1) CHRISTMAS CRACKER: Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
2) CINNAMON COVER: Mel & Kim – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
3) WINTER WARMER: Cliff Richard – Saviour’s Day
Check back everyday this month for more festive hits!
Category: Uncategorized
Presenting: Christmas Crackers: 3 Festive Hits Everyday Throughout December
Two years ago, I featured a popular blog in which I featured 31 of my favourite Christmas songs. Last year I did attempt to start a similar feature but scrapped the idea.
This year, however, I thought I’d do something similar once again. So every day throughout December, I am going to post three festive hits.
- Song Number One will be a “Christmas Classic”. A well-loved Christmas song which receives lots of airplay.
- Song Number Two will be “Cinnamon Cover” – a cover of that classic Christmas song.
- Song Number Three will be a “Winter Warmer” – either a Christmas track which hasn’t quite gained the status of some of the classics yet or a winter track that is fitting for December!
So make sure you visit everyday for ten feel-good Christmas tracks to help you get in the festive spirit!
Music Monday – Volume Seventy Four
1) Nothing But Thieves – Six Billion
Haunting and powerful track from Nothing But Thieves’ début album. Moody guitar riffs, front man Conor Mason’s Jeff Buckley-like vocals and eerie sounds result in a gorgeously endearing track.
2) Nothing But Thieves – Excuse Me
Euphoric opener to Nothing But Thieves’ début album. Haunting and gentle verses develop into an epic and powerful Chorus with gorgeous falsetto vocals.
3) Nothing But Thieves – If I Get High
Gentle guitar riffs and Conor Mason’s beautifully unique voice carry this track which ends with an epic climax.
4) Katy Perry – Mannequin
Witty and clever lyrics, quirky instrumentation; this is Katy Perry at her best. Before pop producers transformed her into a very different artist, this is the Katy Perry more should be familiar with – the singer-songwriter. Underrated track.
5) Ellie Goulding – Army
After the disappointing change of direction exhibited on previous single ‘On My Mind’, this beautiful ballad marks the return of the Ellie Goulding we all know and love. Dreamy synthesisers, reverberating vocals and crashing percussion are featured throughout and it’s a gorgeous song. Think ‘Love Me Like You Do’ Part II but less repetitive and irritating.
6) The Temper Trap – Sweet Deposition
Gorgeous and powerful indie-rock ballad.
7) Katy Perry – If You Can Afford Me
Another track from Katy’s début album ‘One of the Boys’, back in her singer-songwriter days. Clever lyrics and a brilliantly catchy pop-rock track.
8) Frances & Ritual – When It Comes To Us
Gorgeous and haunting ballad full of reverberating electro elements not too dissimilar from William Orbit’s work with All Saints. Both artists deliver beautiful vocal performances and this is is just incredibly beautiful.
9) Markus Feehily – Simple Love
Lovely and unique ballad from the ex-Westlife member. The sped up/altered pitch refrain in the chorus is quirky and works beautifully on this great track.
10) Markus Feehily – Only You
Gorgeous ballad from ex-Westlife member Markus Feehily’s début solo album ‘Fire’. It’s a little in the same vein as Westlife’s later work but an uplifting and beautiful song.
Music Monday – Volume Seventy Two
1) Tove Lo – Moments
Emotive and powerful electro-pop ballad with brutally honest lyrics. Produced by one of the hottest production duos currently around – Mattman and Robin, ‘Moments’ is abundant with crashing percussion, reverberating vocals and eerie sound effects. One of the hottest tracks around right now.
2) Tori Kelly – Should’ve Been Us
Pop perfection with hip-hop beats and a powerful vocal performance.
3) J. Tillman – Howling Light
Gorgeous folk ballad comprised of little more than guitars and organic instruments. It’s refreshing to hear music in its natural form, free of autotune and other programmable effects.
4) The Japanese House – Cool Blue
A gorgeous and gentle intro builds into a shuffling 80’s synthpop-esque track featuring pretty guitar riffs, spacey synthesisers and auto-tuned vocals. One of the hottest tracks in the world right now.
5) The 1975 – Love Me
Yet another pop track which reinforces the return of ’80’s pop. Abundant with detuned guitar riffs, squeaky synthesisers and gated percussion, The 1975’s comeback single is an explosive and effortlessly catchy affair. Healy’s vocals are the clearest they have ever been and the lyrical content is as witty and clever as always. A fine return.
6) Drake – Hotline Bling
Utilising both hiphop and trap, Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ heavily samples Timmy Thomas’ 1972 song “Why Can’t We Live Together”. It may be somewhat repetitive and Drake’s vocals may not be the most powerful but it’s effortlessly catchy.
7) Kanye West – Love Lockdown
One of Kanye’s best. The ‘808’s and Heartbreak’ album is often overlooked due to West’s attempt at singing rather than rap but it contains innovation and power that could never have been projected through rap. The song’s power lies in its minimalistic pop style – piano riffs, a Roland TR-808 drum machine imitating tribal percussion and West’s heavily autotuned vocals dominate this repetitive but catchy and powerful synthpop track.
8) Olly Murs – Kiss Me
Catchy pop track featuring a punchy bass line, ’80’s-eque synthesisers, funky bass riffs and an effortlessly catchy chorus. Just try to ignore the fact it is more or less a rip off of Nick Jonas’ ‘Jealous’…
9) James Morrison – Demons
James Morrison triumphantly returns with this powerful, eerie and beautifully sincere pop-soul track. The sped-up/high-pitched “I’ve got demons” refrain which opens the track and appears throughout is heavily reminiscent of Simon Webbe’s pop hit ‘No Worries’ and adds an extra dimension to Morrison’s gorgeous track. ”
10) Selena Gomez – Sober
Gomez wails over jittery synthesisers, reverberating percussion and spacey vocal effects on this great pop track.
Changes to this blog…
Howdy, followers!
I’ve made a few minor changes to this blog to hopefully make it a hundred times better! I have decided to dedicate this blog solely to music from now on so any personal posts about my life/uni etc. will no longer be featured here. I have set up ANOTHER blog for all of that which you can view here.
My other blog is in its very early stages at the moment so please be patient. I am having to transfer my personal blogs from this one over to the new one. It is also worth noting that if you are interested in viewing my posts on there, you may have to follow that blog in addition to this one to receive notifications of new posts.
I have also given this blog a little make-over and am considering changing the theme once again shortly… But I am proud of its format and of my number of followers etc so thank you all for reading!
Love
Marc
PS HERE’S THE NEW BLOG LINK AGAIN: https://marcyboywrites.wordpress.com/
Music Monday – Volume Sixty
1) Shania Twain – You’re Still The One
Hopelessly romantic, a little cheesy maybe but certainly very beautiful. One of the more successful Country-Pop crossover songs that enabled country music to be heard and appreciated by a wider audience. Shania’s vocals are distinctive and gorgeous, as are the harmony layered backing vocals in the chorus. One of the greatest love songs of all time.
2) En Vogue – Don’t Let Go
One of the best R&B tracks of the 90’s. Furious, whaling guitars, aggressive vocals, harsh piano chords with an awesome chorus. Those harmonies are fierce too! Girl power at its best.
3) Wolf Alice – Your Loves Whore
Wolf Alice have been my new discovery this week. Their album is definitely worth a listen, a collection of uniquely and innovatively arranged indie tracks. This is one of the most powerful songs from the album; love the sheer power of it and its slightly distorted feel.
4) Wolf Alice – Freazy
SO good. Dreamy and smooth with fierce percussion, a rich bass line, silky harmonies and squeaky guitars. Effortlessly catchy.
5) Wolf Alice – Swallowtail
Haunting and powerful with an explosive ending.
6) R. Kelly – I Believe I Can Fly
R. Kelly at his best with his signature song. An amalgamation of R&B, Soul and Gospel music, this beautiful ballad was featured in the 1996 film ‘Space Jam’ before being included on Kelly’s 1998 album ‘R’. It’s simple but very beautiful featuring the classic 90’s key change!
7) Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
One of the most gorgeous love songs ever written. Perri’s voice is distinctively unique and drifts beautifully over minimal instrumentation. Don’t let the fact this was on the soundtrack to one of the Twilight movies influence your judgement; it’s a song that should be thought of entirely separate to the movie.
8) Joe Stone & Montell Jordan – The Party (This is how we do)
Nostalgia much?! Joe Stone gives Montell Jordan’s 90’s R&B classic ‘This is How We Do’ a makeover with thumping beats and bouncy synthesisers, resulting in a fun, updated version of the original.
9) Jose Gonzalez – Leaf off/The Cave
Stunning, soft folk-styled track. This is how music should be.
10) The Layabouts ft Portia Monique – Colours of Love
Soulful house track with funky guitar riffs, thumping percussion, a fierce bass line and soulful vocals. LOVE this!
Music Monday – Volume Fifty
1) Kodaline – The One
Beautiful ballad. Simple but effective!
2) Jessie J – I need this
Powerful emotive song from Jessie’s debut album ‘Who You Are’. Originally written for Chris Brown and featured as a bonus track on his Graffiti album, Jessie sticks to his formula despite the key change and some extra nice little ad libs at the end. The piano arpeggios are pretty, the explosive guitar heavy chorus adds sheer power and the lyrics are fantastic. Awesome song.
3) Chris Brown – Don’t Judge Me
I prefer the David Aude remix of this, funnily enough, despite not usually being a fan of remixes. This past week, I have fallen in love with the original version however. Smooth, emotive and a great, great song. Very chilled. Haven’t been able to get enough of this over the past week.
4) Chris Brown – I Love U
There’s something impossibly endearing about this album track from Chris’ ‘Graffiti’ album. Whether it’s the use of an accordion, the incredibly catchy chorus or the sing-song melody, it’s just a great, great track.
5) London Grammar – If You Wait
Haunting, stunning, emotional; three things every London Grammar song tends to be. This is no exception. Absolutely gorgeous.
6) Fleetwood Mac – Sara
It’s Fleetwood Mac, what’s not to love? Soft, rather haunting with catchy piano instrumentation. Stevie Nicks’ voice is one of the greatest in history.
7) John Mayer – Gravity
Perhaps his signature song and rightly so. Blues-y, chilled out and so simple but so damn good. I’ve been able to completely relate to these lyrics this past week. Very cleverly written. The man’s a musical genius. “Gravity is working against me, gravity wants to bring me down.”
8) Ryan O’Shaughnessy – Hold Me Now
Absolutely stunning song by 2012’s Britain’s Got Talent Finalist, Ryan O’Shaughnessy. Big fan of his work and songwriting.
9) Charles Hamilton & Rita Ora – New York Raining
Really liking this right now! Very catchy.
10) Disclosure & Eliza Dolittle – You & Me
LOVE Disclosure. Still an absolute tune. Catchy and house-infused but rather haunting and beautiful at the same time.
Music Monday – Volume Forty Nine
1) Shayne Ward – My Heart Would Take You Back
Bit of a guilty pleasure, this… but I was pleasantly surprised! It’s an easy option, making an old-school styled track to win the public back over and the video’s pretty poor but it’s a nice song.
2) Kylie Minogue – Confide In Me
There’s something very eerie about this track with its sweeping strings, heavy percussion and haunting melody. Great song.
3) The Blue Nile – Saturday Night
I LOVE this band. ‘Hats’, the album this is taken from is a dream – a psychedelic, night time album and this is one of my favourites. Smooth, simple and beautiful.
4) Michael Jackson – Can’t Let Her Get Away
One of the best New Jack Swing songs from the 90’s, from MJ’s ‘Dangerous’ album. So catchy.
5) Jaki Graham – Round and Around
A piece of ’80’s music perfection. So, so good.
6) Nick Jonas – Jealous
I’m a little bit behind on this one and only checked it out because of its chart position and all of the hype. Great song though. What it lacks in originality it makes up for in charm and catchiness. Grows on me more with every listen.
7) Ariana Grande & The Weeknd – Love Me Harder
Found this by accident and really enjoyed it. Stupidly catchy and great electro infused production.
8) Vince Kidd – Sick Love
Forgot all about this song until recently! Vince was a contestant on the first series of The Voice UK. He has an incredible voice with great tone. After the competition, he re-recorded this but the original song and video is better. Scary, suggestive and sexual but such a good song.
9) Annie Lennox – Shining Light
A great song in its own right, originally by the band Ash, Annie’s version takes it to another level. Her interpretation is more camp and more gospel but it works brilliantly.
10) The 1975 – She Way Out
Repetitive maybe but so damn catchy. Always makes me want to dance.
Music Monday – Volume Forty-Seven
1) Circa Waves – T Shirt Weather
Catchy, summery indie fun. Love this band at the moment and I love this song. Great to listen to in the Spring sunshine.
2) Circa Waves – My Love
Staying loyal to their fun sound, this song is a little more ballad-y and I love the chord progression in this. Probably my favourite from the album. Great tune.
[Only decent version on YouTube at the moment]
3) Circa Waves – Deserve This
Another slightly slower track from the band’s début album. Pretty little song with a gorgeous soft chorus.
[Not available on YouTube]
4) The 1975 – So Far (It’s Alright)
Still an absolute tune. Slightly repetitive, maybe but I love the feel of this track. So catchy.
5) Will Young – Love Revolution
SO glad Will’s back. Wasn’t sure about this at first but it grows on me more with every listen and it’s a great song. Looking forward to the album.
6) The Weeknd – Earned it
I’d heard this a fair but but hadn’t put 2 and 2 together to realise it was this song by The Weeknd that everyone keeps talking about. Dramatic, powerful and a great song. The 50 Shades soundtrack is definitely worth a listen. Awesome selection of music.
7) Brandon Flowers – Can’t deny my love
There’s something rather ambient and 80’s about this with its sweeping synths, tribal drums and squeaky guitars. Good song.
8) Lawson – I Got You
Whilst one of my favourite bands, their new single ‘Roads’ doesn’t do anything for me. After discovering this new song as a live performance on YouTube, my hope and faith in this band was restored, however. Catchy, uplifting and loyal to their sound. Awesome track.
9) One Direction/Zayn Malik – I Won’t Mind
There is still much confusion on if this is Zayn’s solo material or a demo for one of Zayn’s songs that would have been on One Direction’s ‘Four’ album. Whoever this song belongs to, the demo that has appeared online is stunning. Raw and simplistic as a demo should be, I just really, really love this.
10) The Japanese House – Still
Smooth.
Music Monday – Volume Seventeen
1) Beady Eye – For anyone
Love the simplicity and the old-school feel to this song. It’s so Beatle-esque and it’s just a fantastic song.
2) Oasis – Cast No Shadow
Beautiful little song.
3) Ellie Goulding – I’ll hold my breath
Really, really love this. ‘Lights’ is an incredible album.
4) Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Stop the clocks
This is almost like a Part 2 to ‘Champagne Supernova’. Great ending track.
5) Phil Collins – You’ll be in my heart
One of my favourite of Phil’s amazing collection of songs. The perfect ending to the ‘Tarzan’ movie and a truly beautiful song. One of the greatest love songs ever written.
6) All Saints – Pure Shores
I watched ‘The Beach’ (the movie in which this song is included) and fell in love with this song all over again. SO summery.
7) Take That – The Garden
One of Take That’s finest songs of their career. It’s a beautiful, inspiring song and it’s lovely to hear all the boys have lead vocals on it.
8) Robbie Williams – Me and my monkey
Robbie’s lyrics have always been some of the best and this song features storytelling as its finest. Very clever lyrically and a fantastic song overall. ‘Escapology’ was an incredible moment in Robbie’s career.
9) Ellie Goulding – This love will be your downfall
Another fantastic, well-produced track from Ellie’s ‘Lights’ album.
10) Ellie Goulding – The Writer
I’ve always loved this song. It’s truly beautiful and it’s one of her most underrated songs in my opinion. Great to play on the piano.
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