Christmas FM signed off at 7 PM on St. Stephen's Day.
We were listening to them when they started and we were listening again when they closed down.
They did a great job again this year.
Apparently they reached their target for their chosen charity. The following was one of their last messages on Facebook:
"And we have just got word that we achieved our overall monthly target of
raising €100,000 to enable Age Action our 2014 Charity Partner to carry
out 30,000 home care & repair jobs and visits for older people who
need help across Ireland".
Well done to everyone involved. Look forward to listening to you in Christmas 2015.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Christmas Shoes
I'm sure I would never have heard the song "Christmas Shoes" were it not for Christmas FM.
And even there, people are understandably reluctant to play it!
However it is a guilty pleasure.
Here's a link to a YouTube video where I won't add insult to injury by making you watch the video where people act out the song. In this version you can see "NewSong" performing the song, although there are clips from the movie of the same name starring Rob Lowe.
And here's evidence that I heard the song on Christmas FM earlier this evening:
And even there, people are understandably reluctant to play it!
However it is a guilty pleasure.
Here's a link to a YouTube video where I won't add insult to injury by making you watch the video where people act out the song. In this version you can see "NewSong" performing the song, although there are clips from the movie of the same name starring Rob Lowe.
And here's evidence that I heard the song on Christmas FM earlier this evening:
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Worst Christmas Song Lyrics
I have been listening to lots of Christmas songs on Christmas FM.
And I have managed to spot the worst ever Christmas lyric.
It is in "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys.
Here is the line:
Unbelievable. Unforgivable.
And I have managed to spot the worst ever Christmas lyric.
It is in "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys.
Here is the line:
"Christmas comes this time each year"
Unbelievable. Unforgivable.
Royalties from Christmas Songs
In 2011 I named my top 3 Christmas songs (here).
In 2012 I named my fourth favourite (here).
On his radio show this morning, Ray D'Arcy mentioned how much money Christmas hits were making for their composers every year. Mind boggling!
Some stats are available here.
Here is a list of how much money the top songs have generated so far THIS YEAR:
"Merry Xmas Everybody", Slade - £526,494
"Fairytale Of New York", The Pogues - £397178
"All I Want For Christmas Is You", Mariah Carey - £357431
"Last Christmas", Wham! - £310,148
"Mistletoe and Wine", Cliff Richard - £101,187
"Do They Know It's Christmas?", Band Aid - £80,233
"Merry Christmas Everyone", Shakin' Stevens - £55,344
"2000 Miles", The Pretenders - £46,624
"Stay Another Day", East 17 - £31,073
"Stop The Cavalry", Jona Lewie - £13,617
So get your thinking hat on, get in front of the piano, and see what you can come up with!
In 2012 I named my fourth favourite (here).
On his radio show this morning, Ray D'Arcy mentioned how much money Christmas hits were making for their composers every year. Mind boggling!
Some stats are available here.
Here is a list of how much money the top songs have generated so far THIS YEAR:
"Merry Xmas Everybody", Slade - £526,494
"Fairytale Of New York", The Pogues - £397178
"All I Want For Christmas Is You", Mariah Carey - £357431
"Last Christmas", Wham! - £310,148
"Mistletoe and Wine", Cliff Richard - £101,187
"Do They Know It's Christmas?", Band Aid - £80,233
"Merry Christmas Everyone", Shakin' Stevens - £55,344
"2000 Miles", The Pretenders - £46,624
"Stay Another Day", East 17 - £31,073
"Stop The Cavalry", Jona Lewie - £13,617
So get your thinking hat on, get in front of the piano, and see what you can come up with!
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Christmas FM Returns
It's here again!
On Thursday last (28th November) at 8AM, Christmas FM began broadcatsing for 2013.
And we were all tuned in and waiting.
The station broadcasts on 94.3 in Dublin and other frequencies around the country.
And world-wide on the Internet.
The charity this year is Aware which is an extremely worthwhile cause. You can donate €2 by texting a dedication to 50300. You need to include "xmas" followed by your message. All of the money goes to the charity.
Now we're really in the Christmas spirit!
On Thursday last (28th November) at 8AM, Christmas FM began broadcatsing for 2013.
And we were all tuned in and waiting.
The station broadcasts on 94.3 in Dublin and other frequencies around the country.
And world-wide on the Internet.
The charity this year is Aware which is an extremely worthwhile cause. You can donate €2 by texting a dedication to 50300. You need to include "xmas" followed by your message. All of the money goes to the charity.
Now we're really in the Christmas spirit!
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Best Christmas Movies
I mentioned the two best Christmas movies in a posting last year: "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Scrooged".
We watched the latter on TV a few weeks ago.
We watched the former on DVD the other evening. It seems to get better every time we watch it. Certainly Andrew (8) got more from it this year than last.
Here is a nice photo of the stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reid:
We watched the latter on TV a few weeks ago.
We watched the former on DVD the other evening. It seems to get better every time we watch it. Certainly Andrew (8) got more from it this year than last.
Here is a nice photo of the stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reid:
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Best Christmas book: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
I blogged last year about the best Christmas book ever: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
I read it again this year with my (now) 8 and 10 year olds. Again there were tears. Again they were mine.
The difference this year was that my 8 year old, Andrew, read it this time. He did a great job.
At the end he asked me if they all got married and lived happily every after. Obviously I told him that they did. How else could a great book like that end!
I read it again this year with my (now) 8 and 10 year olds. Again there were tears. Again they were mine.
The difference this year was that my 8 year old, Andrew, read it this time. He did a great job.
At the end he asked me if they all got married and lived happily every after. Obviously I told him that they did. How else could a great book like that end!
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Miracle on 34th Street - I'm not so sure
I bought Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 edition) on DVD some years ago but I never got the kids to watch it.
Originally they would have been opposed to the idea of watching a movie in black and white. But of course I have won them over to this idea some time ago with It's a Wonderful Life.
So this year I took it out again and I watched it with the two younger ones (10 and 8).
It has a number of things going for it:
The bad news is: I don't think we will be watching it again. At least not until the kids are older.
Without discussing the details, suffice it to say that I just don't think it is suitable.
So if you want to watch a "Christmas classic" with your kids, I would suggest that you try one of these two.
Originally they would have been opposed to the idea of watching a movie in black and white. But of course I have won them over to this idea some time ago with It's a Wonderful Life.
So this year I took it out again and I watched it with the two younger ones (10 and 8).
It has a number of things going for it:
- It's a "Christmas classic"
- It features Ireland's own Maureen O'Hara
- It is #9 apparently on the American Film Institute's "100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time"
The bad news is: I don't think we will be watching it again. At least not until the kids are older.
Without discussing the details, suffice it to say that I just don't think it is suitable.
So if you want to watch a "Christmas classic" with your kids, I would suggest that you try one of these two.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Fourth Best Christmas Song
I blogged about the 3 best Christmas songs last year.
That was easy - IMHO they are head and shoulders above the rest.
But this year I will go out on a limb and name my fourth favourite. It is "Stay Another Day" by East 17.
It was written by band member Tony Mortimer and was the Christmas Number One back in 1994 in Ireland, the UK, Sweden, and Denmark.
That was easy - IMHO they are head and shoulders above the rest.
But this year I will go out on a limb and name my fourth favourite. It is "Stay Another Day" by East 17.
It was written by band member Tony Mortimer and was the Christmas Number One back in 1994 in Ireland, the UK, Sweden, and Denmark.
Christmas FM
Last Christmas I blogged about:
The best Christmas songs
The best Christmas movies
The best Christmas book
I can't believe that I failed to blog about one of the other great things about Christmas: Christmas FM!
Christmas FM broadcasts Christmas music for 30 days, closing down again on St Stephen's Day.
You can listen to it in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Wexford. And you can listen to it on the web.
I spotted it on my dial the day before it started broadcasting and I was tuned in at 8:20 in my car on the first morning. It really puts you in the Christmas mood.
And it's run by volunteers and all money raised this year goes to ISPCC Childline.
The best Christmas songs
The best Christmas movies
The best Christmas book
I can't believe that I failed to blog about one of the other great things about Christmas: Christmas FM!
Christmas FM broadcasts Christmas music for 30 days, closing down again on St Stephen's Day.
You can listen to it in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Wexford. And you can listen to it on the web.
I spotted it on my dial the day before it started broadcasting and I was tuned in at 8:20 in my car on the first morning. It really puts you in the Christmas mood.
And it's run by volunteers and all money raised this year goes to ISPCC Childline.
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Best Christmas book ever: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
The best Christmas book ever written is The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
The book was written by Susan Wojciechowski and illustrated by P.J. Lynch. It was first published in 1996.
For a number of years now I have read it to my kids every Christmas. And every time I have had to pause as inevitably something would cause my eyes to water for some unknown reason.
The story is beautifully written and very moving.
This year my daughter Ruth (9) read it aloud instead and again there must have been dust particles in the air because I found myself having to wipe my eyes again.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
In preparing this posting, I discovered that:
So many more Irish connections than I was expecting.
The book was written by Susan Wojciechowski and illustrated by P.J. Lynch. It was first published in 1996.
For a number of years now I have read it to my kids every Christmas. And every time I have had to pause as inevitably something would cause my eyes to water for some unknown reason.
The story is beautifully written and very moving.
This year my daughter Ruth (9) read it aloud instead and again there must have been dust particles in the air because I found myself having to wipe my eyes again.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
In preparing this posting, I discovered that:
- Susan Wojciechowski has a website
- P. J. Lynch is actually Patrick James Lynch and he is Irish, born in Belfast and, according to his website, currently living in Dublin.
- The book was made into a movie in 2007. It stars Tom Berenger and Joely Richardson. I see that our own Saoirse Ronan also has a role in the movie. It currently has a rating of 6.6 on IMDB. The movie is available here. Might be worth taking a look.
So many more Irish connections than I was expecting.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Best Christmas Songs: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy, Fairytale of New York, White Christmas
So Christmas is well on the way.
As I make this posting, I am listening to the best 3 Christmas songs of all time on Grooveshark.
They are (this is the order I am playing them and also my order of preference):
1) Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby and David Bowie
2) Fairytale of New York - The Pogues
3) White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Wikipedia has the following to save about songs 1 and 3 above:
Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy
Crosby's last TV appearance was a Christmas special filmed in London in September 1977 and aired just weeks after his death. It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth" with the flamboyant rock star David Bowie. It was rush-released as a single 45-rpm record, and has since become a staple of holiday radio, and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the century, TV Guide listed the Crosby-Bowie duet as one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television.
White Christmas
The song remains the best-selling single of all time. According to Guinness World Records, Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has "sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles."
I wish it was OK listen to Christmas music all year round!
I guess if it was then this station wouldn't just be broadcasting during December:
http://christmasfm.ie/
As I make this posting, I am listening to the best 3 Christmas songs of all time on Grooveshark.
They are (this is the order I am playing them and also my order of preference):
1) Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby and David Bowie
2) Fairytale of New York - The Pogues
3) White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Wikipedia has the following to save about songs 1 and 3 above:
Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy
Crosby's last TV appearance was a Christmas special filmed in London in September 1977 and aired just weeks after his death. It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth" with the flamboyant rock star David Bowie. It was rush-released as a single 45-rpm record, and has since become a staple of holiday radio, and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the century, TV Guide listed the Crosby-Bowie duet as one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television.
White Christmas
The song remains the best-selling single of all time. According to Guinness World Records, Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has "sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles."
I wish it was OK listen to Christmas music all year round!
I guess if it was then this station wouldn't just be broadcasting during December:
http://christmasfm.ie/
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