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Posts Tagged “ho ho ugh”

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George Michael Tries To Go Back To Last Christmas


He's retired from touring (well, after he plays a couple of shows to the big-money audiences in Dubai, anyway), but George Michael is apparently still interested in putting out new music; today he premiered "December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas)" on British radio, and the song will be available for purchase come Christmas Day. The wistful, stark track (which might be a tribute to his late mother) recalls "A Different Corner" more than it does his other Yuletide staple, but I like it, mainly because a nine-year-old-shaped part of me is always going to be a complete sucker for almost anything he sings on. [YouTube]

11:30 AM on Mon Dec 1 2008
By Maura Johnston
197 views, 3 comments

Latest by Thierry: As someone whose first self-paid musical purchase was Wham's The Final, I'm with you Maura. Also, am I the only one who wishes Michael would hook up with Thom Bell or maybe ?uestlove and whatever backing band he can bring more »

ho ho ugh

A Helpful List Of The Top Twenty-Five Songs You Won't Be Able To Escape Between Now And Dec. 26

Radio stations all across the country have pre-emptively flipped to the all-holiday-music format—despite Thanksgiving not even being until Thursday—so ASCAP figured the time was right to unleash a list of the 25 most popular holiday songs of the past five years, (Christmas music and lists? Somebody's got their finger on the pulse!) Topping the chart is "Winter Wonderland," which since being written in 1934 has been covered by the likes of the Andrews Sisters, the Eurythmics, the Cocteau Twins, and Air Supply (how have I not heard that cover?), while the most recent entry on the list is 1984's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" The top 25—with the recording artist whose version has received the most radio airplay over the past five holiday seasons—after the jump. More »

12:30 PM on Tue Nov 25 2008
By Maura Johnston
734 views, 25 comments

Latest by DocStrange: @DocStrange: Oh yes, and "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues, which every alternative station on the planet is required by law to play because. Which is great because it's fantastic. more »

ho ho ugh

David Cook Would Like To Give You A Warrant T-Shirt For Christmas


Following in the footsteps of his runner-up David Archuleta, American Idol champ David Cook has shared the contents of "his iPod" with USA Today. This is mainly worth noting because he has Warrant lead singer Jani Lane's version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" on there, and Lane's version of the chestnut isn't all that bad, actually—it's a gloomy-then-peppy cover that I will bet cash money was inspired by Joey Ramone's version of "What A Wonderful World." (Ramone, it should be noted, is not on Cook's iPod, although Sevendust is. Sigh.) [YouTube / USA Today]

9:15 AM on Wed Nov 19 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,169 views, 1 comment

Latest by MrStarhead: David Cook, still giving some love to Tulsa... SIX tracks by Caroline's Spine, and three by ex-Spine frontman Jimmy Newquist? Does anyone else even remember Caroline's Spine? Some Feds, some Nixons... ooh, Panic Channel! more »

ho ho ugh

Flo Rida's Eye Wanders Away From Apple Bottoms, Toward Gap Loose Fits


The Gap's holiday ad campaigns have often featured pop musicians recasting holiday tunes—recall Luscious Jackson's take on "Let It Snow," or Rufus Wainwright's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve"—but this year, in order to get "interactive," the mall staple is letting people remix the Flo Rida/Janelle Monae/Dixie Chicks/Sandra Bernhard/Other People cover of "Jingle Bells" in the ad above to send to friends. Which is a holiday present that's a lot cheaper than a $69.50 pair of jeans. (Plus it has synthesized cowbells!) [YouTube]

9:30 AM on Fri Nov 14 2008
By Maura Johnston
96 views, 3 comments

Latest by LeBron: Of COURSE my longtime nemesis Jason Biggs makes an appearance. more »

ho ho ugh

The Great Christmas Radio Wars Of 2008 Are Totally On, Grinches

Those of you who are keeping track of regular radio stations flipping to all-holiday formats before the traditional "day after Thanksgiving" start date, take note: two Boston stations have gone all-Christmas as of today, and I'm sure there are other stations around the country that have followed suit as well. (If you know of any in your neck of the woods, feel free to take to our comments section!) Meanwhile, the New York oldies station WCBS started sprinkling a few holiday surprises into its playlists all the way back in October, when it was trying to boost its listeners' spirits with a Santa Song Of The Day. The lite-FM powerhouse WLTW decided that imitation was the best Christmas gift it could give to WCBS, so it too started playing its own Santa Songs, and that resulted in WCBS throwing a big fat lump of litigation down the waiting-room staple's chimney: More »

1:00 PM on Thu Nov 6 2008
By Maura Johnston
722 views, 6 comments

Latest by LiquidHeaven: KOSY 106.5 and whatever B98.7 in SLC have both been playing Xmas tunes since Nov 1. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS!!!! And these are just the ones I've heard of! There may be more! Frightful!!!! more »

You guys: There is a radio station in St. Louis that is already playing Christmas music. Even worse: The format has been in place on Movin 101 since at least Oct. 10. Even more worse: This so means that some genius programmer is going to "get a jump on next year's competition" by never, ever abandoning the holiday-music format, even after the return windows for unwanted gifts have long expired. [A To Z via Twelve Months Of Christmas]

5 comments

"New York Post" Presents The Classiest (And Ass-iest) Music-Related Gift Guide Of 2007

4 comments

British Public Tallies Up Favorite Christmas Singles, Can't Account For Taste A recent MSN Music poll revealed the UK's most popular Christmas number one singles, a list that includes songs by Elvis, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson—although none of them made the top five.

4 comments

Ken Barnes' latest analysis of the RIAA's gold and platinum awards reveals that one holiday staple is hoping for a Christmas miracle: "Can Mannheim Steamroller's [certified platinum] Christmas Song do the trick? It's currently at just 214,000, so it's got a lot of ground to make up. In its favor, though, it will probably improve on its weekly sales rate (last week it sold 62,000), and it may be sold in a lot of places SoundScan doesn't reach (chimneys). For all I know, they may have shipped a million copies out there anticipating demand." In a world blanketed with all-holiday-all-the-time stations, it's hard for me to see demand for the Steamroller's Christmastastic bombast, but if Clear Channel's overlords are to be believed, I'm probably in the minority. [Listen Up]

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ho ho ugh

"Grandma" Singer Gets Run Over By A Lawsuit


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ho ho ugh

Clear Channel On Listeners Who Hate Christmas Music: "Those People Don't Exist"

So just as quickly as two Chicago radio stations prepared to battle each other with competing all-holiday playlists nearly two months before Christmas, WCKG decided to "continue running highlight clips of afternoon star Steve Dahl." But in case you thought this swift change of plans on the part of WCKG might mean radio stations are rethinking the season-long holiday-saturation format, the bean counters at Clear Channel, which owns WLIT, want to assure you that if you hate Christmas music you're shit out of luck for the forseeable future. More »

12:00 PM on Mon Nov 5 2007
By jharv
1,014 views, 3 comments

Latest by krylonultraflat: I'd argue they don't do this for the listeners, they do it for businesses that are too lazy to make their own Christmas music and just turn these stations on. The only place I listen to the radio is in my more »

ho ho ugh

Radio Stations Across The Country Continue Battling Each Other With Jingle Bell Rock

Kansas City residents aren't the only poor suckers caught in the merry crossfire, as two more radio stations have gone to war against each other via all-Christmas playlists. This time, Chicago's WLIT rushed to get its Christmas offerings on the air before dawn this morning, almost a week ahead of schedule, in order to beat WCKG, a former talk station looking to cash in on big holiday ratings. And who loses in this struggle? Only Grinches, of course. More »

3:25 PM on Fri Nov 2 2007
By jharv
495 views, 3 comments

Latest by rocknrollwife: Sad to say, Milwaukee went xmas on November 1. The soft crap station switched over to xmas crap. I love xmas, every kitschy thing about it, but this is too much. I usually wait until after Thanksgiving to break out the more »

ho ho ugh

Kansas City Soft-Rock Stations Acting Like Christmas Creeps

Kansas City's KCKC flipped its format to all-Christmas music today, despite it being a) 60 degrees and sunny in the area and b) October. The switch is the latest chapter in a holiday-music rivalry KCKC has with fellow soft-rock trafficker KUDL; the Kansas City Star news item announcing the format switch was accompanied by a chart outlining just how obscenely early in the year each station made the soft-rock to snow-rock change. (Last year, KUDL went all-Christmas on Nov. 1; presumably the KCKC higher-ups thought they would fake everyone out by switching today.) And just when you think it can't get any sillier, KCKC's Wikipedia page further fleshes out how the two stations have engaged in Christmas warfare over the years: More »

5:01 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By mjohnston
680 views, 8 comments

Latest by katie_a_princess: @thearcanemodel: overland park represent! embrace the sprawl! my parents' cats have their own cars! more »