The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 12

So here we are, Day 12 of the 12 Days of Last Christmas.  It's been fun for me (not sure about you) to find and listen to so many different interpretations of one of my top three favourite Christmas songs.

Today, I'm sharing the one, the only, the original, Wham!'s Last Christmas.

There isn't a lot for me to say about this song which hasn't been said before.  Last year, the Guardian did a great article on the song which, if you didn't see at the time, you may want to check out now:

Still Saving Us From Tears:  The Inside Story of Wham's Last Christmas

Hopefully any crazy holiday related running around that you needed do is done and you're at home, toasty roasty warm, spending time with people you like or, perhaps spending it with yourself, doing something awesome, just because you can.  I think folks should focus less on the hub bub of the gift giving and racing around like mad men and enjoy the time off (if you have some), enjoy each other, find some peace, have some laughs, treat yourself (and others) with kindness.  If nothing else, I think you should tease your hair, find a big can of Aqua Net and enjoy the original video for 1985's Last Christmas xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 11

We are getting pretty close to the end of the 12 Days of Last Christmas.

Today is day 11. I could have actually done about 3 months worth of these posts.  I have found over 100 different versions of one of my top three favourite Christmas songs of all time as I've been doing this.

The version I'm going to share with you today is an older one, by Darren Hayes.  I remember seeing him perform this on the Rose O'Donnell show back in the day.  Savage Garden were always a guilty pleasure of mine and I really loved his take on the Wham! Christmas classic.

The video quality on this clip isn't great but I thought it would be fun to actually watch him perform it (well more fun than just listening to a clip anyway).  I hope you enjoy this as much as do! xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 10

Happy Saturday!

Can you believe that it's the Saturday before Christmas already?

It's also day 10 of the 12 days of Last Christmas.  Bet you're curious about today's song huh??  As you know, I've been sharing covers of one of my top 3 favourite christmas songs of all time, the Wham Christmas Classic, Last Christmas.

Today's artist is the indie folk pop duo Fortunate Ones from St John's, Newfoundland.  I'm sort of impressed by how many Canadians have covered Last Christmas.  I really like what the Fortunate Ones did with the song.  The arrangement stays very true to the original but I dig that it's a duet.  Well done Fortunate Ones!!

So, without further adieu, here is today's cover of Last Christmas, enjoy xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 9

I first heard Barbra Lica early one morning while I was getting ready for work.  It was December 2015 and the folks at CBC's Ontario Morning were playing a cute holiday song of hers, "Christmas On the Beach."  She had just released an album of seasonal songs and "Christmas On the Beach" was getting played pretty regularly on CBC (hey, CanCon AND Christmas, not hard to figure that out). Barbra is an accomplished jazz singer and since hearing that first song, I've become a fan of hers. 
Today, because it is Day 9 of the 12 Days of Last Christmas, I'm sharing her version of one of my top three favourite holiday songs.  I really like this sort of bossa nova-y cover of the Wham Christmas Classic. 

Also, in case you were curious, today is my first full day of Christmas vacation.  I am on a lovely break and don't have to return to the office until January 7. 

Yay me and yay for Barbra Lica, enjoy xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 8

So we're up to day 8 in the 12 days of Last Christmas.

Today's version of one of my top three favourite christmas songs of all time was a surprise to me.  I knew very little about Genevieve Leclerc other than she was a French singer (and I had NO idea that she was from Canada until I started looking for a bio about her).  I thought that her version of Last Christmas would be sung in French...  I was wrong. She sings this Wham Christmas Classic in English.

It's a little jazzy, a little sexy, her voice is just lovely.  This song is less about Christmas than it is about the disappointment of a lost love.  I think this version captures that better than most of the covers I've heard.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful video and really great interpretation of Last Christmas xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 7

Okay, I think we have all had enough of the weird froggy / electronic versions of one of my top three favourite Christmas songs.

Today's version of the Wham! Christmas Classic, "Last Christmas" is a kinder, gentler one.  Today I am sharing a lovely acoustic interpretation by Dan Berk.  I wasn't not familiar with Dan Berk prior to hearing this.  I stumbled upon it on Spotify earlier this week so this wasn't one of the original 12 I was planning on sharing. Dan has a really nice voice and this is really quite sweet.  It's got that sad longing in it and is missing the strange sound effects and thumping bass of other versions.

For day 7 of the 12 days of Last Christmas, I think this is a good choice.  I enjoyed it, hope you do too xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 6

You have to admit that it's a little bit amusing when a fictional character has a hit record.

Crazy Frog's original name was "Annoying Thing" and I don't think you have to work too hard to figure out why.  It's a CGI character which was created in 2003 and apparently had a hit with a cover of Axel F (of all things)!

So, it makes sense that a hit record making CGI Frog would eventually cover a classic Christmas tune.  In 2006 Crazy Frog released their version of one of my top three favourite Christmas songs of all time.  In some places, the b-side of the single was Jingle Bells. This particularly video has been viewed almost 200 million times, that seems a bit nuts to me but then it is an animated frog bungling up an attempt to rescue Santa so, some folks would enjoy watching that I suppose.

On the 6 day of Last Christmas I give you Crazy Frog! xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 5

Today's version of one of my top 3 favourite Christmas songs of all time is very sweet.  I don't mean that in a good way.  This is sugar grating against your teeth sweet.  You may want to take some metformin sweet...

Until I watched the video for this version, I had never seen anything to do with Glee.  I was aware of it at the time it was a big hit.  Most of my friends who had children of a certain age watched it because the kids loved it.  The idea of it never appealed to me and while it was super popular, it was never on in our house.  Watching this video I realized that you didn't have to be able to act to be on the show.  I guess you had to sing, acting wasn't necessary.

From what I could find out, this aired on December 7, 2010, in the second season of the show, in an episode called "A Very Glee Christmas."

It's poppy and sugary so consider yourself warned.  It's the cast of Glee performing the Wham Christmas classic, Last Christmas.

Ugh.

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 4

The 12 Days of Last Christmas continues, this time with a Canadian singer's version of one of my top three favourite Christmas songs.

Admittedly, I don't really know a lot about Carly Rae Jepsen.  I remember seeing her on Canadian Idol, Mark liked her but I don't remember either of us caring particularly if she won or not.  I think early on I'd been "cheering" for Khalila Glanville but we only really liked to watch the Idol shows in the beginning when they showcased the really horrible auditions.

Just in time for Christmas 2015, Ms Jepsen released her take on Last Christmas.  It's not particularly memorable but she is technically Canadian and it's got A LOT of sax in it so that's sort of noteworthy.  Also, this performance was from the James Corden show and he has been a part of my own person Christmas Traditions for a few years now. 

"Hey Peggy, how is James Corden a part of your holidays every year?"

Funny you should ask. 

James Corden, along with Ruth Jones (they were brilliant together in Fat Friends), created and starred in one of my all time favourite TV shows, Gavin and Stacey.  Every year since it originally aired, I rewatch the entire series over the Christmas break.  My favourite episode is the Christmas special.  It's so sweet to see Nessa and the Wests making that trip from Wales to Essex, Dave Coaches at the wheel, Neil The Baby being cute..meanwhile, back in Essex, Smithy (Corden's character) is singing "Do they know it's Christmas" with Gavin over the phone... Stacey is talking about how she can sell Smithy "some lovely bath shit" ...it's silly and sweet and funny and it sort of makes you want to stand in the kitchen in the middle of the night, in your underwear, drinking milk.

Hope you enjoy Day 4 of the 12 Days of Last Christmas xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 3

Whigfield, otherwise known as Sannie Carson is a Danish pop singer I only had a passing awareness of until Last Christmas.  Seriously, last year, around Christmas time 2017, I discovered that she too had covered "Last Christmas."

Apparently she covered it in 1995 but I wasn't really paying any attention to folks like her at that time.  This version is quite different to yesterday's Good Charlotte take on the Wham Christmas Classic.

This is not mopey at all.  It's some kind of trashy Europop take on it.  The video is super cheesy.  I can't tell what her deal is.  There is a cute doggy in the video though, and plastic snow and ice and a snowman that everyone seems to like.  Santa is either drunk or possibly homeless.  The random dancers are interesting... Not my favourite version by far but it's a good to compare and contrast the variety of interpretations which exist, of one of my top 3 Christmas songs.

If you enjoy this, please let me know.  xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 2

So, Christmas albums.

Seems like most folks, if they stick around long enough, put one out.

Have to say, not a follower or fan of Good Charlotte.  Don't really have an opinion on them one way or the other.  I did discover that they put out a Christmas album last year and they covered "Last Christmas."  So, I'm sharing that with you today, on Day 2 of the 12 Days of Last Christmas.

It's a little mopey.  The song is actually quite mopey, I mean, it's not a happy song but it usually sounds that way.  It's sort of nice to hear a non-disco-y version of this, one of my top 3 Christmas songs.  I hope you enjoy today's version of "Last Christmas."  xo

The 12 Days of Last Christmas - Day 1

On Christmas Day 2016 the world lost George Michael.

I was always a fan of his music, some of it was guilty pleasure stuff but most of it was just good.  He had the voice of an angel and he wrote some pretty biting stuff.  He was political and not shy about expressing his opinions.  I always respected and admired that about him, using his celebrity to do good works.

As those of you who know me are already aware, "Last Christmas" by Wham is one of my favourite Christmas songs.  This year, to save me from tears, I'm going to do something special...I'm going to share with you a whole bunch of different versions of "Last Christmas" on the days leading up to December 25.

Some of these versions are by folks I don't actually like or care about but they all have a lovely cheesy holiday thing going that is just fun.

So, let's start this off on the First Day of Last Christmas with Cascada's version from 2007.

Guilty Pleasue Friday - Outside

I'm still ill.

Very sick, I have missed an whole week of work this week.  I feel moderately better.  Last night I took the garbage out.  I managed to walk to the end of the driveway, carrying something, and wasn't sick to my stomach.

Progress - my friends, that IS progress.

Whatever I have, it's the worst thing I've ever experienced.  Had it not been freezing rain on the weekend, I for sure would have gone to the ER because I was completely convinced that I was dying.  Miraculously, because my roommate is an angel and got me gravel and hydralyte and all of the things that you need when you have this thing, I am getting through it, slowly.

My guilty pleasure this week is another George Michael song.  I love me some GM.  This song particularly makes me smile and dance around my bedroom (no dancing today but smiling I can do).  I'm also envious of the folks who can go outside (not to have to sex outside, just to leave the house in general).  One day I'll be able to join them, but in the meantime, I can listen to George, tap my toes and dream about fresh air and sunshine and a life without vomit.

happy Friday lovelies xo