Thank you to all the artists for colouring & warming this Christmas season. Thank you visitors. Thank you for your comments & tips. See you on the other side. Stay safe. December 31 by Emme ..read more

Just a few hours before it's Christmas, right on time to discover two very original songs from young people from around the Conservatorium from Antwerp. First one is 'Alone For Christmas' bij the Dutch-Belgian duo Eva Mareen and Julia Rosenhart. These two girls perfom as duo with a bit of electronic equipement, in Dutch we would call them 'kleinkunst', meaning its part music and part a bit of theatre or cabaret.  Their Xmas song has a great choreography and lots of (ugly) Christmas sweaters. The other song by Blond feat Rendier has lyrics in Flemish and is sung from out of the viewpoint ..read more

You know the drill. Stubby makes a mix. He stuffs it with stuff you probably missed this year (I know I did). Great songs, recent, some from the past. And you get until January 7 to download, from HERE ..read more

Sung by one of Québec's most iconic bands, Beau Dommage's '23 décembre' ('December 23rd') is a 1950s neighbourhood portrait of pre-teens off from school until January 7th. It references working-class shops, hockey and Québec traditions, like having a nativity scene under the Christmas tree at a time when the Catholic church still had a firm hold on French Canadians. The band sings about snow, jokes about pictures of naked ladies (sex and religion go hand in hand) and mentions New Year's Day, making it a New Year's song as well. The mural in the picture is the cover of Beau Dommage's eponymou ..read more

For all ye non-Dutchies: So-Fi (who was one of the stars on the first Christmas A Go Go evening in Paradiso) makes a seasonal video every year, with help from her dad. All these clips are HIGHLY charming, and that is counting the songs. This year, she wrote a song about peeking through windows and watching all the colourful trees, and feeling warm inside: Maar laat het gordijn wat langer open Want m’n ogen laten niet los But please leave the curtains open a little longer For I just can't look away ..read more

After almost 50 years in The Damned, their guitar player Captain Sensible can still surprise us. In 1983 he made the cult Xmas single 'One Christmas Catalogue'. Now he's back with some old punk friends from The Damned and Johnny Moped in The Sensible Gray Cells. They created this great and jolie anti Xmas song:'A Stupid Xmas', with an even greater video: Another former punk, John Robb from the Membranes and now a resepected journalist, rereleased his Xmas single from 2008, made under the name Goldblade. It has been newly mixed bij Youth and the parts of  Poly Styrene and sax player La ..read more

"Les Rats d'Swompe came together to introduce people to the sound of the traditional violin, the call and response songs and the musicality of yesteryear. Based in Ottawa, they are five plaid lumberjacks who take the stage to fuse elements of rock, traditional, pop and punk. A high energy act that will make you want to sing and dance." Their seven-song EP called 'Pause Gorgée Vol. 1' (roughly, 'Take a Swig Break Vol. 1') is a swinging party and a great recent example of traditional French Canadian music you'll here on the radio at Christmas time in parts of Canada. Call and response songs a ..read more

Christmas Eve is nigh and the well of really good original 2023 Christmas songs is more and more running dry. The right time to take stock and see which Christmas songs stood out this year. Completely arbitrary as always, but here we go: it's year list time!    MARQUI:  NL 1. The Slow Clock ft. Amarins - Christmas In A Bottle 2. Marike Jager - Love Me One More Night (It's Christmas) 3. Clean Pete & Tim Knol - De Mooiste Tijd Van Het Jaar 4. Bony Macaroni - December 25th (The Morning After) 5. Silent Runners - Baby I'm Cold Inside OTHER 1. pen pin - Office Party 2. the conte ..read more

Continuing our short notes on new(ish) songs: Joni Mitchell's River in Norwegian, gentile & jazzy? But of course: Nokre ler og nokre gret by Jul på Sunnmørsk From the second Christmas album with self-penned songs, traditionals and more translated Xmas classics. Easy listening jazz, with a prominent harmonica (Toots Thielemans vibes) and lovely vocals. From 2022, this powerpop track by Newyorkers Movie Movie, that because of the twanging guitar sounds a little like Pretenders' Kid. Another Holiday by MOVIE MOVIE Could be that Deer Tick thought, well, the two oddball bluesy Xmas tracks w ..read more

This new Christmas song from Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul is actually not new, but a cover of their own track HAHA, which was on their massive successful debut album Topical Dancer from 2022. Charlotte and Bolis stated about HOHO at the socials that their "goal is to finally throw Mariah Carey off her throne and to annoy generations to come!". That sounds like a promise and that's OK with us. So let's start the annoyment right here, right now! Charlotte Adigéry Insta here, Bolis Pupul Insta here. Shared X account here. HOHO by Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul ..read more