No, not a review of the Mariah Carey classic (love it or hate it, you can't escape it...) Instead, I put some Christmas-tinted questions to a big group of my favourite musical artists: the answers are in and they're bangers. There's a taster below, and you can read the full post on my new Substack site:
musicobserved.substack.com
Please consider subscribing - it's free, don't worry! - so you don't miss any posts in future :-)
What do you most hope for this Christmas?
Alexandra Leaving: "You could get deep with this one. 2024 has been a defining year. Whilst so much is uncertain, I hope we all find ways, big or small, to channel our energy into kindness - for each other and toward the planet."
Amy Papiransky: "I live hours away from where I was brought up and don’t get to go home as much as I would like. I am REALLY looking forward to quality time with my close family and friends – it’s what Christmas is all about. We are staying with my uncle who has a beautiful cosy house in the middle of the countryside. Escaping the city for a bit will be lovely! You will find me wrapped in a blanket by the stove, eating too much cheese whilst watching Wallace and Gromit! Bliss!"
CLOVES (below): "I’ve spent a lot of time in the last year trying to work out what’s going to make me happy in my work and in my personal life. I feel like I’m starting to carve that path for myself, so really I’m just hoping to continue down that road for now."
Dictator: "A sold out Sneaky Pete's so we can fund our trip to the states 🤣" [This was Dictator's headline fundraising show at the legendary venue in Edinburgh on 15th December... and I can confirm it did indeed sell out!]
The Eves: "Being truthful, we would really like to rest and recharge. Being independent artists, we run everything ourselves - writing the songs, organising studio sessions, booking performances, arranging rehearsals, doing the performances, running our social media, website and merchandise store, designing the merch, posting out the merch... there is always something to do. We both make a lot of personal sacrifices by working so hard, as we don't see family and friends as much as we would like to, so it will be good for us to take some time out, reconnect with our nearest and dearest, and reclaim a bit of time back to allow the creative juices to start flowing again."
Tizane: "Funding so we can get in the studio and make our next album!" ... ...
Read the Substack full post to find out what everyone wants in their stockings, who they'd invite to dinner, best and worst presents, and what's on the Christmas playlist...
And of course, you can listen to music from these artists on my 2024 Spotify playlists, which are collected here.