas songs this year. Case in point: Apart from the generic seasonal songs (also try this 'punk' track ), there's the trend of unearthing 'lost' Christmas songs from the past. For instance, this one: Tammi Bell - Merry Christmas Baby by Alvin Of course, there never was a Tammi Bell on the soul scene, not now, not in the past. She's, in the words of her creator, 'a figure of our imagination'. But lord almighty, this one's done VERY good. As I understand it, the lyrics are written by a real human. Another trend; profane Christmas songs, sounding like musical numbers from yesteryear. There's a full album of this sh*t. Confession: I laughed way too loud ...

There cannot be any Christmas without The Non-Traditionals, at least not on this blog. The guys, who operate(d) under several monikers , have re-mastered their last Christmas album Bye Bye Christmas (a collection of their best moments). And they added a new track, The Santa Express , that sounds like it's sung through a pvc pipe. Love that big organ. bye bye Christmas by The Non Traditionals They say it's really their last album. But, remember, their cannot be any Christmas without The Non-Traditionals. So I guess instead of 'Bye Bye', it's 'See you next year'.

Soul and Christmas go together like holly and ivy, Joseph and Mary, sheep and donkeys, incense and myrrh. James Brown, Otis Redding, all the big Motown names in the past, they all made Christmas songs and albums. Nowadays, soulful artists still put chocolate in the Christmas pudding. We posted about Say She She and De-Robert already. Take blue eyed soul star Mayer Hawthorne, who recorded more Christmas tunes and spices up the season with this stomper: Valerie June puts some extra rock in her R&B flavoured version of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: Gifts, Presents, and Treats from Valerie June by Valerie June Some bluesy soul by Bella Brown & her Jealous Lovers: Nice 'n slow we're gliding through winter's wonderland and over the river and through the woods with this sober but smooth and soulful-ish Christmas ballad by Nik Bear Brown.

Matt Hagen has different suits, for every musical project he uses different clothing. This funny article shows cut-out outfits Hagen wears for his metal band Savage Hen , his surf project The High Breaks and the track suit he wears as an MC. For his (first?) Christmas album, he puts on a 'cheap Santa suit' and sings mid-tempo, country-tinged songs with smart lyrics. About getting clean for the new year, how he forgot to buy a present for his wife and a drinking song about, well, drinking on Christmas. This song with Grace Potter on vocals is a highlight, plus a very good addition to the ever expanding Christmas in Space theme: Matt Hagen's Christmas Bath by Matt Hagen

Earlier this month, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Madi Diaz was nominated for two 2025 Grammy Awards. Here she returns with the new holiday song ‘Kid on Christmas’ . It’s a nice little acoustic and nostalgic tune in which she sings “I wish I could just feel like a kid on Christmas.” It was written on a hot summers day, as all good Christmas tunes! MadiDiaz · Kid On Christmas Madi's no stranger to Christmas songs. This is her original tune with Keegan DeWitt:

New York rapper and songwriter okay(K) is a striking figure in the underground lo-fi hip hop scene. With his tasteful cocktail of personal lyrics, experiment ánd flow, he has created a unique place for himself. The three Christmas tracks he has brewed this year are more accessible than his regular work, but are just as refined. All three songs are originals, nicely laidback and sometimes confusingly funny, like the moment in 'hold my reindeer' where he starts his off-key sung lyrics again. So hold your horses, here's okay(K).  okay(K) Insta here , his X over there

This title and that cover art; you KNOW this is Christmas A Go Go-material. To quote the liner notes: 'A rabble of contrarians drinking spiked eggnog, gingerly passing the parcel, aware that beneath the razor wire tinsel and decorative façade lies a Venus flytrap poised to snap. It’s not your typical party spread either – a strict regimen of egg and chips, bar a few sundry carnivores gorging on foot-long currywursts in blankets.' Reviewing this comp is a bit like spoiling a movie, because almost every track and skit has a totally different vibe. The furious beats of Kitzler's 'Schweine in Decken bei Tag, Schweine in Decken von Nacht', the chilling effect of 'Trinity', a track called 'Boffin Orgy on Nonce Island' that starts with Noddy Holder screaming 'It's Christmas' and then turns into an Asian dub foundation of samples and spoken word...it's like that box of chocolates from Forrest Gump. Two more traditional songs that stan...

Earlier this year, we learned that the legend of Santa Claus could have originated from Lapland shamans, taking mind-expanding mushrooms, dressing in red & white and travelling by reindeer-led sleighs. In Italy, there's another Santaclausian figure, a witch called La Befana. She gives presents to the good kids around January 5, and stuff coal in the stockings of the bad children. Read the extensive Wiki about her. In popular culture, La Befana pops up in Italian folksongs like this one , but also in REALLY GREAT pop tunes by an Australian singer. Taylah Carroll (great last name) writes about her song: 'Inspired in part by Italy’s Le Befana, ‘maybe santa is a witch’ is my feminist Christmas carol. It explores an alternate reality in which we continued to honour a forgotten, but rich, Pagan history of Christmas Witches.' maybe santa is a witch by Taylah Carroll Make Like Monkeys also made a La Befana song: La Befana (The Christmas Witch) by Make Like Monkeys A...

Last week, the first snow fell here in Amsterdam. I immediately thought of 'Listen, The Snow Is Falling', the 1971 song by Yoko Ono, which was on the B-side of the single 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)'. The song is now 53 years old and has been covered many times. In the past, we wrote a lot about it. Like in 2022 about the covers from  Andy Bell and Kidbug  or in 2021 about  Labasheeda and Librarians With Hickeys . My favorite cover is still the one from Galaxie 500.  This year, there will undoubtedly be new versions again. Like this one by Gina Birch. She is a British visual artist and was part of the (post)punk women's band The Raincoats around 1980. She still makes music. Last year, her album 'I Play My Bass Loud' was released. In her version of 'Listen, The Snow Is Falling', no punk can be found. It is a nice, atmospheric ode to Yoko Ono.

Irish songstress Lisa Hannigan, probably best known for her collabs with Damien Rice and this indestructible song , is no stranger to (recording) Christmas music. We had her on this blog with her version of The Christmas Waltz back in 2014, she recorded her own seasonal original Snow for her 2016 album At Swim, and last year she covered Little Drummer Boy with Villagers. For this year, she's releasing a track that she wrote & recorded in 2020 with the band Lux Alma, in just 48 hours. See a live version from 2020 here: On her insta , Lisa writes: 'I started writing this song in the car on my way to Hibernacle Music, a collaborative festival in Doolin in the west of Ireland. It was December and the radio was blaring all the way. When I arrived I asked @theluxalma to help me finish it as she is the most festive person in any room. We had a blast. It’s about my abiding love for Christmas music, just waiting there up in the attic with the tinsel and the lights- a frost...

If you're a dedicated follower of this blog, and of course you are, than you know Rick Buur . Our mascotte. 'The Dutch desafinado hero'. Since 2018, it's a joy to put up his translated seasonal songs. Usually, he picked a real Christmas song, like Christmas in Washington by Steve Earle, and Christmas at the Airport by Nick Lowe. But this year, he reworked 'Buenos Tardes Amigo' by Ween. Rick kept the murder ballad lyrics in tact, for all ye non-Dutch speakers. But set the scene on Christmas eve, instead of May 5. Because 'Nochebuena', the day before Christmas, is the right day to arrange some pressing things. Like a turkey. Or revenge for a blood feud. Rick Buur · Nochebuena

For the fourth year in a row The Annihilators (is Richard Pflueger, a 'dad punk') from Cleveland, Ohio release a bunch of raw and punky Christmas tracks. This year there are three, including a speedy version of 'Auld Lang Syne', the Scottish traditional that is sung at the turn of the year, but is also often heard around Christmas time. Burp and cheers. Silver Bells by The Annihilators

Did you already read and listened to the third (!) run of the Sweater Songs theme below? If not, then it's about time, because you're missing out on quite a bit. For example, that fantastic 'delicate heartbreak song' by Kat Quinn. And guess what? She's also released a Christmas track this year. It's the opening credits song to Jingle Bell Run , a new family comedy TV Movie on Hallmark Channel. Santa's Makin' Moves is a lot less delicate though, but it does have a healthy dose of cheerful, feel good and female rock 'n roll in it. You go Kat! Kat Quinn Insta

It ain't over 'til the last the yarn is knit; yes, ANOTHER blogpost on songs about (ugly, warm, nice) Christmas-themed sweaters and jumpers. Here's part ONE , here's TWO . Let's bring out the grungey fuzz to kick this off, from 2009, and from an Arbor Christmas comp, and (surprise!) favourable to Christmas: Arbor Christmas: Volume 10 by Makeout Party An upbeat, family-style shout-a-long indierocksong by the Best Friends Records-band from 2012: Happy Hollandaise EP by BFR Family Band Different vibe, Gary Barlow was a member of UK boyband Take That and made a Christmas album in 2021. It's pop Jim, very pop: 'Play along, play along and get your Christmas sweater on'. Hat tip to Merry Britsmas . Inna 2015 Ugly Xmas Sweater Party stylee with the posse on the block, yo: The Pineapple Posse Christmas Album by Pineapple Posse Get on the indie ska train, 'cause it's perfect weather for your ugly sweater! Wishes + Kisses by The Winter Experiment...

A run through of recently released new Christmas songs: We had 'm on the blog in 2022, and this year, The Sheepdogs AND side-project Bros release a double A-side single, with stompin' good time Christmas songs. Bros has a latin vibe, Sheepdogs is more Beatles-y: Santa Man / Hot Christmas by The Sheepdogs, BROS Santa Man / Hot Christmas by The Sheepdogs You can count on this guy, like clockwork Make Like Monkeys releases a fine Christmas album: This Way to Xmas by Make Like Monkeys The sensation of last year, Norway's Darling West, released an end of the year duet: A nice old time rock 'n roll vibe in this Christmas track by American indie band Colony House:

The number of internal references in this blog post pretty much says it all: Clean Pete has been reviewed a lot here at Christmas A GoGo. And not without reason, because the two Christmas angels Loes and Renée have taken Christmas music in the Netherlands to a much higher level in their own way. Today they released their second Christmas album, after the acclaimed Gloria from 2019 that even made it to number 6 in the Rolling Stone Christmas release chart as a Dutch-language album.  Winternacht (Winter Night), their second full length album contains many tracks that they've released in recent years, such as these ones with Maaike Ouboter , with Judy Blank , with Tim Knol , Stephanie Struijk , Robin Kester and Mark Lohmann . But there is still plenty of new songs left to enjoy, such as the atmospheric opening 'O come, Emmanuel', accompanied with heavenly harp playing by Remy van Kesteren. The impressive Piëta, which Renée previously played on their famous Christmas shows,...

2024, that means that three of the biggest selling Christmas pop songs have a jubilee to celebrate. 40 years of Last Christmas and Do They Know It's Christmas Time, 30 years of Mariah's All I Want for Christmas. Songs that are overplayed, notorious and covered many, many times. The BBC made a documentary on Last Christmas, a special release of the Wham! song will be released, same goes for the Band Aid-song with today's stars. AND there is a documentary too (thanks Chantal, see comments). Not sure yet how (and if) All I Want for Christmas is celebrated, but it will, no doubt. EDIT: well, there is this . In the past, we posted the Cover Version to End All Cover Versions of Last Christmas: Noël by Boris Also, the Cover Version To End All Cover Versions of All I Want for Christmas : We did post one or two Band Aid-cover versions, but never a definitive version. If there is one, it might be this: 3 For Christmas EP by KRAFTman To be honest, Do They Know It's ...

The new Sara Noelle seasonal song is grower. Actually, I'd say it's more a vibe than a song, with that ethereal choir, the glacial reverb and the way Sara's voice wanders in and out of the music. There's a slight nod to the 4AD-sound of the 80s and 90s, you know, Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil et al. Which is nice. Same goes for the Silent Night cover, the b-side to this single. Little Dove / Silent Night by Sara Noelle More Sara on CAGG here

 In our header its says:"We present you the weird and the wonderful  the odd and the old". Most of the posts file under the last three characteristics.   Here is a post where the term 'weird' might be too mild. Wilbert Bulsink is an Amsterdam-based (modern classical) musician and composer. He plays synthesizer and Hammond organ in Pump Organ and the Rosa Ensemble. His composition 'Kerstsneeuw' begins with 456 Christmas songs, which are played simultaneously. He describes it himself as: "Starts as (almost) white noise: slowly but surely more and more christmas-related sounds can be heard. Sneeuw (snow) in Dutch is used to describe white noise on television screens." So be prepared for a unusual experience! And don't say I didn't warn you! Wilbert Bulsink · Kerstsneeuw (456 Christmas Songs)

Richie Burrell is Full Retard Recording is Richie Burrell. Based in London this composer/producer builds tracks entirely from scratch and brings singer-songwriters ideas to fruition. This cheerful Christmas song is indeed very Christmassy and entertaining, precisely because of its seemingly deliberate amateurism. Besides - not unimportant to mention - Richie is qualified as a pilates instructor too, so he might even be helpful to get rid of that post Christmas turkey belly. Merry Christmassy Christmas! fullretardrecording.com · Christmassy This Christmas

I'm treading on thin ice here with a smooth jazzy version of 'Let It Snow'. This song was written in the summer of 1945 when, during a heatwave, both writers, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, longed for a bit of snow. Officially, it's even called 'Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!', apparently, it was so hot that they longed for a lot of snow. Vaughn Monroe was the first to record the song. Later, singers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and more recently Michael Bublé recorded 'Let It Snow'. This year, American musician and actor Jeff Goldblum decided to take it on. Goldblum is a reasonable skilled pianist. He also plays that role in The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. To be a bit current and hip, the vocals are a duet between Goldblum and the young singer Veronica Swift. On the B-side of this single, they perform a duet on 'Blue Christmas'!

Ohio Pastor Ronnie Martin is a songwriter, recording artist, author, and calls himself a 'Christmasist'. In 2022, his Christmas album was entitled 'Bells Merrily', in 2023, it was 'Holiday Fable', and this year, he's given us a two-song EP called 'On Christmas Morning'. Before you press 'play' as it were, have a quick look at his Bandcamp page and try to guess what 'On Christmas Morning' is going to sound like. Besides the song being brand new, you'll be pleasantly surprised. I've put up 'Holly on the Bough' from 2023, and I invite you to poke around the rest of Martin's Christmas musical presents. On Christmas Morning by Ronnie Martin Holiday Fable by Ronnie Martin

A new Christmas blog is up & running, that's always good news. Better Watch Out is a tumblr blog that appreciates themes ( yay! ), old stuff and background stories on Christmas music. Jim (no, not this Jim ) isn't on the lookout for all the newest stuff, but digs up known faves and songs that should be heard more. Like this one, from a compilation released in 1995 that I had not heard of. Quality of that comp is a little mixed (coughs), but this track by Stephanie Sayers is just lovely. If you're, like me, into 90s quiet-loud guitar bands like Belly, Throwing Muses, Fuzzy, etc.. Oh, and that's a typo in the title. A Christmas Present For You (From Zero Hour) by Stephanie Sayers Taking the opportunity to shout out to the fellowship of Christmas music blogs still going strong, the almighty Christmas Underground , the ol' Hip Christmas and Mistletunes , The Bells, THE BELLS , this Festive Friend , and this Festive Friend , Mr Novelty , Mr Merry and...well...