It is Day 13 for my Advent Calendar. Some see this as an unlucky number, so I’ll try to overcome that by showing how lucky you are to be here for some good music. Today I’m playing four songs, three of which are returning but the last one is brand new for this year, having only been released a few weeks ago.

I began this year with a new song from Bryan Adams. This is one he released three years ago, which I think is fun:

This modern retake on the nativity story was released in November 2019. There is so much to enjoy in that video, and the tune really rocks along. Like his 2021 single, So Happy It Hurts, this was co-written by Bryan with Gretchen Peters, who you may recall is one of my favourite singer-songwriters. Both songs are typical of Bryan, less so of Gretchen, but it’s good to see her rockier tendencies coming out! Joe And Mary appeared on an EP called Christmas: as far as I can tell its only chart placing was at #80 in Bryan’s Canadian homeland. I still think it’s fun, though

This next one is a golden oldie, going back to the Sixties, but this animated video for it is much more recent:

That video was released exactly two years ago today, and I think it is an indication of how popular The Beach Boys still are that it has garnered well over 1.4m views in that time. This is my third time playing it, and I never tire of it: the song is a favourite of mine for this time of year, and as someone says in the comments on YouTube, you can tell that this video was done by a fan of the band as there are so many little touches that give it away. This was the opening track on The Beach Boys Christmas Album, which was released in November 1964 and peaked at #6 in the US albums chart. It’s a fun song, and the video is fabulous.

For my next tune today, I’m giving you another old favourite of mine. I was introduced to Tom Lehrer’s songs by a schoolfriend’s father, somewhere around 1970, and I’ve loved them ever since. Who couldn’t relate to the man who gave us such gems as Poisoning Pigeons In The Park, or the beautiful (i.e. gruesome) love song I Hold Your Hand In Mine? This is what he did with Christmas:

I’ve also played that one a couple of times before. For those of you unfamiliar with Tom Lehrer this is the background I have previously given: Tom’s peak performing days were in the 50s and 60s, after which he mostly gave it up to devote his time to teaching mathematics and musical theatre history at the University of California, Santa Cruz, from which he retired in 2001. I think I’d have enjoyed maths more if I’d had a teacher like him! I’m happy to say that he is still with us, at the ripe old age of 94. Quite a few of his songs are of the political satire variety: he was quoted in 1973 as saying that political satire was dead after Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, so I wonder what his take on current US and world politics would be? He once remarked that he only wrote 37 songs and performed 109 shows across a twenty year period: we are lucky that those songs and live performances are still available to us in his recordings. Stay with it to the end: Tom has a final word to add…

On Day 5 I played you a song by the lovely Patty Gurdy, on which she was joined by the typically Irish band Fiddler’s Green (who are German – don’t ask). I didn’t know much about the band until Patty released that song two years ago, but apparently they have been making records and performing for more than thirty years: I guess I’d have stood more chance of knowing them if I was either German or Irish! They have just released a new track with a lyric video, and it has something of the feel of the Dropkick Murphys about it, so I was always going to like it! I hope you enjoy this bit of fun and nonsense too:

Fiddler’s Green take their name from an after-life where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle that never stops playing, and dancers who never tire. In 19th century English maritime folklore, it was a kind of after-life for sailors who had served at least fifty years at sea. Since forming in 1990 they have released seventeen studio albums, plus a further six live recordings. They have enjoyed a fair amount of chart success in Germany, where two of their records have made the top ten, while eight others have also made the charts. The band has six members, two of whom have been there since the beginning, another joined the following year, and the three stragglers came on board in 2000, 2001 and 2006. You get a sense from this song that they fit together well, don’t you? This song is the title track from their newest album, a Christmas special that was released three weeks ago. From the track listing it seems they may been stepping out beyond their German (or should that be Irish) folk roots though, as the album includes such traditional tunes as Mull Of Kintyre, Merry Xmas Everybody, Stop The Cavalry, and White Christmas, as well as assorted carols and songs like Jingle Bells. I’ve added it to my Apple Music library – it’s a bit different, I’ll say that for it!

That’s all for today, and I hope the songs have given you some fun and a few smiles along the way. To round things off, here’s today’s image:

I’ll see you again tomorrow 🎁