

Things are only beginning to pop in the UK where everybody is vying for Christmas Number One. How bout these chaps? The band Stairway trades in hard rock, but for "Christmas Merry Christmas" they are going for nostalgia, hoping to create the sound of the Christmas classics......like Slade, Darkness, and Roy Wood's Wizzard. Pay a visit to Stairway's web site to hear the song, which will be officially released in mid-December and should ultimately find its way to iTunes (US).


Here's another solid competitor for Christmas Number One. The Futureheads not only have a great title, "Christmas Was Better In The 80's", and that cool Pac Man Christmas Tree cover art, but the song is great! It's a Punk Pop number that sounds completely punk yet completely Christmas. The song will be released in England on December 19th. Don't know how long it will be before its available domestically. But you can listen to it now on Songcloud. Be sure to sit patiently through the downtempo open; it kicks into high gear about 40 seconds in.

Here's another UK single. The Selfish Lovers new Christmas song is called "Getting Home For Christmas". You can listen to about a minute of it on their MySpace page. It's got a really nice Phil Spector meets Twee Pop feel to it. The full length version is not yet available, but we'll let you know when it is. Hey, I know that font.


By now, you already know that Kylie Minogue, who earlier tried her hand at "Santa Baby", has recorded "Let It Snow" in a pretty much traditional style. It doesn't snow in Australia in the winter and I think you lose points for debuting your song on Perez Hilton. Nonetheless, her song will debut on iTunes this coming Tuesday as she makes her bid for Christmas Number One.

Much more interesting is this single from Lola Dutronic, "(Another) Christmas Without Snow". This lovely piece of Electronica debuted on iTunes on October 10. Somehow, the song manages to sound Christmas cheery and bleakly depressing at the same time. I love when that happens! I even love the manga cover art. The Canadian duo have 4 or 5 albums out by now and they're quite popular in Germany (I think its the cheery/depressing thing). Pay a visit to MySpace to listen to the whole song.
