- Dec 25, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: DUSTING OFF 10 ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS SONGS
Christmas being Christmas, you can be forgiven for making the odd list. Cards, presents, food & drink, films to catch on TV, memorable events to include in that annual Christmas letter you are so proud of, relatives to avoid – you name it. Something to put at the top of any Christmas list though is to avoid daytime mainstream radio, however much you might crave quality seasonal sounds to get you in that magnanimous mood. You’ll soon switch stations because you really don’t wa
- Dec 18, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: NOT THE BEST OF
This month I have been mostly reading ‘Best of’ lists. I find myself drawn to them, however I try to turn the printed page quickly or hover the mouse elsewhere on a screen. Hover the mouse; pre-internet that might be something you could be banged up for. It’s hard for a music fan not to sneak a look though. There is an endless fascination as to which albums or songs will make the rankings imposed by music writers, editors and critics. As a fan, these gradings are something to
- Dec 11, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD
So, it is just 14 days to Christmas Day. Today I find myself pushed for time and in search, if not of the lost chord, then of a theme (2 points if you get the oblique reference to an old Moody Blues album there). Chords I have a-plenty unlike those hapless souls trying still to negotiate a Brexit deal as they struggle to strike one with one another. At least this has given us back the BBC’s Brexitcast; one light in a seemingly endless tunnel. What I have for you today though
- Dec 4, 2020
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS?
Trundling around Sainsbury’s this morning I was once more struck that all the great Christmas songs are the old ones. That’s not the same as all the old Christmas songs are great, though. I still visibly cringe when I hear the rampant over-singing during “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (pick your version though Mariah takes my Santa biscuit), the overwrought fifties American schmaltz (as many as you can think of) and the gratuitous key changes that scarcely mask a thin tune