You can always count on Stereogum to take the year-end poll to simultaneously sexy and silly extremes. Witness his “indie hottie of 2005 (female)” poll. Not surprisingly, Jenny Lewis takes the title, followed by Feist, Maya Arulpragasm (aka M.I.A.), Neko Case and Metric’s Emily Haines. Just goes to show – Canadian (and honourary Canadian) women rule. Me, I was one of four who voted for Gemma Hayes (Girl with a Telecaster – what can I say?), though I am flabbergasted that Ambrosia Parsley of Shivaree was shut out. Come on). Madness.

And lest anyone pull out the “sexism” pointing stick, may I direct you to the Via Chicago message boards, where the Rock Star Boyfriends thread clocks in at a mind-boggling 42 pages while the Rock Star Girlfriends thread is only a paltry 25 pages long, and I daresay there’s far more male VC-ers than female. I also think I can safely say that considering the proportion of men to women making music in indie circles (which, granted, seems far more balanced than in mainstream rock), (straight) female fans have a much deeper pool of celebrity crush prospects than (straight) guys. Though I can’t help noticing Scott Stereogum didn’t conduct an “indie hottie of 2005 (male)” poll …

And though she may only be #4 on Stereogum’s list (but #1 for Playboy), I have more new for Ms Neko Case – an electronic press kit in WMV format for Fox Confessor Brings The Flood with some nice behind-the-scenes footage and a musical sneak preview (via For The Records). And thanks to Erika for doing a little more sleuthing about that twang-tacular show going on at what looks like Lee’s Palace on February 3 and 4. The folks at Bloodshot have clarified that a bit, and are saying those will be shows for a forthcoming live Sadies album featuring Jon Langford, Ronnie Hawkins and Neko. More details are forthcoming, but that should be one to circle on the ol’ calendar.

If they only had a higher profile, Daylight’s For The Birds’ Claudia Deheza sure would have garnered a few votes, and if there’s any justice songs like “For Now”, freshly posted on their MySpace page, will get them the attention they deserve. The song is stunning.

And that’s enough ogling for one day.

So it’s Boxing Day, which for those not in the Commonwealth is like our day after Thanksgiving – a non-stop orgy of consumerism and excess. I’ll be doing my part in hastening the decline and fall of western civilization by indulging in the CD, LP and DVD purchases that I’ve been putting off for the last little while. Actually, there’s not that much I plan on getting, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

np – Shivaree / Who’s Got Trouble?

Thanks to the Perry Bible Fellowship for providing my new favourite Christmas image ever – Christmas Cards.

Merry Christmas – everyone else has been posting seasonal mp3s so I’m following suit with a bonus batch of Christmas covers. Well, some covers – traditional songs don’t really count, do they? Anyway, off we go.

I can’t preface this Feist track any better than John Sakamoto did a few weeks ago when he featured it in his Anti Hit-List:

“Originally a 16th-century hymn, this carol has gone through several major iterations, and Feist has chosen here to limit herself to what are arguably the two least overtly religious verses. Regardless, the cadence of the lyrics makes this a challenge to sing, yet she makes it seem as natural as breathing. Part of a rare Best Buy promotional CD in the U.S., it cries out to be heard by one and all.”

MP3: Feist – “Lo, How A Rose E’re Blooming”

In 1992, The Wedding Present took on the record-setting task of releasing a 7″ single every month for an entire year. The a-side of each was an original tune, the b-side a cover. For their final Christmas single, they chose Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas”.

MP3: The Wedding Present – “Step Into Christmas”

Maybe This Christmas Tree was a holiday album put out by Nettwerk last year to benefit the Marine Toys For Tots Foundation. The whole album is Christmas covers, one of which is Ivy presenting a lovely reworking of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here”.

MP3: Ivy – “Christmas Time Is Here”

Finally, thanks to Bradley’s Almanac for this one. Technically, “Frosty The Snowman” isn’t a Christmas song – it’s more just a Winter song. But really, who sings after Christmas is over. Crazy people, that’s who. So I’ll post this Cocteau Twins cover taken from their Snow EP now, or else I’ll have to sit on it for another year. And who knows what could happen in a year? The world could blow up. And then you’d NEVER get to hear Liz Fraser sing in English. And that’s no way to live. Or die. I forget what I was saying.

MP3: The Cocteau Twins – “Frosty The Snowman”

And for more Christmas covers, check out Copy, Right?. My Mean Magpie has also posted a nice mix… actually, pretty much every blog out there has posted or linked some Christmas MP3 mix – linking to them all would be futile (and as of today, pointless), so if you really want more holiday tunes, go to Technorati and swing a stick.

Have a good day.

np – Wheat / Medeiros

Belle & Sebastian have released details about the first single from their new album The Life Pursuit, out February 7. Funny Little Frog will be out on January 16 in the UK and will be available in not one, not two, but three different formats. There’s the CD single, which will feature b-sides “Meat & Potatoes” and “I Took A Long Hard Look”, a 7″ flipsided by “The Eighth Station of the Cross Kebab House” and a DVD single featuring a video of the single and a live performance of “Lazy Line Painter Jane”.

This is the first B&S single since This Is Just A Modern Rock Song to not get a North American release, but completists like myself should note that RecordStore.co.uk are offering all three singles in a special package deal for 5 pounds sterling (plus shipping). Thankfully, the package deal counts as one item as far as shipping is concerned, so it’s only an extra 3.39 quid postage (I asked). For those of you refusing to do math over the holidays, that’s a total of 8.39, or $17 Canadian ($14.50 USD). Not bad. I also asked about the DVD, and while it should be region-free, it’s also in PAL format so North American players may not be able to play it. I read the manual for mine and it said that while it can play PAL DVDs, the TV has to be PAL as well. I don’t know what any of this nonsense means, to be honest. Technology confounds me.

“Funny Little Frog” has been kicking around for a while – the band performed it on a Peel Session for the BBC as far back as 2004, which you can here below (MP3 courtesy of Revolution In The Head. I would imagine the album version sounds considerably different – after all, it had a year to evolved. Angloplugging has an embaressingly enthusiastic review/press release of the single, if you’re in the mood for hyperbole. And really, who isn’t?

MP3: Belle & Sebastian – “Funny Little Frog” (Peel Session)

And whilst on the topic of Belle & Sebastian and the late, great John Peel, ’tis the season to pull out their 2002 Christmas Peel Session in which they pulled out originals, covers and standards and generally had a good time. Each Note Secure currently has the whole thing wrapped (zipped) up with a bow for you to download. The BBC considerately has the set list and photos from the party still archived.

So I’m leafing through the new issue of Magnet and what do I see on page 7 but a full-page, full-colour ad for hardcore porn DVDs. At first I thought it was an ironic Matador ad, but no. Porn. How… odd.

But a few pages later there was a brief sidebar with Dean Wareham about his post-Luna projects and it revealed that Tell Me Do You Miss Me, the DVD chronicling Luna’s final tour over the Fall of 2004 and Winter of 2005, will be getting a release in March via Rhino. Yes, Luna, I do miss you. Sniff. Oh, Dean and Britta have reposted their Christmas track “Old Toy Trains”, a cover of an old Roger Miller tune.

MP3: Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips – “Old Toy Trains”

So it’s back to the old homestead today for Christmas festivities, which should involve rewiring my mom’s byzantine VCR system (don’t ask), watching the bonus features on The Life Aquatic DVD and perusing the latest Big Takeover for last-minute additions to the Boxing Day shopping list. It’s looking really meagre right now, which makes me antsy in that “I don’t feel as though I’m taking full advantage of the sales” sort of way. But hey, beats working. Which I won’t be doing until the first week of January… Vacation! Whoooo.

But for now, I have to go try and do some Christmas shopping. Yeah, shut up.

np – The Zephyrs / Bright Yellow Flowers On A Dark Double Bed

I get a lot of stuff from promo companies, usually telling me so-and-so is the next greatest band I have to listen to (and blog about). Mostly I ignore them (and that, right there, is the sound of people no longer sending me stuff…). But when Shawn from Cornerstone recommended Australia’s Howling Bells to me but added that he wasn’t working them, he just liked them and thought I would too, my cold cold heart thawed and I went to have a listen – and I’m glad I did.

They only have one song, “Velvet Girl”, streaming on their website, but I actually don’t mind that it loops over and over again. It’s addictive. Led by vocalilst Juanita Stein, who with brother/guitarist Joel had some success in the Aussie outfit Waikiki, they sound like a slightly fuzzier, twangier Mazzy Star. They have a dreamy, velvety quality that’s utterly beguiling, but has a hint of danger underneath. Of course, this is a lot to assume from just one song, so it’s a good thing I’ve dug up two. They have “Blessed Night” streaming on their MySpace page, but I’ve found an mp3 (a straight recording of the myspace stream, I think) for your downloading pleasure – it’s a rougher, bluesier track than “Velvet Girl” but also excellent. Between these two samples, consider me officially tantilized.

MP3: Howling Bells – “Blessed Night”

They just released an e-single for “Low Happening” last week through a variety of online music shops, none of which seem to be available to Canadians. I guess I’ll just have to wait until their debut album, Liberation, comes out April 2006. They seem to be signed to V2 in some territories and Bella Union in the UK, but I can’t find any info about North America. Hopefully the record will be available here through someone… They were actually here back in October, but my unwillingness/inability to do four shows in four nights meant I had to give them a pass. And while I’m sure that night’s sleep was well needed, I’m sorry I missed it. Fingers crossed they’ll make it back.

Rhett Miller talks solo projects with Chart.

Matt Pond PA are saying “Happy holidays” to their fans with a new demo streaming off their MySpace page. And tickets are on sale for their February 11 show with dios (malos) at the Mod Club for $13.50.

Local promoters Emerge are using their blog to great effect, having just posted a list of their upcoming shows for 2006. The only one that really catches my interest is The Guillemots at the Horseshoe on March 15. Unfortunately, I will probably be in Austin that week, which sort of raises the question – why is a young, up-and-coming band from abroad in Toronto that week instead of the giant schmoozeola of SxSW?

Blogger year-end lists from Kathryn Yu, Coolfer and Information Leafblower. You know, with all these best-of lists, I’d been hoping to pad my shopping list with new and interesting stuff but I’m not finding a lot of stuff that’s slipped under my radar this year – either I like it and already have it, or I know I don’t dig it.

Under The Radar talks to director Margaret Brown about making Be Here To Love Me, the Townes Van Zandt documentary I saw last year at the Toronto International Film Festival.

np – The National / Black Session – 2003

So four years after the release of their last album, The Flaming Lips have finally completed their new record, At War With The Mystics, and given it a release date of April 4. They’re also releasing a 5.1 surround sound version of The Soft Bulletin on DVD-A on January 31, along with a slew of bonus cuts. Billboard has more details.

It’s also worth noting that another holiday season is about to come and go without the Lips’ cinematic opus Christmas On Mars seeing the light of day. It went into production more than five years ago and wrapped filming in October and according to the Wikipedia entry, will be released next Summer. Maybe that’s the Christmas season on Mars? I don’t know if anyone is REALLY anxious to see this film – at least not after seeing the trailer, which first appeared on the Fight Test EP. I don’t care how big a Lips fan you are, there’s no way you can say this thing doesn’t look awful. But for your Flaming Lips Christmas fix, Filter helpfully points to this streaming version of “White Christmas” by the Lips which isn’t awful, but isn’t great either.

Blake Sennett tells Billboard that his and Jenny Lewis’ respective solo projects do not spell the end of Rilo Kiley by any means. Filter has an early review of Lewis’ Rabbit Fur Coat while Chart wants to talk about both of them. There’s finally a legal download from Rabbit Fur Coat courtesy of Insound – for the five of us who haven’t downloaded the leaked copy…

MP3: Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins – “Melt Your Heart”

The official Life Pursuit bio for Belle & Sebastian is now up at Matador Records. Click on the lovely ad over on the right to see it!

Stylus conducts a comprehensive-like interview with Feist.

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Jonathan Bree of Kiwi popsters The Brunettes, who will release their first album for Sub Pop in August of next year. Via Largehearted Boy.

And both Largehearted Boy and I are on Armchair Novelist’s list of the best blogs of 2005.

More concert news – Imogen Heap is at the El Mocambo on January 12, tickets $15, The Walkmen are at Lee’s on January 28, tickets $15 on sale next week, and The Airfields will be supporting The Wedding Present at their Toronto show at Lee’s Palace on March 10. And thanks to Sara for pointing out that Bloodshot has two Toronto dates listed for Neko Case on February 3 and 4, venue TBA. It’s hard to tell if these are her shows or if she’s guesting, because they also list Jon Langford, The Sadies and Ronnie Hawkins on the same bill. But whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be twangy. Update: The ads in today’s NOW indicate that this is a Jon Langford show – no mention of the guest stars, though.

Your daily year-end list roundup: The AV Club tallies their top movies of 2005, Aversion selects their albums of the year and eye rounds up their best concerts of the year along with good things and bad things in the Toronto scene.

Looking forward to the premiere of 24 on January 15 and 16? Pissed that they’ve put a ten-minute bridging prequel on the season 4 DVDs? Gripe no more – you can see the whole thing here (though I’m sure it’s torrented everywhere as well). Both Jack and Chloe have new hair! Chloe’s is good. Jack’s, not so much. Still – getting excited for the new season! Via Bradley’s Almanac.

np – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals / Jacksonville City Nights