Christmas Wishes From Coldplay, Belle And Sebastian, Other Brit Popstars
Your RSS readers are overfed with XMas jams. (Stereogum -- always part of the problem! -- has been decking the halls and whatnot for six weeks.) We got yuletide mail from Queens of the Stone Age, The Killers, Blitzen Trapper, Cracker, We Are Scientists, Sufjan Stevens, and other rockers. But! Now we turn our attention across the pond, and not for the X-Factor.
First up, a new one from Coldplay. Silence from the arena rockers in '07 left us mulling if Kanye or Hova was Chris Martin's true BFF. Last week the boys recorded a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas," a tune butchered in recent years by Disney folks (Cheetah Folks, Ashley Tisdale) and digital amphibians (Crazy Frog) alike. Enjoy the acoustic, sleighbelly take at coldplay.com. Don't see why they couldn't post the entire song. Moving on.
Last time we checked in with Glasgow's Belle and Sebastian, Stuart was looking for user-generated vocals for a movie project. The group's brand new jingle couples twee harmonies with playful gibes ("Are you coming over for Christmas?/ Leave your friends, I don't think they'll miss you much/ It's not that you aren't pretty or funny/ It's just that they've got plenty more money"). "Are You Coming Home For Christmas?" is streaming at their site. Before you fire up your browser ripper, note the track will be downloadable for free at MySpace from midnight tonight until Midnight on Christmas night.
UPDATE: In case you missed it...
Belle And Sebastian - "Are You Coming Over For Christmas?" (MP3)
Over on YuleTube, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory deliver synthy, seasonal well-wishes with an umbrella, a hairbrush, and some kazoos.
This second clip's more bizarre. Will is decked in holly, and Alison is neck-down furry with a bandaged face. "Thank you to all the fans who donated money for my operation..."
Kazoos show up there too, but are mercilessly absent from LP4 Seventh Tree, out in February.
Finally, Devonte Hynes hit the up-and-coming songwriter jackpot over the weekend when his "Another Song About Being Alone At Xmas" got facetime on the YouTube homepage. It's an acoustic dirge that makes us think we'll enjoy Domino debut Falling Off the Lavender Bridge more than anything from Test Icicles. Though a festive band name he gave up there.
Lightspeed Champion - "Another Song About Being Alone At Xmas" (MP3)
Merry Christmas rock stars.
Posted at 1:57 PM in MP3, Video
Tags: Belle And Sebastian | Coldplay | Goldfrapp | Lightspeed Champion
B&S' track is already up to download. What a great present.
Merry Christmas, Stereogum! May Santa bring you as many indie marvels as possible!
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Oh, she's making fun of Michael Jackson with that face bandage. OK, next.
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Crap. I knew I forgot to do something a couple of days ago. Downloading that B&S song was it.
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