Hi Cherryaders!
Hope you’re all enjoying the snow as much as I am! It’s absolutely beautiful, yesterday we went out to the Christmas markets and walked around in the snow in the shadow of the giant Santa on top of the town hall before going home to prepare Cherryade Towers for our little Christmas party, we had a lovely evening and it was so nice to see everyone! I’m now back in St. Annes with my parents for Christmas and Adam Cherryade will be joining me on Wednesday when he finishes work. We made snowmen and snowballs before I left which was great!
Our second round University Challenge match against Kings College London will be on tomorrow night (21st December) at 8.00pm on BBC Two or you can watch it for a week after on Iplayer, tune in to see if we can make it to the quarter finals!
In other news, I’ve been very busy with uni work so have been at home a lot, but, this has meant that I’ve had lovely Christmas tv (hello Slow Club, I love your song but this is about actual TV!) constantly on in the background (I like a bit of background noise to help me concentrate!) I’ll watch any old crap as long as it’s about Christmas, in fact as far as Christmas TV goes, the tackier the better! So, some TV highlights:
Sweep (Sooty’s pal) singing ‘Away in a Manger’ on the Alan Titchmarsh show
Kirsty Allsopp explaining how easy and economical a home-made Christmas can be but making it look anything but on Channel 4
The Hairy Bikers cooking and being cheerful while cooking for their celeb mates
The Paul O’Grady Christmas pantomime
What’s been disappointing is the lack of Nigella Lawson on our screens. I don’t like cookery programmes usually (well, apart from at Christmas) but I will watch anything with Nigella in, I know she’s an obvious crush but she is lovely! Some of her recipes are deadly though!
Also a reminder that the Dandelion Radio Festive Fifty will be broadcast from midnight on Christmas Day but don't worry if you miss it as it will be repeated every day throughout December and January along with the other brilliant Dandelion shows here:
www.dandelionradio.com
tune in to say if your favourites made it in!
Anyway, hope you’re all enjoying Christmas as much as I am, will try and get another post up, probably about University Challenge, before the big day!
Finally, another rollover advent calendar update:
17th December: chocolate Christmas pudding and picture of Hello Kitty with present
18th December: chocolate star and picture of Hello Kitty dressed as one of Santa’s elves and holding paint brush and hammer
19th December: chocolate shepherd (again) and a picture of Hello Kitty holding a holly wreath.
20th December: chocolate holly leaf and picture of Hello Kitty decorating a Christmas tree
Lots of Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Christmas albums I love (and you should too!)
As promised, here is a bit about my favourite Christmas music and why I love it so much. Firstly, here’s a list of my favourite Christmas albums:
A Very Cherry Christmas volumes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (obviously!)
I know I’m biased but they really are amazing, I started compiling these albums to satisfy my own love of Christmas music, so the fact that others love them too is amazing, some of the best bands in the world have appeared on these compilations, and they are far more than a seasonal novelty, all the songs on all 5 volumes mean a great deal to me and I am so happy and honoured that so many wonderful bands have been willing to participate. If you haven’t heard them you can buy all 5 cds for only £18 + p and p here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
Other (non Cherryade) festive albums I love include:
Get Thee Behind Me Santa (Skinny Dog)
Compiled by the inimitable Spinmaster Plantpot, this is a unique and truly special compilation released in 2002 which has inspired my love of Christmas music more than almost anything else. Featuring truly amazing Christmas songs from the likes of Jeffrey Lewis, Zombina and the Skeletones, Prewar Yardsale, Fun Size Lions, Major Matt Mason USA, Paul The Girl, Herman Dune, Flamingo 50, Jack Hayter and loads more, it really is one of the great over-looked compilations of our time and something everyone should own.
A Christmas Gift From Fortuna Pop! Volumes 1 and 2 (Fortuna Pop!)
One of my favourite indiepop labels of all time, London’s all-conquering Fortuna Pop! Was even kind enough to release two truly beautiful seasonal mini-albums earlier this decade, featuring utterly magical and spell-binding contributions from the likes of The Aislers Set, Home Science, The Chemistry Experiment, Airport Girl, The Action Time, The Pines, Butterflies Of Love, The Loves, Sportique and, of course, Bearsuit! These are ‘proper’ Christmas albums, not ironic, they instantly make you feel Christmassy, these cds are for me what the Phil Spektor Christmas album is for others, while I am very fond of the Phil Spektor album, it doesn’t evoke the season for me in the same way that these Fortuna Pop! Compilations do.
The World In Winter (Cherry Red)
A label which should need absolutely no introduction, and the same should be able to be said about this lovely Christmas compilation. Featuring a selection of the legendary label’s wonderful roster, this is a truly essential compilation of heartfelt and gorgeous songs, a must for fans of Cherry Red and Christmas music alike!
It’s A Cool Cool Christmas (XFM)
Released to raise money for Shelter back in 2002, this compilation, as you might expect from anything with an XFM endorsement (not including you in that Jon Kennedy, we love you, you’re ace, just mean the rest of the predictable dross most XFM djs play!) is not entirely without its fair share of duff tracks from bands who should know better (yes, I’m looking at you Flaming Lips!), and some expected dross from musical wallpaper like Snow Patrol. However, it’s worth it for Belle and Sebastian’s truly beautiful rendition of ‘O Come OCome Emmanuel’, lovely Lauren Laverne’s version of ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’, Gorkys’ Welsh Christmas interlude and the haunting Drugstore track. Also, a few bands I don’t usually have a lot of time for, such as Grandaddy and Eels pleasantly surprise with their contributions, not a bad album then and all for a good cause!
Gold, Frankincense and Purr (Purr Records)
Compiled by probably the UK’s leading expert on Christmas music, Gareth of Lipstick On Your Collar and Go Ape fame, this is a truly special compilation released on Bath’s Purr Records a few years ago. As well as the brilliant pun of the title, there are truly memorable wonky pop songs from the likes of the sadly missed Motormark, The Seven Inches, Bucky, Velodrome 2000 and many more. Only problem is you’re highly unlikely to be able to find a copy anywhere as it sold out years ago!
Cwistmas Twee (Total Gaylord)
Now, I don’t know much about Total Gaylord as a label but this is a perfect little indiepop compilation bringinging together some of America’s finest exponents of twee with seasonal offerings from the likes of The Icicles, The Specific Heats, Lil Hospital, Colin Clary and even a Chanukah themed song from The Smittens!
An Indiecator Christmas (volumes 1 and 2)
Recent additions to the festive canon, with vol. 1 being released last year and vol. 2 just out. More sublime indiepop thrills from an international selection box of artists from the tweecore underground, very nice indeed!
12 Days Of Christmas Bubblewrap)
Another compilation that’s new for 2009. Fabulous Cardiff supergroup Little My came up with the idea of asking 11 of their favourite bands to record a song based on one of the gifts mentioned in the 12 Days of Christmas. This 12 track beauty is the result, with the likes of The School and The Bobby McGee’s joining Little My in rethinking the Christmas favourite, an absolutely brilliant little album, perfect Christmas present!
A Kindercore Christmas (Kindercore)
A lovely holiday compilation from the legendary Athens, Georgia based label, featuring label bands and friends, a real treasure trove of seasonal treats!
Ho! Ho! Ho! casgliad o ganeuon nadolidd
This Welsh language Christmas compilation was released and compiled by Radio 1 superstar dj Huw Stephens in 2006 and is very lovely indeed, even though I don’t speak any Welsh, I do speak the international language of sleighbells which are in abundance here!
A Homocrime Christmas (Homocrime)
A compilation released by the legendary club night in around 2002, it captures the spirit of the night perfectly and features truly awesome queer artists such as Blue Minkies, good luck tracking it down though!
Filthy Little Angels Christmas compilations (Filthy Little Angels)
One of the best and most exciting labels around, FLA are also extraordinarily generous and give away loads of amazing free downloads. This has been the case with their bumper annual Christmas compilations which have always been free downloads. This is the fifth in the series and boasts an eye-watering selection of amazing seasonal hits, you can download it free from:
www.filthylittleangels.com
where you can also celebrate their fifth anniversary with them by downloading another free treat, a ‘best of FLA’ compilation absolutely bursting with some of the best songs by the best bands you’ll ever hear!
Right, that’s enough for now, in a few days I’ll post something about my favourite Christmas songs that aren’t on these albums, there’s a Christmas tv post coming too!
Cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
advent calendar update:
December 15th: chocolate shepherd and picture of Hello Kitty in Santa suit waving
December 16th: chocolate penguin and picture of Hello Kitty in a Christmas stocking
A Very Cherry Christmas volumes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (obviously!)
I know I’m biased but they really are amazing, I started compiling these albums to satisfy my own love of Christmas music, so the fact that others love them too is amazing, some of the best bands in the world have appeared on these compilations, and they are far more than a seasonal novelty, all the songs on all 5 volumes mean a great deal to me and I am so happy and honoured that so many wonderful bands have been willing to participate. If you haven’t heard them you can buy all 5 cds for only £18 + p and p here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
Other (non Cherryade) festive albums I love include:
Get Thee Behind Me Santa (Skinny Dog)
Compiled by the inimitable Spinmaster Plantpot, this is a unique and truly special compilation released in 2002 which has inspired my love of Christmas music more than almost anything else. Featuring truly amazing Christmas songs from the likes of Jeffrey Lewis, Zombina and the Skeletones, Prewar Yardsale, Fun Size Lions, Major Matt Mason USA, Paul The Girl, Herman Dune, Flamingo 50, Jack Hayter and loads more, it really is one of the great over-looked compilations of our time and something everyone should own.
A Christmas Gift From Fortuna Pop! Volumes 1 and 2 (Fortuna Pop!)
One of my favourite indiepop labels of all time, London’s all-conquering Fortuna Pop! Was even kind enough to release two truly beautiful seasonal mini-albums earlier this decade, featuring utterly magical and spell-binding contributions from the likes of The Aislers Set, Home Science, The Chemistry Experiment, Airport Girl, The Action Time, The Pines, Butterflies Of Love, The Loves, Sportique and, of course, Bearsuit! These are ‘proper’ Christmas albums, not ironic, they instantly make you feel Christmassy, these cds are for me what the Phil Spektor Christmas album is for others, while I am very fond of the Phil Spektor album, it doesn’t evoke the season for me in the same way that these Fortuna Pop! Compilations do.
The World In Winter (Cherry Red)
A label which should need absolutely no introduction, and the same should be able to be said about this lovely Christmas compilation. Featuring a selection of the legendary label’s wonderful roster, this is a truly essential compilation of heartfelt and gorgeous songs, a must for fans of Cherry Red and Christmas music alike!
It’s A Cool Cool Christmas (XFM)
Released to raise money for Shelter back in 2002, this compilation, as you might expect from anything with an XFM endorsement (not including you in that Jon Kennedy, we love you, you’re ace, just mean the rest of the predictable dross most XFM djs play!) is not entirely without its fair share of duff tracks from bands who should know better (yes, I’m looking at you Flaming Lips!), and some expected dross from musical wallpaper like Snow Patrol. However, it’s worth it for Belle and Sebastian’s truly beautiful rendition of ‘O Come OCome Emmanuel’, lovely Lauren Laverne’s version of ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’, Gorkys’ Welsh Christmas interlude and the haunting Drugstore track. Also, a few bands I don’t usually have a lot of time for, such as Grandaddy and Eels pleasantly surprise with their contributions, not a bad album then and all for a good cause!
Gold, Frankincense and Purr (Purr Records)
Compiled by probably the UK’s leading expert on Christmas music, Gareth of Lipstick On Your Collar and Go Ape fame, this is a truly special compilation released on Bath’s Purr Records a few years ago. As well as the brilliant pun of the title, there are truly memorable wonky pop songs from the likes of the sadly missed Motormark, The Seven Inches, Bucky, Velodrome 2000 and many more. Only problem is you’re highly unlikely to be able to find a copy anywhere as it sold out years ago!
Cwistmas Twee (Total Gaylord)
Now, I don’t know much about Total Gaylord as a label but this is a perfect little indiepop compilation bringinging together some of America’s finest exponents of twee with seasonal offerings from the likes of The Icicles, The Specific Heats, Lil Hospital, Colin Clary and even a Chanukah themed song from The Smittens!
An Indiecator Christmas (volumes 1 and 2)
Recent additions to the festive canon, with vol. 1 being released last year and vol. 2 just out. More sublime indiepop thrills from an international selection box of artists from the tweecore underground, very nice indeed!
12 Days Of Christmas Bubblewrap)
Another compilation that’s new for 2009. Fabulous Cardiff supergroup Little My came up with the idea of asking 11 of their favourite bands to record a song based on one of the gifts mentioned in the 12 Days of Christmas. This 12 track beauty is the result, with the likes of The School and The Bobby McGee’s joining Little My in rethinking the Christmas favourite, an absolutely brilliant little album, perfect Christmas present!
A Kindercore Christmas (Kindercore)
A lovely holiday compilation from the legendary Athens, Georgia based label, featuring label bands and friends, a real treasure trove of seasonal treats!
Ho! Ho! Ho! casgliad o ganeuon nadolidd
This Welsh language Christmas compilation was released and compiled by Radio 1 superstar dj Huw Stephens in 2006 and is very lovely indeed, even though I don’t speak any Welsh, I do speak the international language of sleighbells which are in abundance here!
A Homocrime Christmas (Homocrime)
A compilation released by the legendary club night in around 2002, it captures the spirit of the night perfectly and features truly awesome queer artists such as Blue Minkies, good luck tracking it down though!
Filthy Little Angels Christmas compilations (Filthy Little Angels)
One of the best and most exciting labels around, FLA are also extraordinarily generous and give away loads of amazing free downloads. This has been the case with their bumper annual Christmas compilations which have always been free downloads. This is the fifth in the series and boasts an eye-watering selection of amazing seasonal hits, you can download it free from:
www.filthylittleangels.com
where you can also celebrate their fifth anniversary with them by downloading another free treat, a ‘best of FLA’ compilation absolutely bursting with some of the best songs by the best bands you’ll ever hear!
Right, that’s enough for now, in a few days I’ll post something about my favourite Christmas songs that aren’t on these albums, there’s a Christmas tv post coming too!
Cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
advent calendar update:
December 15th: chocolate shepherd and picture of Hello Kitty in Santa suit waving
December 16th: chocolate penguin and picture of Hello Kitty in a Christmas stocking
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
A Very Cherry Christmas party
Ah, it’s been a busy old week. As I’d mentioned, The Lovely Eggs and Schwervon gig on Tuesday was magnificent. On Wednesday and Thursday I was very busy with uni work. All was going well, I had a lot to do but was running to schedule. I had a number of important things to do on Friday, a lot of seminars to go to and forms to drop off, but unfortunately on Thursday night I started with a migraine, I hoped it would be gone by Friday morning but, of course, it hadn’t, I had to cancel all my appointments (I could barely send the e-mails so making my way into town seemed a very bad idea!) I then spent the rest of what should have been a productive day trying to get ridof the migraine and panicing about everything I was missing, also I was worried it wouldn’t ease off in time for the Cherryade Christmas party on Saturday. Luckily, by Friday afternoon I’d started to feel much better and so was up bright and early on Saturday to go into town and get last minute bits for the Christmas gig. I still wasn’t feeling quite right so went home and had a nap in the afternoon before Adam picked up Jimmy from the Bobby McGee’s from the bus station and brought him back to Cherryade Towers.
It was lovely to see Jimmy, we haven’t seen him in ages and it’s always great to catch up! Unfortunately Eleanor couldn’t be at the gig because she was at a fashion show in London showing some of her wonderful dresses, she’s a very talented dress maker!
Jimmy managed to add plenty of new pictures to his latest project ‘Elvis and the ladies’ (pictures of girls holding a Lego Elvis) that night managing to get pictures with most of the leading ladies of the Manchester music scene who were there that night, all the photos are on Facebook if you want to see them!
I went and changed into my fairy outfit (it has to get worn as much in December as possible cause I love it and can’t wear it the rest of the year! Anyway, once I was ready and had prised Adam away from the snooker we all set off to Café Saki to be there for the soundcheck and setting up.
Soph was already there and had everything under control. Soph is incredibly organised and just generally amazing, the night would never have happened without her!
Anyway, all the bands turned up, soundcheck went ahead and we were ready to get started on time. Only problem was that it was still a bit quiet though this was soon remedied as lots of people arrived just in time. Rebecca (looking lovely in her newly made elf outfit, she’s incredibly creative!) kicked off proceedings by reading her beautiful Christmas poem before explaining the rules of Christmas song bingo (everyone got a bingo card with names of Christmas songs on it which they had to tick off if they heard the songs while we were djing between bands, prizes for a line and full house!) and then introduced Jimmy who played a brilliant solo set and everyone loved him, who doesn’s? He asked Lauren from Shrieking Violets and Marble Krusher to join him with a bit of impromptue trumpet playing on ‘There’s A Place’ and played a selection of favourites and new songs and got the night off to an awesome start!
Next came The Shrieking Violets who played a really lovely set, they’ve got some beautiful songs and are great musicians too, I love Natalie’s distinctive voice as well! After that came Doris and the Jumpers, they seem to get better every time I see them, their songs are amazing and they shone despite a few sound issues, especially impressive was April’s dressing as a parcel for the performance of their Christmas song with Natalie Shrieking Violet on violin. Unfortunately, it all got a bit quiet after Doris and sadly there weren’t many people left to watch the last band of the night, The 10p Mixes, who played a wonderful set mixing their own songs with a selection of festive covers including Christmas Is Cancelled (originally by The Long Blondes) and Fairytale of New York, those who stuck around were in for a real treat!
Adam and I played Christmas songs between bands and for a little bit afterwards before packing up at about 1.30am.
I’d like to thank Soph for making the whole night happen and generally being a brilliant friend and organiser, Dave and Kirsty Under Achievers for letting us have our Christmas party downstairs at their fab night, Rebecca for compering and reading her poem, Jimmy McGee, Shrieking Violets, The 10p Mixes and Doris and the Jumpers for performing and everyone who came down to watch! We had a great time!
Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
Ps advent update: December 14th chocolate tree and a picture of Hello Kitty dressed as Santa in fake beard and all!
It was lovely to see Jimmy, we haven’t seen him in ages and it’s always great to catch up! Unfortunately Eleanor couldn’t be at the gig because she was at a fashion show in London showing some of her wonderful dresses, she’s a very talented dress maker!
Jimmy managed to add plenty of new pictures to his latest project ‘Elvis and the ladies’ (pictures of girls holding a Lego Elvis) that night managing to get pictures with most of the leading ladies of the Manchester music scene who were there that night, all the photos are on Facebook if you want to see them!
I went and changed into my fairy outfit (it has to get worn as much in December as possible cause I love it and can’t wear it the rest of the year! Anyway, once I was ready and had prised Adam away from the snooker we all set off to Café Saki to be there for the soundcheck and setting up.
Soph was already there and had everything under control. Soph is incredibly organised and just generally amazing, the night would never have happened without her!
Anyway, all the bands turned up, soundcheck went ahead and we were ready to get started on time. Only problem was that it was still a bit quiet though this was soon remedied as lots of people arrived just in time. Rebecca (looking lovely in her newly made elf outfit, she’s incredibly creative!) kicked off proceedings by reading her beautiful Christmas poem before explaining the rules of Christmas song bingo (everyone got a bingo card with names of Christmas songs on it which they had to tick off if they heard the songs while we were djing between bands, prizes for a line and full house!) and then introduced Jimmy who played a brilliant solo set and everyone loved him, who doesn’s? He asked Lauren from Shrieking Violets and Marble Krusher to join him with a bit of impromptue trumpet playing on ‘There’s A Place’ and played a selection of favourites and new songs and got the night off to an awesome start!
Next came The Shrieking Violets who played a really lovely set, they’ve got some beautiful songs and are great musicians too, I love Natalie’s distinctive voice as well! After that came Doris and the Jumpers, they seem to get better every time I see them, their songs are amazing and they shone despite a few sound issues, especially impressive was April’s dressing as a parcel for the performance of their Christmas song with Natalie Shrieking Violet on violin. Unfortunately, it all got a bit quiet after Doris and sadly there weren’t many people left to watch the last band of the night, The 10p Mixes, who played a wonderful set mixing their own songs with a selection of festive covers including Christmas Is Cancelled (originally by The Long Blondes) and Fairytale of New York, those who stuck around were in for a real treat!
Adam and I played Christmas songs between bands and for a little bit afterwards before packing up at about 1.30am.
I’d like to thank Soph for making the whole night happen and generally being a brilliant friend and organiser, Dave and Kirsty Under Achievers for letting us have our Christmas party downstairs at their fab night, Rebecca for compering and reading her poem, Jimmy McGee, Shrieking Violets, The 10p Mixes and Doris and the Jumpers for performing and everyone who came down to watch! We had a great time!
Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
Ps advent update: December 14th chocolate tree and a picture of Hello Kitty dressed as Santa in fake beard and all!
Monday, 14 December 2009
Urgent: Solipsists Anonymous at Fuel Cafe tonight
Just a very quick message to say that you should all head down to Fuel Cafe in Withington tonight where our friend and local hero Grant is hosting the latest of his unique variety nights, Solipsists Anonymous.
Tonight's is set to be extra special with performances from Pajama Party, the legendary Alan from Cogna, Crazy Horse and a comedy and music performance from Grant himself.
It kicks off upstairs at 8pm, hope to see you there.
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
p.s. Advent update:
December 11th: chocolate stocking and picture of Hello Kitty wearing a hat with bear ears on
December 12th: chocolate figure which we think is a Magi (is that a plural noun? If so, what is one magi? Oh, and I should probably include the words 'king' or 'wise man' for anyone who doesn't know their nativity story too well!) picture of Hello Kitty wearing Santa suit and waving
December 13th: chocolate candle and picture of Hello Kitty wrapped up in winter clothes and waving
Tonight's is set to be extra special with performances from Pajama Party, the legendary Alan from Cogna, Crazy Horse and a comedy and music performance from Grant himself.
It kicks off upstairs at 8pm, hope to see you there.
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
p.s. Advent update:
December 11th: chocolate stocking and picture of Hello Kitty wearing a hat with bear ears on
December 12th: chocolate figure which we think is a Magi (is that a plural noun? If so, what is one magi? Oh, and I should probably include the words 'king' or 'wise man' for anyone who doesn't know their nativity story too well!) picture of Hello Kitty wearing Santa suit and waving
December 13th: chocolate candle and picture of Hello Kitty wrapped up in winter clothes and waving
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Changes of stage times for Saturday's Very Cherry Christmas party
Hi Cherryaders, just a quick mesage to update stage times:
12pm The 10p Mixes
11.30pm Doris and the Jumpers
11pm Shrieking Violets
10pm Jimmy from the Bobby McGee's solo set
9.40pm Poetry reading by Rebecca Willmott
See you Saturday,
Rach xx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
p.s. advent calendar update:
Dec 10th chocolate robin and a picture of Hello Kitty wearing a hat with reindeer antlers on.
12pm The 10p Mixes
11.30pm Doris and the Jumpers
11pm Shrieking Violets
10pm Jimmy from the Bobby McGee's solo set
9.40pm Poetry reading by Rebecca Willmott
See you Saturday,
Rach xx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
p.s. advent calendar update:
Dec 10th chocolate robin and a picture of Hello Kitty wearing a hat with reindeer antlers on.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
A Very Cherry Christmas party
Hi Cherryaders!
The Cherryade Christmas party in collaboration with Under Achievers Please Try Harder is nearly upon us so here are the details, hope lots of uyou can make it, it’s going to be amazing:
Where? Café Saki, Rusholme, downstairs
When? Saturday December 12th 9pm-3am
What? The Christmas party of the year with Christmas bingo, an all night Christmas disco, lots of Christmas treats and a present from Santa for everyone who comes and live performances from the following bands (stage times are subject to change)
11.15pm The 10p Mixes
10.45pm The Shrieking Violets
10.15pm Doris and the Jumpers
9.30pm Jimmy from The Bobby McGee’s (solo set)
9.20pm Poetry reading by Rebecca Willmott
Also, there’ll be the usual brilliant Under Achievers djs upstairs if all the festive cheer is getting a bit much for you! All for only £4!
Copiesof A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 5 will also be available on the night. All of the artists performing on the night have tracks on the compilation. You can find out more about the album here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
Lots of Cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
p.s. Dec 9th advent calendar update: chocolate teddy with bow and a picture of another teddy lying down next to some presents.
The Cherryade Christmas party in collaboration with Under Achievers Please Try Harder is nearly upon us so here are the details, hope lots of uyou can make it, it’s going to be amazing:
Where? Café Saki, Rusholme, downstairs
When? Saturday December 12th 9pm-3am
What? The Christmas party of the year with Christmas bingo, an all night Christmas disco, lots of Christmas treats and a present from Santa for everyone who comes and live performances from the following bands (stage times are subject to change)
11.15pm The 10p Mixes
10.45pm The Shrieking Violets
10.15pm Doris and the Jumpers
9.30pm Jimmy from The Bobby McGee’s (solo set)
9.20pm Poetry reading by Rebecca Willmott
Also, there’ll be the usual brilliant Under Achievers djs upstairs if all the festive cheer is getting a bit much for you! All for only £4!
Copiesof A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 5 will also be available on the night. All of the artists performing on the night have tracks on the compilation. You can find out more about the album here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
Lots of Cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
p.s. Dec 9th advent calendar update: chocolate teddy with bow and a picture of another teddy lying down next to some presents.
The return of Christmas
So, lots of festive stuff to catch up with since our return from ATP, I’ll try and post about the weekend later, but, right now, here is a bit of a festive round-up for you:
Firstly, advent calendar updates, in case you thought I’d forgotten! This is quite a long list as we’ve been away for a few days:
Dec 5th: chocolate sleigh and a picture of Hello Kitty wearing a Santa hat
Dec 6th: chocolate nativity scene and a picture of Hello Kitty hugging a giant candy cane
Dec 7th: chocolate reindeer and another picture of Hello Kitty wearing a Santa hat
Dec 8th: chocolate snowman and a picture of Hello Kitty wearing scarf and gloves and holding a pile of presents
Some recent Christmas activities have included trips to the lovely Manchester Christmas markets, essential if you’ve never been, all kinds of delicious festive food and drink from all over the world, mulled wine, gingerbread, chocolates, chestnuts, cheese, meat and all kinds of goodies, plus it’s near the town hall with the giant Santa and the decorations are beautiful and there’s Christmas music wherever you go! Adam is particularly fond of the giant bratwursts!
We also caught The School, Little My and Help Stamp Out Loneliness at a gig at Star and Garter where both The School and Little My performed their brilliant Christmas songs as part of their wonderful sets! We also saw Marble Krusher at Fuel where they played a great set as including their Christmas song ‘Summer Toys (Winter Version), which, by an amazing coincidence, you can find along with The School’s Christmas track on A Very Cherry Christmas 5 available here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
plus, if that weren’t enough you can be all five volumes (vol. 4 actually features the Little My Christmas song) for only £18 + p and p at the same link!
Last night we went to see The Lovely Eggs and Schwervon at Café Saki. What an amazing gig, I’ve already raved extensively about the genius of The Lovely Eggs and last night was no exception. What made it extra special was the fact that they played both of their Christmas songs ‘I’m Going To Build My Snowman Better Than Yours’ and ‘Tyranosaurus Rex for Christmas’, both of which are, amazingly enough, available on volumes of a Very Cherry Christmas which you can buy from the link above! Also playing were New York’s Schwervon who played a fabulous set, brilliant songs and really lovely people too, plus we got to catch up with Dave and Kirsty, Soph and Paul, Drew, Selina, Marcus and Ste, great night all round!
Will post about Christmas music and tv over the next few days,
Lots of cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
Firstly, advent calendar updates, in case you thought I’d forgotten! This is quite a long list as we’ve been away for a few days:
Dec 5th: chocolate sleigh and a picture of Hello Kitty wearing a Santa hat
Dec 6th: chocolate nativity scene and a picture of Hello Kitty hugging a giant candy cane
Dec 7th: chocolate reindeer and another picture of Hello Kitty wearing a Santa hat
Dec 8th: chocolate snowman and a picture of Hello Kitty wearing scarf and gloves and holding a pile of presents
Some recent Christmas activities have included trips to the lovely Manchester Christmas markets, essential if you’ve never been, all kinds of delicious festive food and drink from all over the world, mulled wine, gingerbread, chocolates, chestnuts, cheese, meat and all kinds of goodies, plus it’s near the town hall with the giant Santa and the decorations are beautiful and there’s Christmas music wherever you go! Adam is particularly fond of the giant bratwursts!
We also caught The School, Little My and Help Stamp Out Loneliness at a gig at Star and Garter where both The School and Little My performed their brilliant Christmas songs as part of their wonderful sets! We also saw Marble Krusher at Fuel where they played a great set as including their Christmas song ‘Summer Toys (Winter Version), which, by an amazing coincidence, you can find along with The School’s Christmas track on A Very Cherry Christmas 5 available here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
plus, if that weren’t enough you can be all five volumes (vol. 4 actually features the Little My Christmas song) for only £18 + p and p at the same link!
Last night we went to see The Lovely Eggs and Schwervon at Café Saki. What an amazing gig, I’ve already raved extensively about the genius of The Lovely Eggs and last night was no exception. What made it extra special was the fact that they played both of their Christmas songs ‘I’m Going To Build My Snowman Better Than Yours’ and ‘Tyranosaurus Rex for Christmas’, both of which are, amazingly enough, available on volumes of a Very Cherry Christmas which you can buy from the link above! Also playing were New York’s Schwervon who played a fabulous set, brilliant songs and really lovely people too, plus we got to catch up with Dave and Kirsty, Soph and Paul, Drew, Selina, Marcus and Ste, great night all round!
Will post about Christmas music and tv over the next few days,
Lots of cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
Thursday, 3 December 2009
The third/fourth day of Christmas
As I suspected, I've not had time to finish writing up my post about favourite Christmas music, I'll post it when we get back on Monday.
So, I'll just tie up a few festive loose ends:
Advent calendar: Dec 3rd, a chocolate cracker and a picture of Hello Kitty in a Christmas stocking holding a candy cane, Dec 4th, a chocolate Santa and a Kitty holding a candy cane and wearing a hat and scarf. Will catch up with doors 5 and 6 on Monday!
Also, some great stuff happening this weekend, we're off to All Tomorrow's Parties (setting off early so should go to sleep now!), Pastels, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Television Personalities, Sonic Youth are all playing, should be amazing, Adam Cherryade is particularly excited. We're sharing a chalet with Beck and Gaz should be fun, I'm led to believe it has a TV, I hope so anyway!
Unfortunately, going to ATP means we have to miss an amazing gig that's happening in Taurus Bar in Manchester this evening (Friday Dec 4th). 'Pussy Whipped' is the first of what will hopefully become a regular event, it's organised by our very good friend, local queer punk superstar and all round good egg, Ste Mccabe, and is going to be a queer grrrl extravaganza with performances from the fabulous Cage the Elephant, Manchester's brilliant new council flat queers Maria and the Gay and of course from Ste himself. Please go along and support this, it's only £4 and is really going to shake up Canal Street, help ensure it's not the last one and be sure to get there early as Taurus is tiny and is likely to fill up fast!
Schwervon and The Lovely Eggs are playing at Saki Bar in Rusholme on Tuesday December 8th
Dec 12th sees A Very Cherry Christmas party in partnership with Under Achievers at Cafe Saki with performances from The 10p Mixes, Jimmy from the Bobby McGee's, Shrieking Violets, Doris and the Jumpers and Rebecca Willmott, a Santa's grotto with Cherryade presents for all, an all-night Christmas disco, Christmas song bingo and mince pies, candy canes and other festive treats, it's going to be amazing and it all kicks off at 9pm! Hope to see you there!
See you when we get back from ATP,
Have a great weekend,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
So, I'll just tie up a few festive loose ends:
Advent calendar: Dec 3rd, a chocolate cracker and a picture of Hello Kitty in a Christmas stocking holding a candy cane, Dec 4th, a chocolate Santa and a Kitty holding a candy cane and wearing a hat and scarf. Will catch up with doors 5 and 6 on Monday!
Also, some great stuff happening this weekend, we're off to All Tomorrow's Parties (setting off early so should go to sleep now!), Pastels, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Television Personalities, Sonic Youth are all playing, should be amazing, Adam Cherryade is particularly excited. We're sharing a chalet with Beck and Gaz should be fun, I'm led to believe it has a TV, I hope so anyway!
Unfortunately, going to ATP means we have to miss an amazing gig that's happening in Taurus Bar in Manchester this evening (Friday Dec 4th). 'Pussy Whipped' is the first of what will hopefully become a regular event, it's organised by our very good friend, local queer punk superstar and all round good egg, Ste Mccabe, and is going to be a queer grrrl extravaganza with performances from the fabulous Cage the Elephant, Manchester's brilliant new council flat queers Maria and the Gay and of course from Ste himself. Please go along and support this, it's only £4 and is really going to shake up Canal Street, help ensure it's not the last one and be sure to get there early as Taurus is tiny and is likely to fill up fast!
Schwervon and The Lovely Eggs are playing at Saki Bar in Rusholme on Tuesday December 8th
Dec 12th sees A Very Cherry Christmas party in partnership with Under Achievers at Cafe Saki with performances from The 10p Mixes, Jimmy from the Bobby McGee's, Shrieking Violets, Doris and the Jumpers and Rebecca Willmott, a Santa's grotto with Cherryade presents for all, an all-night Christmas disco, Christmas song bingo and mince pies, candy canes and other festive treats, it's going to be amazing and it all kicks off at 9pm! Hope to see you there!
See you when we get back from ATP,
Have a great weekend,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
The second day of Christmas: Why I love Christmas music
Hi Cherryaders!
Ok, so, once again I don’t get around to posting till after midnight, but who needs to sleep in December anyway, it’s just too magical! Anyway, finished off decorating the tree today while watching Christmas TV, god I love Christmas TV, I’ll watch any old rubbish as long as it mentions the c word (no, not that one!). In my advent calendar there was a chocolate angel and, somewhat perplexingly, a picture of a winking Hello Kitty (hmm…) anyway, got lots of work done today as we’re away at All Tomorrow’s Parties this weekend and I don’t want to fall behind!
As promised, here is a bit about my favourite Christmas music and why I love it so much. I'm going to start by posting the full version of an article I wrote for the December edition of the wonderful Pull Yourself Together zine, an edited version of which can be found in the current issue along with an advert for A Very Cherry Christmas 5 (which you can still buy direct from:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
on special offer with the first 4 volumes and on its own from all good record shops and Itunes, distributed by Cargo, did I mention that?)
Tomorrow I will post about some of my favourite Christmas albums, singles and individual seasonal tracks. Hope you enjoy the article, lots of Cherry Christmas love, Rach Cherryade xx
When we started running Cherryade Records, one of my dreams for the label was to release a great Christmas album, I love Christmas and Christmas music and they play such a significant part in my life that it seemed like something we just had to do. So, in December 2005 we released our second ever record, entitled A Very Cherry Christmas featuring 13 tracks from artists including Das Wanderlust and Misty’s Big Adventure. I’d considered it as something of a vanity project, something which I would enjoy but that not many others were likely to care about. However, I was wrong. I’d always been told that being so obsessed with Christmas music was a bit odd but after releasing A Very Cherry Christmas I realised my passion for festive music wasn’t as unusual as I’d imagined. We sold lots of copies of the Christmas album to Christmas music officianados all over the world and I was contacted by dozens of fellow enthusiasts offering to swap obscure and often forgotten Christmas gems with me. I’ve kept in contact with many of them and we continue to exchange Christmas tunes that we’ve unearthed throughout the year because, Christmas songs aren’t just for Christmas!
Another thing that happened after the first Very Cherry Christmas compilation was released was that we were contacted by a number of bands asking if they could be on volume 2. We hadn’t really considered a volume 2, I’d released a Christmas album and that was that, but then how could I resist the offer of more new Christmas songs? Many bands told us that they’d been recording Christmas songs (or wanted to) for a while but that they just couldn’t figure out what to do with them. I think there’s a view of Christmas songs as having a very short shelf life and that if they’re not listened to by December 25th then they’ve lost all relevance. This seems unique to Christmas songs though, because there are lots of summer and spring inspired songs but people don’t seem to have much compunction about listening to those at other times of year.
I think there is also the idea that many Christmas records are ‘novelty’ records, which becomes a synonym for silly or effemeral. Of course some Christmas songs are silly, but others can be beautiful, heart-breaking, gloomy, joyful or uplifting, just like other subjects that can inspire amazing records Christmas can inspire a range of emotions and artistic expressions.
So, now we’re up to volume 5 of A Very Cherry Christmas, I can’t quite believe we’ve got this far. I hope that the truly amazing artists who’ve contributed to our compilations since 2005 and the quality and diversity of tracks has gone some way to proving that Christmas records are not necessarily disposable or cynically cashing in. We’ve sometimes been asked if A Very Cherry Christmas is meant to be ironic, which is a little frustrating as it implies that it’s only ok to like Christmas in an ironic way, there’s nothing ironic about my love for Christmas or indeed about the love a lot of the bands we’ve featured have for Christmas! However, we don’t limit appearances on the compilations to those who feel like I do about the season, I also love songs that deal with the dark side of the season because that is one of the elements which make it such an inspirational time of year, and I hope that A Very Cherry Christmas celebrates the fact that not all Christmas songs have to be bright and joyful.
I’ve talked a lot about our own Christmas albums but I’d like to recommend the following Xmas classics to any fellow fans who might not have heard them, these are absolutely essential listening:
Get Thee Behind Me Santa (Zombina and the Skeletones, Jeffrey Lewis, Herman Dune, etc.)
A Christmas Gift From Fortuna Pop! Volumes 1 and 2 (Bearsuit, Aislers Set, The Loves, etc.)
Gold, Frankincense and Purr (Motormark, Bucky, Velodrome 2000, Seven Inches, etc.)
There are so many more albums, singles, eps and individual songs which I just don’t have room to list here, but if anybody would like some more recommendations or would like to recommend something to me or offer a song for A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 6 then please do e-mail:
Cherryade.records@gmail.com
Have a Very Cherry Christmas!
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
Ok, so, once again I don’t get around to posting till after midnight, but who needs to sleep in December anyway, it’s just too magical! Anyway, finished off decorating the tree today while watching Christmas TV, god I love Christmas TV, I’ll watch any old rubbish as long as it mentions the c word (no, not that one!). In my advent calendar there was a chocolate angel and, somewhat perplexingly, a picture of a winking Hello Kitty (hmm…) anyway, got lots of work done today as we’re away at All Tomorrow’s Parties this weekend and I don’t want to fall behind!
As promised, here is a bit about my favourite Christmas music and why I love it so much. I'm going to start by posting the full version of an article I wrote for the December edition of the wonderful Pull Yourself Together zine, an edited version of which can be found in the current issue along with an advert for A Very Cherry Christmas 5 (which you can still buy direct from:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
on special offer with the first 4 volumes and on its own from all good record shops and Itunes, distributed by Cargo, did I mention that?)
Tomorrow I will post about some of my favourite Christmas albums, singles and individual seasonal tracks. Hope you enjoy the article, lots of Cherry Christmas love, Rach Cherryade xx
When we started running Cherryade Records, one of my dreams for the label was to release a great Christmas album, I love Christmas and Christmas music and they play such a significant part in my life that it seemed like something we just had to do. So, in December 2005 we released our second ever record, entitled A Very Cherry Christmas featuring 13 tracks from artists including Das Wanderlust and Misty’s Big Adventure. I’d considered it as something of a vanity project, something which I would enjoy but that not many others were likely to care about. However, I was wrong. I’d always been told that being so obsessed with Christmas music was a bit odd but after releasing A Very Cherry Christmas I realised my passion for festive music wasn’t as unusual as I’d imagined. We sold lots of copies of the Christmas album to Christmas music officianados all over the world and I was contacted by dozens of fellow enthusiasts offering to swap obscure and often forgotten Christmas gems with me. I’ve kept in contact with many of them and we continue to exchange Christmas tunes that we’ve unearthed throughout the year because, Christmas songs aren’t just for Christmas!
Another thing that happened after the first Very Cherry Christmas compilation was released was that we were contacted by a number of bands asking if they could be on volume 2. We hadn’t really considered a volume 2, I’d released a Christmas album and that was that, but then how could I resist the offer of more new Christmas songs? Many bands told us that they’d been recording Christmas songs (or wanted to) for a while but that they just couldn’t figure out what to do with them. I think there’s a view of Christmas songs as having a very short shelf life and that if they’re not listened to by December 25th then they’ve lost all relevance. This seems unique to Christmas songs though, because there are lots of summer and spring inspired songs but people don’t seem to have much compunction about listening to those at other times of year.
I think there is also the idea that many Christmas records are ‘novelty’ records, which becomes a synonym for silly or effemeral. Of course some Christmas songs are silly, but others can be beautiful, heart-breaking, gloomy, joyful or uplifting, just like other subjects that can inspire amazing records Christmas can inspire a range of emotions and artistic expressions.
So, now we’re up to volume 5 of A Very Cherry Christmas, I can’t quite believe we’ve got this far. I hope that the truly amazing artists who’ve contributed to our compilations since 2005 and the quality and diversity of tracks has gone some way to proving that Christmas records are not necessarily disposable or cynically cashing in. We’ve sometimes been asked if A Very Cherry Christmas is meant to be ironic, which is a little frustrating as it implies that it’s only ok to like Christmas in an ironic way, there’s nothing ironic about my love for Christmas or indeed about the love a lot of the bands we’ve featured have for Christmas! However, we don’t limit appearances on the compilations to those who feel like I do about the season, I also love songs that deal with the dark side of the season because that is one of the elements which make it such an inspirational time of year, and I hope that A Very Cherry Christmas celebrates the fact that not all Christmas songs have to be bright and joyful.
I’ve talked a lot about our own Christmas albums but I’d like to recommend the following Xmas classics to any fellow fans who might not have heard them, these are absolutely essential listening:
Get Thee Behind Me Santa (Zombina and the Skeletones, Jeffrey Lewis, Herman Dune, etc.)
A Christmas Gift From Fortuna Pop! Volumes 1 and 2 (Bearsuit, Aislers Set, The Loves, etc.)
Gold, Frankincense and Purr (Motormark, Bucky, Velodrome 2000, Seven Inches, etc.)
There are so many more albums, singles, eps and individual songs which I just don’t have room to list here, but if anybody would like some more recommendations or would like to recommend something to me or offer a song for A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 6 then please do e-mail:
Cherryade.records@gmail.com
Have a Very Cherry Christmas!
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
The first day of Christmas
I meant to post this before midnight, it's now officially the second day of December but since I haven't gone to bed yet I'm still classing it as the first!
Anyway, it's December, in case you hadn't noticed, which means it's Christmas! I know some people might disagree with me and say Christmas doesn't start till Christmas Eve and that December is just the build-up to Christmas, but, hey, the build-up starts here at Cherryade Towers some time In July and we have two little Christmas trees up all year round!
So, I've got the big tree (artificial of course, you can't get pink real trees, and besides, the needles drop everywhere and plastic is always superior to real trees and flowers, much cleaner and tidier and shinier!) and a Hello Kitty angel for the top plus I have just bought some brand new decorations, a set of Disney Princess baubles, a gingerbread man stood on a Christmas cake, a bucket containing candy cane and sweeties (not real!), a plastic sparkly cupcake, some pink tinsel, some battery operated pink fairy lights and chocolate decorations from Aldi, it'll be the prettiest tree ever! Hoping to put it up on Thursday before we go to ATP.
I was kindly asked to write two articles on why Christmas music is so special recently. One is in the latest edition of the Pull Yourself Together fanzine, which is brilliant and can be picked up from most good record shops all over the UK. Thanks to Dan and Hannah for asking me to contribute and for putting such a lovely advert for A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 5 in there!
The lovely Natalie Bradbury of fabulous local band The Shrieking Violets has also very kindly asked me some questions about the Very Cherry Christmas compilations, why I love Christmas music and Cherryade in general. You can read the great article she wrote about it, plus a fab review of A Very Cherry Christmas 5 here:
www.theshriekingviolet.blogspot.com
where you can read more of Natalie's really beautiful writings about life in this wonderful city amongst other fascinating topics!
You can still buy A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 5 here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
as well as from all good record shops (distributed by Cargo) and on Itunes but the Cherryade Website is the only place where you can grab an amazing bargain by buying all 5 volumes of our utterly amazing Christmas compilation series for only £18 + £2 p and p, in fact it's the only place to buy volumes 1-4!
The December Dandelion schedule is now streaming here:
www.dandelionradio.com
where you can hear our very special Christmas show as well as all the other amazing shows!
Tomorrow I will post a list of some of my other favourite Christmas albums and songs as well as a guide to what's coming up in this magical month!
There was a chocolate bell in my Hello Kitty advent calendar today!
Lots of Cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
Anyway, it's December, in case you hadn't noticed, which means it's Christmas! I know some people might disagree with me and say Christmas doesn't start till Christmas Eve and that December is just the build-up to Christmas, but, hey, the build-up starts here at Cherryade Towers some time In July and we have two little Christmas trees up all year round!
So, I've got the big tree (artificial of course, you can't get pink real trees, and besides, the needles drop everywhere and plastic is always superior to real trees and flowers, much cleaner and tidier and shinier!) and a Hello Kitty angel for the top plus I have just bought some brand new decorations, a set of Disney Princess baubles, a gingerbread man stood on a Christmas cake, a bucket containing candy cane and sweeties (not real!), a plastic sparkly cupcake, some pink tinsel, some battery operated pink fairy lights and chocolate decorations from Aldi, it'll be the prettiest tree ever! Hoping to put it up on Thursday before we go to ATP.
I was kindly asked to write two articles on why Christmas music is so special recently. One is in the latest edition of the Pull Yourself Together fanzine, which is brilliant and can be picked up from most good record shops all over the UK. Thanks to Dan and Hannah for asking me to contribute and for putting such a lovely advert for A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 5 in there!
The lovely Natalie Bradbury of fabulous local band The Shrieking Violets has also very kindly asked me some questions about the Very Cherry Christmas compilations, why I love Christmas music and Cherryade in general. You can read the great article she wrote about it, plus a fab review of A Very Cherry Christmas 5 here:
www.theshriekingviolet.blogspot.com
where you can read more of Natalie's really beautiful writings about life in this wonderful city amongst other fascinating topics!
You can still buy A Very Cherry Christmas vol. 5 here:
www.cherryademusic.co.uk/buyavcc5.html
as well as from all good record shops (distributed by Cargo) and on Itunes but the Cherryade Website is the only place where you can grab an amazing bargain by buying all 5 volumes of our utterly amazing Christmas compilation series for only £18 + £2 p and p, in fact it's the only place to buy volumes 1-4!
The December Dandelion schedule is now streaming here:
www.dandelionradio.com
where you can hear our very special Christmas show as well as all the other amazing shows!
Tomorrow I will post a list of some of my other favourite Christmas albums and songs as well as a guide to what's coming up in this magical month!
There was a chocolate bell in my Hello Kitty advent calendar today!
Lots of Cherry Christmas love,
Rach Cherryade xxx
www.cherryademusic.co.uk
www.dandelionradio.com
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