Baby Cheeses?

Enjoy a mince pie on our behalf, darling readers.

Merry Christmas x

A very nice Christmas song from Hurts

This has been available for a good few days but we've been so behind (writing our very very exciting zine... see below) that we're only just getting round to writing about it. It's basically what you'd expect if Hurts put out a Christmas song; a little bit gloomy but with a definite light at the end of the tunnel, classic Christmas motifs (we love bells, soz) and an 'alternate' message. The one in "All I Want for Christmas is New Year's Day" is Hurts preferring New Year's Day to erm, Christmas. It is a bit tragic in the way that they're singing about what an awful year they've had and how they can't wait for a fresh start, despite them actually having the best year of their lives, professionally anyway.

More importantly, it's the best original Christmas song we've heard in a long while. Fuck off Mariah stans. PS, the actual video is here, but you can't embed it so you'll just have to put up with a shit version in this post. Merry Christmas!

Long time no speak?

What a fabulous Christmas we had. Plenty of excellent food, moderate to good television, reconnecting and enjoying family and friends, and of course a big satistifying sack from Santa.

We will be back with a big in 2010. Soon we will be bringing you the second annual installments of Albums of the Year and What's Shiny and New, and then the fun really will begin. We will leave you now to finish off the turkey in the fridge and continue watching RSC members do a 'flash mob' at Waterloo Station. Nothing on Janet Jackson's.

'Seasonal Greetings', sort of (and continued above)...

Yes, yes, yes. We hope you had a fantasmic Christmas holidaytime. Ours was alternately wonderful, boring and traumatic, before being wonderful again but there we go. Such is life. Madonna and Blingee (!) also hope you had a fabulous Christitimes. So there youse have it!

Not much is going on in the world of 'popular' music, it being the hoooolidays and all, so not much is going on chez Shiny & New. We apologise! Back soon, though. With a cornucopia of treaties. Just you wait.

Merry Christmas, from Tori...

It's December 1st now, so we can all start listening to 'Christmas music' without feeling silly. Having said that, none of us really listen to Christmas music anyway, being as we are, of sane mind and body (hah!) but all that can now change with the arrival of Ms. Goddess Amos' very first seasonal album. Above are studio videos of her singing "A Silent Night With You" and "Pink and Glitter" - gorgeous, lush, evocative, Christmassy and not at all saccharine, obvious or twee. Just what the doctor ordered. Enjoy!