We’re now just past the halfway mark with my Advent Countdown, and I’m beginning to realise how little time I have left to play all the songs I want to! There are five more today, plus the return of a favourite ad – in the absence of any good new ones to attract my attention. I ran a kind of themed set on Tuesday, and wondered about trying to do the same again today, but the closest I can get to that is that these are all songs with female vocals. I’ve played them all before, but don’t let that put you off: they are all great!

I’ve played this first one several times before, but as I absolutely love it you’re getting it again! Sorry (not really):

That is just so very good. Annie Lennox is a singer who I loved when she was in the Eurythmics, but whose solo career has largely passed me by. I think this is amazing: the folk, almost pagan, treatment is very much to my taste, and her powerful voice carries the song so well. The video is brilliant, too. If you want to hear more from her, you’ll find God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and many others on her album A Christmas Cornucopia, released in 2010.

This next one is a Christmas standard and this version is, for me, the best ever – by miles, as I said to her on her YouTube page:

I have played Brynn Andre’s version of Let It Snow most years since I have been sharing Christmas songs, going back before the days when I started doing it on my blog. I’ve just checked, and the comment I left – and Brynn’s reply – are still there. Rather shockingly to me is the fact that this video has only received just shy of 1,200 views in the eleven years since it was posted, and I probably account for quite a few of those! That fits with what I have said before about Brynn going under the radar: she released two albums, in 2009 and 2011, and a couple of EPs in 2011 and 2012, but then went rather silent. This was the title track on the second of those EPs, neither of which is available any longer, as far as I have found. She got married, started a family, and developed freelance careers as a copywriter and a life coach, which you can find under her married name of Brynn Johnson or the company name – Swandive –  if you are in need of either service. She made a small return in 2018 and 2019 and then fulfilled my wish to hear new music from her with a full album, Honeymoon, earlier this year. Like this song and video the new album is ‘delightful’ and I recommend it to you.

This next one is another long time favourite of mine, and it wouldn’t feel like Christmas for me without playing it. Making her annual return, this is the fabulous Kate Rusby:

I couldn’t leave out one of my favourite singers, especially when this charming animation was made just for her! That is such a lovely version of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, which is particular to the part of Yorkshire where Kate is from. Sweet Bells is the title track of her first album of Christmas songs, which I bought in 2008 when it was released, and have played so many times since then. The animation isn’t an ‘official’ one, but it is a really good fit for the song, and the depiction of Kate is perfect. As folk music isn’t a particularly big seller here the album did well to reach #91, I think. Christmas is a big tradition for her, and she has just released her sixth album of seasonal music, Light Years, which is a lovely blend of carols and familiar songs and is, as always, utterly lovely. It has entered the UK Albums chart this week at #76, but it is probably wishful thinking on my part for it to go much higher!

I have played this next one a number of times before, both the original and cover versions. A new official video for it was released last year, but I keep returning to this one:

I did actually play that new official video last year, but I love this one, which just feels so right for this absolutely beautiful song, which you probably already know was on Joni Mitchell’s Blue album, released in June 1971, and which I still think is her best album ever. Ten tracks, and they are all brilliant. The album peaked at #15 in the US, at #9 in her native Canada, but I’m pleased to say that we did best by it, as it reached #3 here in the UK. Fifty two years ago, and it still sounds as fresh as ever. Joni suffered an aneurysm some years ago, which has severely affected her, but it is good to know she is still recognised for her music: she received the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Historical Album, for her Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967) collection, and made a nostalgic appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in summer 2022, accompanied by many who paid homage by joining in with her on some of her songs. She looked frail but thrilled to be there, and was still (just) able to perform.

I played this next one for the first time last year, and as it was well received I thought it worth sharing again:

That video for Ingrid Michaelson and Zooey Deschanel singing Merry Christmas, Happy New Year was released two years ago but it took me a while to catch up with it! It is a charming little song and a gorgeous video: the animation is incredibly good, though I would always recommend taking the teabag out of the cup before drinking! Ingrid Michaelson is a singer-songwriter and actor, in that order. Zooey Deschanel, younger sister of Emily (the Bones lady), is primarily an actor but also has a long musical career to her name, both as part of the band She And Him and also on collaborations like this. I think this is lovely, and couldn’t resist playing it again today. If you want to hear more like this, it was a bonus track on the deluxe version of Ingrid’s album Songs For The Season, which was released in October 2018.

That’s today’s five tunes safely stored away, so all that remains is for me to share an ad. As I have remarked before, I am far from being impressed by most of what I have seen this year, so I thought I’d revisit an old favourite, which you have probably seen here several times before. Repeated viewing doesn’t impair its loveliness, though:

Hafod Hardware is a shop in the mid-Wales town of Rhayader, who made a set of four Christmas videos from 2017 to 2020. This is the third of them, from 2019, which was the one that made a star of little Arthur Lewis Jones, who was just 2 at the time. He’ll be 6 now, and I’m really hoping that he wants to make another of these and persuades his Dad to do it – we need their brilliance back again, after three blank Christmases! I still can’t watch that without a tear forming. Everything about it is perfection: the story that revolves around Arthur helping his grandparents in their shop, the clever way he morphs into his dad, Tom, at the end, and how Tom imitates Arthur’s 👍 greeting, all topped off by Andrea Von Kampen’s beautiful version of the Alphaville song, Forever Young, which underpins the whole message. Trying, and failing, to copy a good idea the song was also used the following year by McDonalds in their Christmas advert: proving yet again that there is no justice, the incredibly inferior version they used, by Becky Hill – a ‘reality’ tv show winner – made it to #35 in the UK singles chart. I defy anyone to listen to both versions and not prefer Andrea’s! What they couldn’t even come close to was matching the viral success of this video, which garnered national press and tv coverage, and resulted in a visit by the then Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, who could be seen buying a copy of Andrea’s latest album. The video has over 2.8m views on YouTube, and I think that is richly deserved.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back for Song Lyric Sunday, and will see you again on Tuesday for the next episode in this series. All that remains is for me to wish you well, and to leave you with another of my incredibly tasteful cartoons. 🎄