12 Days Of Christmas – 29th December

After yesterday’s song by The Black Keys and the good reception it’s had, I thought I’d keep things similar. The Calimocho Club are a two man garage/blues rock duo from Salford. They make an absolute racket, and from what I hear their live shows are something to be seen. I spoke to guitarist/singer Gary L Hope about one gig they played…

“We once unwittingly played a show in an establishment ran by militants. All had The Red Hand of Ulster stitched into their jackets – now there’s an argument that says this symbol has been misappropriated, but in this case…you’ve seen the scene in The Blues Brothers where they play behind chicken-wire fencing? Yeah, like that.”

12 Days Of Christmas – 28th December

Good afternoon. If you’re lucky like me, you’ve got another week off until you’re back at work again. Which is great, but it also feels like a countdown now. Before you think I’m going to post that classic by Europe, I’m not. Instead it’s the forthcoming second single from The Black Keys’ 2011 release, called ‘Run Right Back’. Much has been made of the way that they’ve moved away from the blues influences a little and are sliding towards the 60’s and 70’s, so I shan’t go on about it. This song has got a riff that crunches its way through the uptempo song, with their distinctively compressed voices occasionally breaking into a fun falsetto on the chorus. It’s a song that I can’t wait to see live.

12 Days Of Christmas – 27th December

Hello again. Another day, another song. Rather than go for one which has existed since time immemorial (or the 80’s, whichever you want to call it) today it is the turn of one of my favourite bands from my time at Uni. No, it’s not The Shins or Death Cab, but The Maccabees. Their new album called Into The Wild is due out right at the start of January (the 9th, on Fiction, for those of you who are interested) and this is the single they let lose last month. We’ve opted against doing a round up of the year in favour of writing some bits about artist we’re looking forward to hearing from over the coming months. Check back for some thoughts on these guys, but for now just enjoy.

12 Days Of Christmas – 26th December

Day two of our little feature starts with a question… When do the 12 days actually start?! I’ve taken it as Christmas Day, but I hear it could be Christmas Eve and as far as Apple’s giveaway app is concerned it starts today. So, anyone who’s down with their Christian folklore, please let me know. Moving on to the music, today’s is another golden oldie, this time from Queen. I can’t say I’m their biggest fan (that said, Under Pressure is one hell of a song!) but this feels like an appropriate song for this time of the year. Enjoy the bombastic guitars, 80’s synths and Freddy’s awesome voice.

12 Days Of Christmas – 25th December

Hello again. First things first, Merry Christmas. This time of year is traditionally when everyone gets together, eats too much, drinks too much and ends up arguing over who does the washing up (among other things) and I thought it might be a good distraction for me and maybe for you to have something else to do.

As it was last year, the songs over the next twelve days will not be particularly festive. This is mostly because I’m a grumpy git, but also because I have yet to hear any christmas songs that I have genuinely enjoyed. (If you know of any good ones please do let me know)

12 Days Of Christmas – 5th January

Optimash Prime sporting the Winter Collection

Well, it had to happen. And we all knew when it was going to, so really there’s no reason to be too sad. So dry your eyes now and give this song a listen. It’s actually a bit of a melancholy one, so you might want to keep the box of tissues out for an extra two minutes. Simon and Garfunkel wrote a lot of good songs but this is one of my favourites. I hope you enjoy it too.

12 Days Of Christmas – 4th January

Optimash Prime sporting the Winter Collection

Only two songs left now. I know, it’s been a great journey through a bunch of songs you probably already know. But at least it’s been a fairly easy ride; nothing too pretentious or weird (I hope). For my penultimate song I’ve chosen another song from the 80’s and it’s got some good visuals too. They aren’t from the  music video though, rather from the film 500 Days Of Summer. The dance is how every man feels after getting some. Here you go, have some Hall & Oats.

12 Days Of Christmas – 3rd January

Optimash Prime sporting the Winter Collection

How about another remix? This is probably the best part of a year old by now but it is in no way any less freakin’ excellent. I actually like the original so much I’m going to put the video up.

12 Days Of Christmas – 2nd January

Optimash Prime sporting the Winter Collection

Another day, another song. This time there’s no sympathy, your head will just have to put up with the guitars and vocals of one of the greatest rock bands ever. Just rock out big time to this.

12 Days Of Christmas – 1st January

Optimash Prime sporting the Winter Collection

Happy New Year!

I hope last night was wonderful. The day of feeling sorry for yourself will have been well and truly worth it, I’m sure. I’ve been umming and ahhing over what song to put up today. There were a couple of contenders but I think the name of the artist and song make this the winner. The other song I was thinking about will go up tomorrow when the hangover really kicks in. Dizzy Gillespie is a one-of-a-kind artist. A virtuoso trumpet player and one of the founding father of what we now consider Jazz, he definitely gets a shout out. Enjoy this one.