Ho ho ho, it’s that time of year again – don your best Callum: Someone once told me tinsel scrunchie and naff festive nits for Dork’s Christmas Party! We’re back at the Old Blue Last in London on Saturday 15th December for a night of top bands, top tunes, and – most top of all – FREE fun.
Joining us will be banger factory Bad Sounds, who with their debut album ‘Get Better’ and ridiculously buzzy live sets were hands down one of the highlights of 2018. They’ll be supported by two of our faves for 2019, too – Liverpool cheeky chaps SPINN, and Brum fuzz-poppers Violet.
Get in the mood with Bad Sounds’ ultimate Xmas bangers.
SAM: The video is hilarious, y’know when they go into that little ski lodge, and it’s all bloody lovely. The melodies are great and that dusty synth line chugging away throughout just brings a cold warmth that I can only describe as Xmas.
EWAN: Synthesizer, out of time delays. What’s not to love?
CALLUM: Someone once told me that Shakin’ Stevens was the most successful recording artist of the 1980s. Now, I don’t know how true that is, but I have an irrational affection for this song. It is so trash, but I can’t get enough of it. All the sounds are horrendous, and the groove is non-existent. It’s kinda like an 80s Christmas time ho-down. So it contains 0% of the things that I usually like about music. I think maybe it reminds me of being a little kid? Although if I’m being totally honest, I didn’t declare my undying love for this song until I was about 22. Thanks, Shakey.
OLIVIA: I like the high vocals, and I don’t know why it’s just good. I like the shredding guitars.
CALLUM: That bit in the video where they both play the same guitar is not a million miles away from the dumb stuff that Ewan and I used to do when we were in a metal band.
CHARLIE: Clarence Clemons (RIP) makes this. His “Ho, Ho, Hos” and saxophone solo are the epitome of Christmas. It’s also nice to mix it up and have a live track on your playlist. The E-Street Band prove they’re the best. Springsteen was yet another of those artists that my Dad tried for years and years to get me into. Like olives and wine, it comes with age. I bond with my Dad, and we’ll blare this drunk at Christmas like total losers. That’s what it’s all about really, isn’t it?
CALLUM: Ewan and I got REALLY into Phil Spector a few years ago. Regardless of what you think of him (if you don’t know anything about him I would recommend a google). He’s a convicted murderer, kept his wife and kids hostage, and he (in Paul McCartney’s eyes) ruined the last Beatles album. That said I think ‘A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector’ is probably the best “Christmas album” ever made. Michael Buble essentially used half of these songs on his Christmas album too, which kinda shows how timeless the songs are. This is (I think) the biggest track from that iconic album.
CALLUM: When I worked in a suit shop I accidentally broke the music system, and it got stuck on the Christmas playlist in August. My manager was scared to tell head office, so he just left it all the way running up to Christmas. As if that wasn’t enough, the Christmas playlist was a lot shorter than the normal playlist. It was about 45mins long. Which means I’ve heard those 20 or so songs too many times to like them anymore. This song is the only one on it that I still like. I love it, actually. Satchmo is not legendary because of the novelty stuff he did, but I deffo have a soft spot for it. Most importantly the drums are dope; the dynamics are insane.
CALLUM: This is just a genuinely beautiful song that perfectly captures the feeling of looking forward to getting home to your family. I mean its pretty vanilla… but this is a list of Christmas songs, so I feel like the normal laws of taste don’t apply. His voice is like a Werther’s original. If candied butterscotch could record Christmas songs this is what it would sound like.
CALLUM: The album that this is from is SO FUCKING GOOD. I’d listen to it all year round tbh. I discovered it last year from binge-watching What’s In My Bag, a YouTube series put together by Amoeba Records in LA, where musicians and celebrities talk about the records they bought in their store. I find quite a lot of new stuff through that show. This song (two songs technically) is absolutely sublime. Sonically it just makes you want to dive into a Christmas time cliche and wrap up warm by the fire, while in some log cabin surrounded by snow covered mountains. Cos that’s what Christmas is like in Chippenham.
CALLUM: Someone once told me that Shakin’ Stevens was the most successful recording artist of the 1980s. Now, I don’t know how true that is, but I have an irrational affection for this song. It is so trash, but I can’t get enough of it. All the sounds are horrendous, and the groove is non-existent. It’s kinda like an 80s Christmas time ho-down. So it contains 0% of the things that I usually like about music. I think maybe it reminds me of being a little kid? Although if I’m being totally honest, I didn’t declare my undying love for this song until I was about 22. Thanks, Shakey.
