Dec 14th: Kim Wilde - Kids in America, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

If you're a child of the 80s like me, the prospect of Kim Wilde doing anything is pretty exciting - and a drunk Kim Wilde singing a couple of her most famous hits on the London Underground is about as good as it gets.

Here, Kim sings Kids in America, followed by Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, and while she may have had a few drinks, her Christmas message at the end of Katherine Eames' YouTube video (see below) has some wise words for us all.


As Kim points out, she's mostly being ignored by the people sitting around her, who have their heads buried in their phones.

But Ms Eames was among those who recognised the former singing superstar, now a radio host, and joined in with her singalong.

The video, and the response it has received on social networks and across the web as a whole, pretty much sum up the spirit of Christmas - making it a worthy addition to our advent calendar posts this year.

You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 13th: Eugene McGuinness - Cinema Paradiso

More from Eugene McGuinness today, and if you liked Sugarplum (see Dec 2nd's advent calendar post) there's a pretty good chance you'll like its B-side, Cinema Paradiso.

It's good to see B-sides surviving in the digital age - and not just surviving, but still pushing musical boundaries.



Cinema Paradiso is much more hectic than the relatively sedate Sugarplum, and from the first handclaps and smack drumbeat, you know what you're in for.

But the story's strong, the vocals don't become swamped by the music at any point and, like Sugarplum, there are lyrical hooks to keep your interest right through until the end.

I had my doubts about Sugarplum - although I'll admit I find myself humming it fairly regularly - but Cinema Paradiso is pretty good on the first listen, and grows on you more as time goes by.

Together, they make a pretty good pair - as any good A-side and B-side should - and I'm looking forward to hearing more from Eugene McGuinness in 2013.



You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 12th: Ducktails - Letter of Intent

Ducktails are new to me, I must admit - but if Letter of Intent is anything to judge by, I'll be getting my hands on a copy of new album The Flower Lane as soon as possible.

Look out for a full review in the next few weeks if I can track this one down. Until then, today's advent calendar post is upcoming single Letter of Intent, due out the same day as the album on January 28th 2013.



It's almost 80s-sounding, but there's still something decidedly modern about it, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear Letter of Intent floating across some of the nation's trendier dancefloors in the next few weeks and months.

You can buy Letter of Intent on iTunes now - just click the button below to make it an early Christmas present to yourself.



You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 11th: Alexis Taylor - Nayim From The Halfway Line

Possibly the strangest promotional video we've ever seen for an EP is today's advent calendar entry from Alexis Taylor.

A 'surprise' EP, Nayim From The Halfway Line, was announced earlier this month, and is due to be available digitally from December 17th.

Its title pays tribute to a 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup wonder-goal by Spanish footballer Nayim, who scored for Real Zaragosa in the last minute of extra time to beat Arsenal 2-1.

Arsenal fans, you may want to look away from your screens while playing the video.


Nayim From The Halfway Line is already out on vinyl, with a four-track listing:

Rhodes Dream
You Want Me
Hot Squash
Jesus' Birthday

Its digital release date, as mentioned above, is December 17th 2012.

You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 10th: Melody's Echo Chamber

We didn't get chance to do a proper review of Melody's Echo Chamber's debut album last month, so today's advent calendar post aims to put that right with a sneak preview of a couple of the tracks.

First up is the charmingly ambient You Won't Be Missing That Part Of Me, a song that sounds very simple at first listen, but which is deceptively complex in its internal structure.


Second we have I Follow You, published to YouTube earlier this year and already popular with many fans of female-led vocal-centric music.


And if you want to hear more from Melody's Echo Chamber, and singer-songwriter Melody Prochet, you can still get the album on iTunes.



You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 9th: Alarm Bells - Cocoons

Don't mourn the passing of the awesomely named Dananananaykroyd - celebrate their new incarnation as Alarm Bells.

OK, the name might not be so good, but that's not really the important part, cos it's all about the music, right?

Today's advent calendar entry is new track Cocoons, the lead track from Alarm Bells' debut EP Part One.


Cocoons is the kind of song that will help you wake up in the morning, even if you forgot to have a cup of coffee - and will annoy all hell out of the rest of the passengers on your morning commute, if you forgot your headphones.

As for the video, well that strikes me as a cross between American Psycho and the computer graphics used in the 1980s children's TV show Knightmare. Big tick in the 'approve' box from me on both counts.

You can pre-order Part One now via the Bandcamp widget below, for delivery on December 20th.


You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 8th: Pulled Apart By Horses - Epic Myth

If you're having a lazy lie-in this morning, your peace is about to be shattered by Epic Myth, the last single from Pulled Apart By Horses' album Tough Love.

The video comes ahead of the release of a deluxe edition of Tough Love on Monday, and it's a proper story of hard rock.

Guitarist James Brown explains: "The video idea for Epic Myth seemed a great way to celebrate Tough Love and the final single from it - even if we all did have the worst collective hangover ever after! Happy Christmas everyone!"


Get more from Pulled Apart By Horses via the iTunes link below - and look out for the deluxe edition of Tough Love from Monday December 10th.



You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 7th: Ultan Sherry - Let The Snowflakes Fall

Today's Advent Calendar post is a good one - Ultan Sherry's instant classic Let The Snowflakes Fall.

Ultan has Asperger's Syndrome, a condition on the autism spectrum that can make it difficult for some people to express themselves in the usual ways.

However, in Ultan's case, there seem to be no such difficulties, as the second video below reveals.

The media studies student at NUI Maynooth is pursuing his dream of releasing a Christmas number one, and has caught the public's collective conscience with Let The Snowflakes Fall.


Now, let's be clear - we're not saying this is the greatest song of all time. But most good Christmas songs are a bit cheesy, right?

Let The Snowflakes Fall has more than a little in common with some of the more recent Christmas songs that the nation has taken to its heart - such as 2003's Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) by The Darkness, or Peter Kay's Once Upon a Christmas Song, released in the guise of Geraldine McQueen in 2008.

It also has some of the most unintentionally hilarious lyrics ever penned, including the instantly infamous line "when that fine morning comes, get out the Christmas plums" (skip to 2:39 above for that gem).


But we're not laughing at Ultan - we're smiling with him. This is an unashamedly upbeat song in the true Christmas spirit, and I for one will always support that.

It's also a man in pursuit of his dream, which makes it a worthy contender not just as a 'Rage Against the Machine' style alternative to The X Factor (that's, like, so 2009), but as a worthy Christmas number one in its own right.

Ultan, good luck from us - we hope you get the top spot when that fine morning comes.

Help to let the snowflakes fall on Ultan's Christmas wish by buying his track from iTunes (click the button below), and make a little Christmas magic happen in 2012.



You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 6th: Star Trek - Into Darkness trailer

Published on YouTube today by Paramount, the trailer for the upcoming Star Trek sequel Into Darkness hints at more of the same from J.J. Abrams - including an intelligent recognition of the science of Star Trek and a nod to the franchise's best-loved storylines.

This time out, it's Wrath of Khan that gets a reinterpretation, the storyline that turned Star Trek's fortunes around following a fairly muted reception for The Motion Picture.

Now Star Trek's place in history is already assured, does that mean expectations are higher? Possibly. But then, so are the budgets and the visual effects capabilities.


The team seem to be pushing the 'darkness' angle on this one - the music's about as ominous as it gets, the Benedict Cumberbatch voiceover puts Khan very much in control, and the title seems to be styled as the somewhat shouty STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS by Paramount.

But this is a different cinema-going public than it was a generation or two ago, and a trundle through space on a mission of scientific exploration perhaps wouldn't cut it (and definitely wouldn't suit Abrams' style of film-making).

I've always been more of a Trekker than a Star Wars fan, and while Star Trek earned a certain amount of criticism for compromising on certain aspects of science, I thought it did a decent job (and yes, I have studied thermodynamics and astrophysics, so I like to think I have the necessary awareness...).

The criticism so far here is that the last shots from the trailer might give a little too much away - but again, I'm not worried. If I had to guess, I'd expect that shot comes from early in the film - the set-up rather than the finale - but even if that is the broken remains of the Enterprise splashing down, well, they'll probably build another one - there are plenty of letters left in the alphabet.

You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

Dec 5th: David Cronenberg's Wife - Spiked

A personal favourite finally get their first mention on Popsiculture, as David Cronenberg's Wife's 'Spiked' is today's advent calendar post.

David Cronenberg's Wife are a fine example of making good music, rather than lots of music - their first album Bluebeard's Rooms was released in 2008, with follow-up Hypnagogues coming in November 2009.

Don't Wait To Be Hunted To Hide, their third album, has taken three years to appear, but finally went on sale at the end of November.



Spiked is typical DCW - energetic and entertaining, with a darkness that reveals itself if you pay close attention to the lyrics.

It's a unique balance of covering challenging topics, without becoming depressing, and it's a style David Cronenberg's Wife have had spot-on since their earliest days.

If you've never heard Hypnagogues in particular, I'd highly recommend downloading a track or two and familiarising yourself with this much under-rated group.

You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.