Surprise, surprise, health and bad taste warning, this post features Cliff Richard. On 13th December 2002 UK music channel Music Choice analysed all the UK Christmas No.1 singles from the past 30 years and identified criteria for their success. These included the use of sleigh bells, children singing, church bells, harmony and references to love. They concluded that Sir Cliff Richard’s 1988 hit “Mistletoe and Wine” was the perfect Christmas hit. Sure it has sleigh bells, children singing, church bells, harmony and references to love, but it is rather shite, isn’t it?
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linkedin, and EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
As you might have guessed from the title of this post the theme for this years Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas is, once again, the classic Christmas song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. What did the protagonists beau give on the first day of Christmas? It was of course a Partridge in a Pear Tree. So with a rather tenuous link, todays song is by David Cassidy and it is “The Puppy Song”. Cassidy had played Keith Partridge in US sitcom ‘The Partridge Family’ (I told you the link was tenuous). “The Puppy Song” was released as a double A side with “Daydreamer” in 1973 when it went to the top of the UK charts. This was possibly peak Cassidymania period.
Harry Nilsson wrote and recorded the song for his 1969 album ‘Harry’. The song came about after Paul McCartney asked Nilsson to write a song for Mary Hopkin in 1968 after she became one of the first signings to the Beatles Apple label. Her version featured on her 1969 album ‘Post Card’. I was never a fan of David Cassidy, but I think some of his stuff has aged well, particularly this track! There will be a playlist of all twelve songs when we get to the final one? What do you think tomorrows song will be?
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linkedin, and EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
It’s nearly Christmas and tomorrow we commence the Mayhem 12 days to Christmas countdown so I thought I would throw you an early Christmas present, “Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who’d Be A Turkey At Christmas)” by Elton John. It was the B Side of “Step Into Christmas” back in 1973. I still love this weird and wacky tune. As Elton says “Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near. Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise. The bearded weirdy’s just arrived” Are you on the naughty list or the nice list?
Do you want to sing along? OK, well here come the lyrics (song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin).
(Oh, lovely it is I love the vocal talent) Sittin’ here on Christmas Eve with a brandy in my hand Oh, I’ve had a few too many and it’s gettin’ hard to stand I keep hearin’ noises from my fireplace I must be goin’ crazy or the brandy’s won the race And I keep hearin’ Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived On my roof there’s snorting sounds and bells inside my head My vision’s blurred with color and all I see is red (all he see is red) There’s a pair of large sized wellies (Wellies!) That’s coming down my flue And the smell of burnin’ rubber, oh, it’s fillin’ up the room And I keep hearin’ (five, six, seve, eight) Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived And here he comes now And we keep hearin’ Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived Ho! Ho! Ho! He! He! He! What frivolity for me Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? (Happy Christmas, everybody) Your fat and jolly friend draws near Ho! Ho! Ho! Surprise, surprise The bearded weirdy’s just arrived Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess who’s here? Your fat and jolly friend draws near…
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linkedin, and EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Well, here we are at the end of our journey through Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas for 2023. Regular readers will know that this year I have used the series to showcase artists featured in Spotify’s Misfits 2.0 playlist. Some of them I discovered via Misfits 2.0, others I was already a huge fan of. Today’s post features the obscenely talented Delilah Bon, probably my favourite living artist. Since “Devil” in July 2020 she has released some stunning songs plus a great EP, ‘Ready To Kill’ and a self-titled debut album that blew away the competition in 2021. I believe that we might see her sophomore album in 2024, I certainly hope so.
Delilah Bon is the alter ego of Lauren Tate of Hands Off Gretel. In her approach to life, her attitude, and especially her music she stands up for women and girls and the whole LGBTQ+ community and frankly she is an inspirational icon for anyone who dares to be different. She has had a great year with a trio of classic singles, “I Wish A Bitch Would”, “Brat” and the magnificent “Witch”. She enlisted the help of ALT BLK ERA on the latter, another act that featured in this year’s 12 Days of Christmas posts. In addition, I have also showcased WARGASM, Royal and the Serpent, Poppy, Girli, tiLLie, 100 gecs, Casseyette, FKA Rayne, Scene Queen, and Jazmin Bean. Delilah Bon has played some excellent support slots this year for Scene Queen and Shaka Ponk. Earlier this year she performed “War On Women” on French TV’s biggest music programme Taratata. In her music she embraces hip-hop, punk, rap, and metal. If you do not have Delilah Bon in your life yet, why the hell not?
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Christmas is nearly here and we are at Day 11 of Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas series for 2023. Focused on artists that have been featured on Spotify’s Misfits 2.0 playlist. Jazmin Bean, today’s choice, is a hugely talented artist that I discovered via the playlist. They are an artist almost like no other, and they have a sound that incorporates metal, pop, horror, acoustic, punk, cinema scope, emo, hip-hop, trip-hop, and dark rock all with hooks with the power to create a new universe. I would like to nominate Jazmin Bean to compose a soundtrack for a British Folk Horror film, I think that they would do an amazing job! The current single “Terrified” is gorgeous and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Meanwhile, “Hello Kitty” kicks in with a kid’s refrain and then scares the living shit out of you when the huge riffs kick in, incredible tunes.
Jazmin Bean began performing in 2015, and they have got better and better with every release. The new album ‘Traumatic Livelihood’ is scheduled for release next February. Jazmin Bean is also a supremely talented make-up artist and has called their sometimes ‘doll-like’ appearance as ‘a genderless monster’. In addition to producing some incredible music, they also run a cruelty-free, vegan cosmetics company called Cult Candy Cosmetics. I don’t believe that there are many artists that I can think of whom I have seen their parents play live. But I have seen both Jazmin’s parents in live shows. Their Dad is Ginger Wildheart who I have seen many times and their Mum is Angie Adams who drummed with a punk band called Fluffy in the 1990s. I saw them once in a support slot, at least I think I did. Get listening to Jazmin Bean now, that’s an order!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Day 10 of Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas features New York-born Hannah Collins who many will know as the originator and Empress of Bimbocore, Scene Queen. Yes, Scene Queen has invented her own genre which is a kind of nu-metal, pop-driven, punky sound that allows her to sing her incredibly well thought and feminist lyrics over some great tunes. I didn’t find Scene Queen via Spotify’s Misfits 2.0, although they featured on that playlist a lot. I was lucky enough to see Scene Queen live at the Leeds Festival back in 2022. I think she will be back at the Bramham Park site next year and I am already looking forward to that. She will also be performing at Download 2024.
Scene Queen has released a banging barrage of magnificent singles, particularly “Pink Bubblegum”, “Pink G-String” and three from her album ‘Hot Singles In Your Area’ which is scheduled for release next year. Those three are “18+”, “Pink Push-Up Bra” and the new single “MILF”, all of these suggest that the album might already be a contender for album of the year 2024. Another wonderful plus point is Scene Queen‘s excellent taste in music, back in October she invited Delilah Bon to support her on her UK tour. She has also hooked up with Bellesa Sex Toys, and offered some great deals on vibes! If Scene Queen isn’t in your life yet, she should be! Check her out!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
It is time for Day 9 of Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas series for 2023 and today’s artist is another that I discovered thanks to Spotify’s Misfits 2.0 playlist. It is an incredibly talented alternative rock artist, FKA Rayne from Vancouver Canada. She started out as more of a pop artist back in 2019 but now embraces a more hardcore metal sound and she hasn’t lost her deft pop touches. The current single “Woof” is perhaps her best yet, although the competition is tough. I particularly love “Perverse”; last year’s “Praying Mantis” is stunning. Check FKA Rayne out NOW!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Day 8 of Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas series for 2023 features Cassyette, one of the UK’s finest music talents and another artist that I discovered thanks to Spotify’s Misfits 2.0 playlist. She has been described as nu-metal, but personally I think she just takes metal to new, hardcore heights that it has not reached before. But it’s not only metal she also skillfully blends elements of electro and punk into her songs. Since “Jean” exploded into the world in 2019 there have been an incredible collection of great songs from Cassyette. Plenty of great singles, many of which were collected on the rather wonderful ‘Sad Girl Mixtape’ album from 2022. Her new single “Boom” is a beautiful, bombastic banger and her cover of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” is sublime. Cassyette will only get bigger and better in 2024, be there!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Day 7 of Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas series for 2023 brings you 100 gecs, a band I discovered thanks to the Spotify playlist Misfits 2.0. Dylan Brady and Laura Les formed 100 gecs in St. Louis, USA in 2015 and they have now released two albums (‘1000 gecs’ and ‘10,000 gecs’ in 2019 and 2023 there was also a remix album, ‘1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues’ in 2020) Based on the album titles so far will there next one be called ‘100,000 gecs’? Their music is most prominently dance-based, and they have worked with some giants in that field including Skrillex and Basement Jaxx. Their reimagination of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” is beyond special. They also issued a Christmas(ish) tune, back in 2020, called “sympathy 4 the grinch” which has so much pop punk and ska in it. Some of their earlier remixes might have originated in a parallel universe in which 100 gecs are musical gods.
I am not sure I can really find the words to describe the wacky, wonderful weirdness of their self-titled EP from 2017. “Fuck Teeth” is delightfully different. While “25 bands and a geccco” might have been made via a sentient AI being trapped inside an arcade game, bloody brilliant! The 2022 EP ‘Snake Eyes’ features the previously mentioned collaboration with Skrillex and two other very classy tunes. The hard disco blues of “Hey Big Man” and the ethereal pop dance, with added heavy guitar riffage, of “Runaway”. I loved this year’s album ‘10,000 gecs’ so much that I placed it at number 20 in the Mayhem Albums Of The Year! Check 100 gecs out, you need them in your world!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
It is halfway house for this year’s Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas series which features artists that I have discovered via Spotify’s Misfits 2.0 playlist or artists that I love who have appeared on it. Day 6 features the magnificent ALT BLK ERA. I heard them for the first time quite a while ago and then had the opportunity to see them headline the BBC Introducing Stage at Leeds Festival in August. I was also honoured to get to interview them at Leeds too. Nyrobi and Chaya, if you’re up for a longer interview in 2024, let me know. ALT BLK ERA have released some stunning singles since 2022 and this culminated in their awesome EP ‘Freak Show’ which came out in September. They also worked on a brilliant collaboration with one of my favourite living artists, Delilah Bon on the monumental track “Witch”. They have recently been nominated for a MOBO award. I believe that ALT BLK ERA has the potential to be huge. Get listening to them now, that’s an order!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 