I’m not a big Christmas music guy, but I inevitably end up collecting a fair bit of decent seasonally-themed stuff over the course of my travels and since there’s only one time of year to post it, now’s the time. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and happy statutory holiday to everyone else.

The Cocteau Twins released a Christmas single in 1993 with a couple of classic covers, one of “Frosty The Snowman” and this one, “Winter Wonderland”, featuring a rare appearance by Liz Fraser’s native tongue. MP3: Cocteau Twins – “Winter Wonderland”

Boy George and Antony Hegarty last year collaborated on this John Lennon cover for the star-studded Help: A Day In The Life benefit album for War Child. Their version is arch, rich and sweeping – but considering who’s involved you’d expect no less. MP3: George & Antony – “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)”

Dreampoppers Asobi Sesku teamed up with Detroit’s PAS/CAL for a holiday 12″ single featuring a Christmas cover by each band on coloured vinyl. PAS/CAL tackled Wham!’s “Last Christmas” while Asobi paid tribute to fellow New Yorkers The Ramones. MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight)

Way back in the day (1992, to be exact), Velocity Girl teamed up with Tsunami to release a the Season’s Greetings 7″ on Simple Machines. Their contribution was this (I believe) original Christmas ditty. MP3: Velocity Girl – “Merry X-Mas, I Love You”

Everyone has their own favourite bits of Christmas pop culture ephemra (hands up for A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Story, etc etc) but I’m particularly fond of the utterly surreal 1977 pairing of David Bowie and Bing Crosby on a version of “Little Drummer Boy” spruced up with a hastily-written counter-song they dubbed “Peace On Earth”.

The full story of the song is recounted by The Washington Post and you can both see and hear the song in question below – watching the video is essential to fully appreciating this particular crossing of wires, especially with the skit used to bring the two together. Does anyone know whose house it’s supposed to be? Someone real or fictional? I’ve listened repeatedly but can’t make out the names.

MP3: David Bowie & Bing Crosby – “Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth”
Video: David Bowie & Bing Crosby – “Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth” (YouTube)

Speaking of The Thin White Duke, I recently read Dave Thompson’s Hallo Spaceboy: The Rebirth Of David Bowie, a biography of Bowie notable for the fact that it documents not in 70s when Bowie was one of the biggest stars in Britain, but instead starts in 1987, after the conclusion of the Glass Spider tour when he was arguably burned out and at his creative nadir (and Thompson already covered the earlier stage of Bowie’s career in the book Moonage Daydream). Though the music from this period is far from his best work, getting a look at the mindset of Bowie as he restlessly sought to rediscover his muse is quite interesting. Thompson is a bit too fawning and fannish at points but manages to maintain sufficient critical distance for the most part. Bowie himself was not interviewed specifically for the book but he is quoted from interviews over the fifteen years covered and I think that actually gives greater insight into him – he is fervently excited about and believes strongly in everything he’s doing at the time, even if history would prove it to be a misstep.

One thing I took away from this book, if not a desire to hear Tin Machine again, is the realization that I’d always thought of Bowie as a pop artist – and any of his best-ofs certainly prove he’s brilliant at that – but the downside of that is that I tended to dismiss any of his records that didn’t have a hooky pop hit on it. So while I’m not diving right into it immediately, I will be re-examining his more “difficult” records (I’ve been slowly accumulating the 70s stuff on vinyl) as well as maybe trying out Reality or Heathen at some point.

But what’s Bowie doing these days besides playing man-about-town in NYC and anointing next-big-things like Arcade Fire and watching TV? Composing songs for Ricky Gervais on Extras.

Video: David Bowie on Extras

Check out the new video from Jarvis Cocker as well as an old chestnut from Pulp, which coincidentally features a Bowie sound-alike (if not a lookalike). That Jarv has one wicked sense of humour, yes he does.

Video: Jarvis Cocker – “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” (Youtube)
Video: Pulp – “Bad Cover Version” (Youtube)

Boo-ums – Billboard reports that Paul Westerberg put a screwdriver through his hand (!) and won’t be playing guitar for up to a year. Get well soon, Paul.

Kaiser Chiefs are at the Kool Haus on April 18. Yes, they’re apparently still around.

Doves have posted a holiday greeting on their blog and will be returning to the studio in February to record their fourth album, hoping for a Summer/Fall release.

So Much Silence got a sexy extreme makeover for Christmas. This song is for him. And I probably should have posted it yesterday, but whatever.

MP3: Shearwater – “A Makeover”

Though recorded several months ago, the session that Shearwater recorded for Daytrotter is finally online. There’s four tracks from Palo Santo as well as one lovely new song that I want to say something about but which I must refrain from doing so for the time being.

Even though Jonathan Meiburg was “appalled” at the sound of his voice, which was a little worse for wear after their Fall tour. Listening to these tracks, it’s obvious he’s being far too hard on himself – the only evidence that anything’s amiss is a bit of a rasp and that he doesn’t quite reach for the high notes. But the whole band is in fine form and the songs sound stately, moody and marvelous, regardless.

There’s also an interview with the band about the relationship between Shearwater and Okkervil River, Jonathan’s interests in ornithology and Howard Draper’s first meeting with Joanna Newsom. Meiburg has just returned from one of the sojourns to the Falklands mentioned in the piece and promises big happenings with the band in 2007 (including an April tour with Xiu Xiu) and I for one can’t wait to find out what.

The band behind almost everyone (else)’s album of the year, TV On The Radio, hit the road this Spring and stop at the Kool Haus on March 4. Full dates at BrooklynVegan.

Ocean Drive celebrates the year in Cat Power (via RBally) while Aversion reports why you won’t be getting the Cat Stevens cover she recorded for a diamonds commercial anytime soon.

The Canadian Press talks to Julien Mineau of Malajube about the inroads made by Francophone bands in the English-speaking Canadian music markets this year.

Obviously, as the year winds down there’s going to be less and less to write about. So in squeezing blood from a stone last night, I came up with this.

Filter had Rob Dickinson in their offices this week for a short acoustic session, the videos from which they’ve posted on their blog. Their latest issue also has a retrospective on Catherine Wheel that features interviews and reminiscences with Dickinson, guitarist Brian Futter, producer Tim Friese-Greene and guest vocalist Tanya Donelly.

Interesting that the version of “Judy Staring At The Sun” that appears on Happy Days (and one of the highlights of an otherwise overly-metal album) only features Donelly on harmony vocals but the mix that appears in the video (and presumably the single) has her higher in the mix and also gives her a whole verse to sing. And there’s a different guitar solo.

Back in the present day, Rob continues to milk Fresh Wine For The Horses with a short west coast tour in January but then he hops across the continent to one of the cities that loves him best – Toronto – for a show at Lee’s Palace on February 7. This’ll be the third time he’s played here since Fall 2005 and you might notice that my pics from the first two shows, like the one above, are liberally used throughout Rob’s redesigned website. Yay me.

Video: Catherine Wheel with Tanya Donelly – “Judy Staring At The Sun” (YouTube)

Elsewhere, Oxford Collapse, Thunderbirds Are Now! and Rock Plaza Central load into Lee’s on January 28.

Have you seen the new Shins video? Check it out. And also the amusing Benny Hill tribute on their website. Marty Crandall talks to AOL about the great expectations facing Wincing The Night Away when it comes out January 23.

Video: The Shins – “Phantom Limb” (MOV)

Marcus Congleton of Ambulance LTD may have lost all his bandmates but NME reports he’s picked up a pretty sharp producer for the next album – John Cale.

Chart says hello to Sister Vanilla, the new project from The Jesus & Mary Chain’s Jim and William Reid, sister Linda Reid and JAMC guitarist Ben Lurie. Their debut album Little Pop Rock was released in Japan last year but will be getting a UK release in March courtesy of Chemikal Underground.

np – The Field Mice / Where’d You Learn To Kiss That Way?