Q. Why is Christmas the best time to buy philosophy books?
A. Because the Schopenhauers are longer.
(I apologise. That wasn’t in a cracker, but it could have been. One of the more upmarket sorts of cracker, perhaps.)
Category: Christmas
Advent song for December 24
I’ve enjoyed doing this so much, and there are so many songs I had to leave out, that I’m almost tempted just to keep going and make gladallover a 365-day-a-year Christmas music blog. But by January I’ll be feeling austere and spartan and bloated, so I’ll stick to tradition and bring it to a close today. I’ve spent quite a lot of time wondering which songs to include, but there was never any real doubt in my mind as to what today’s song would be, because it has my favourite Christmas pop video ever. There are so many good things about it that I shan’t point them all out, but I would like you to make a particular appreciation of Cliff’s dancing from 2’25” onwards. It’s really quite something. Also note the fake snow, which is almost as convincing as my own snow (which will no longer be visible if you’re reading this after January 3 2009).
Happy Christmas!
Advent song for December 23
Did you miss me?
Treading in the mighty footsteps of George Michael, here’s Bing with a second appearance. If you haven’t seen Holiday Inn, by the way, do seek it out; it’s a sweet little film.
(I changed my mind about the last three songs all being post-1960. Tomorrow’s definitely is, though.)
Advent song for December 22
Iiit’s Chriiiiiiiiiistmaaaaaaaas!
Well, I couldn’t include Wizzard AND The Darkness and leave this out, could I? This clip is particularly notable for some extraordinary dancing by Dave Hill, and Jimmy Saville dressed as Santa.
Advent song for December 21
There are many versions of this song, including a choral arrangement which makes my skin tingle, but this is probably the funnest version, and you can’t have a musical advent calendar with no Phil Spector. Also, it gives me an excuse to link to my favourite photo of Phil Spector, taken just after he was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Advent song for December 20
An unprecedented second appearance from George Michael here. This is still the best Christmas song for singing along to in a crowded pub. It’s literally impossible for people not to join in.
I like that, while everybody else looks twenty-four years older, Phil Collins looks exactly the same. And sigh, but young Sting was handsome, wasn’t he? And young Bono looked perturbingly like Zed from Police Academy. There’s also a fleeting appearance from my favourite Geldof sister, Fifi Trixibelle.
Incidentally, I’ve no idea who sings the “Here’s to you” and “Here’s to them” lines. If you can identify them, do let me know.
Advent song for December 19
The children’s orchestra in this video is lovely. And I like the preponderance of “Where’s Wally?” hats. Also, why aren’t there more children’s choirs in modern music?
Advent update
Since I’m out of the country for a few days, I’m going to post songs from today through Monday today. You could watch them all today, but you’d only be cheating yourself.
Advent song for December 18
Watching this again sent shivers up my spine. I think we always used to watch The Snowman on Christmas Eve, so for me it’s inextricably tied up with the tingling excitement of waiting for Christmas Day. I’ve chosen the original version from the cartoon rather than Aled Jones’s slightly more famous version, because the cartoon is still great and I think everyone should watch it again. The little touches – the whale, the northern lights – really make it. Although I still don’t understand why they fly over Brighton, since they end up at the North Pole and you can’t possibly start south of Brighton if you live in England, which judging by his nightwear this little boy definitely does.
Advent song for December 17
I had no plans to include this song, but it popped into my head this morning and hasn’t left, so here it is. I don’t think I’d ever seen the video, but I like it very much because everybody in it seems so happy. Whatever you think about Paul and Linda, I think they were very much in love, and you can see it here. Also, I like that the “choir of children” is actually them. It reminds me of the story Paul told about auditioning children to voice the part of Rupert in the full-length video for We All Stand Together, and all of them were so rubbish that he ended up doing it himself.
Glad All Over 