christmas is almost here.

yes, christmas is pretty much right around the corner now. despite going to the (supposedly german) christmas markets for what felt like a million times, being surrounded by (too many) christmas jumpers last night, the cold weather and the tiny bit of snow we´ve got last weekend, it still doesn´t feel like christmas to me. in the interest of me going home to germany tomorrow, i am willing to look out for some christmas spirits nevertheless. so i was searching for some xmas tunes in the depth of my itunes library and found some rather nice and a few unusual christmas themed songs.

up first is natalie mccool with 'at christmas time (with friends around)'. if you´re sick of hearing chris rea singing 'driving home for christmas' or mariah carey moaning about what she wants for christmas, have a listen to this song. it was written by natalie herself and released in 2010 as part of her 'merry christmas' ep, which also features two great covers. 'at christmas time' is quite addictive - be prepared to have it on repeat once you listened to it for the first time. the 'merry christmas' ep is available on itunes, so make sure to check it out.

 

thanks to facebook and my amazing friends, i came across beans on toast a few days ago. i´ve heard of him before but had no idea that he did a christmas song - well, more or less at least. 'christmas at tesco' might be the funniest xmas song ever. pay attention to the lyrics and you´ll be laughing for hours after listening to it. the sad (?) thing about this song though, is simply that he´s right.

to be honest, i´m not too fond of the wombats -never been and probably never will be. but i do have their xmas song 'is this christmas?' on my ipod. why? well, it´s not your traditional christmas song and i usually approve those. plus the video is fun to watch as well. blogger won´t let me upload the original vid though, so have a look on youtube.

the ultimate christmas song for me is still melanie thornton's 'wonderful christmas (holidays are coming)'. it´s been 10 years now since she died in a plane crash in switzerland. melanie thornton had an extraordinary voice and was probably destined for much more. her christmas single has been in the charts every year since 2001. her last record 'ready to fly' (which was also released in 2001) is one of the best pop albums ever made. i can´t imagine the holidays without her xmas song.

last but not least, here´s at least one 'traditional' christmas song. not as traditional as you might think though. wham's 'last christmas' is probably one of those songs that everyone simply can´t stand anymore after a while. every year i´m dreading the moment i have to hear it for the first time in some supermarket or outlet store. but thankfully there are still musicians out there who can make this song bearable - frank turner for example. when we spotted this song on his latest album, we weren´t quite sure if it was the 'last christmas' but it was and it´s certainly not a bad version. here´s a live version from 2009.

that´s it in terms of great christmas songs. if you know any others, let me know. i´m desperate to find some more songs that might be able to get me in the christmas mood. until then, hope you enjoy my little collection!