17 December 2012

The Christmas Playlist


Music is an essential part of creating the Christmas atmosphere but we realise that it's sometimes tricky to choose the right tracks to put on at the right time. We thought we'd share our pick of the best Christmas songs! 


There are three main times to prepare for:
EATING
CHILLING
PARTYING

EATING
Over the Christmas dinner you want some subtle music. Keep the volume down and choose something that isn't too fast otherwise you'll end up eating to the beat and demolish your turkey in no time!
Here you're just setting the atmosphere, not singing along, so this is a time to play those lesser known tunes.
Why don't you try these classics? 
- Kings College Choir
- Christmas Carols


CHILLING
Whilst the dinner is cooking, your opening presents or relaxing for a moment with a glass of wine, you want some music that will keep everyone upbeat and encourage a little sing along. Choose some recognisable songs like these:
The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby & David Bowie
White Christmas - Michael Buble
Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea
Do They Know It's Christmas - Band Aid (Original Version)
Fairytale of New York - The Pogues
Happy Christmas (War is Over) - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Let It Snow - Frank Sinatra
Silent Night - Frank Sinatra
Walking In The Air - Aled Jones
I Believe In Father Christmas - Greg Lake

We also feel that the whole of Michael Buble's christmas album will work well for this time! 


PARTYING
For a proper Christmas or New Year party, you can't avoid the classic and cheesy tracks for getting people moving. Mix some old Christmas songs with new chart tracks to please everyone. Try these:
Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees 
Love Shack - B-52
Fireworks - Katy Perry
Prince Charming - Adam and the Ants
Tiger Feet - Mud
One Love - Bob Marley
Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue
Here Comes the Rain - The Cult
Do You Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
Dancing Queen - Abba
Shaft - Isaac Hayes
Sex Machine - James Brown
Jean Jeanie - David Bowie
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
Doom & Gloom - Rolling Stones
Nine Lives - ACDC
Give it 2 me - Madonna
Gangnam Style - PSY
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Alive - Pearl Jam
Time Warp - Rocky Horror
Into The Groove - Madonna
Superstylin' - Groove Armada
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Praise You - Fatboy Slim
I'm Still Standing - Elton John
Night Fever - Bee Gees
Devil Gate Drive - Suzi Quatro
A Little Bit - Liberty X
Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
Bang A Gong - T Rex
Bad - Michael Jackson


Purchasing
It can be expensive to buy every track individually, so why not make a playlist on youtube or try Spotify? For £5 you can play anything you want/as long as you want without any adverts interrupting but you do need to be connected to the internet unless you want to pay a bit more. 


The Radio
Sometimes we forget about putting the radio on, but it's got some fantastic shows and on Christmas day there's normally back-to-back music. Why not take a minute to look at the radio listings before the family arrives? An obvious choice but it's not Christmas without a dog-eared copy of the Radio Times hanging around.