(via Shutterstock) Gotta be honest – I’m a Christmas guy and once that day is done and dusted, I tend to lose interest in gthe other big event on the calendar, New Year’s Eve. I used to be more excited by it but as the years have gone by, I’ve Continue Reading
Music
Fire up the playlists and let the music fly free: My top 25 songs of 2025 + my 8 fave clips of the year
(via Shutterstock) It’s been a weird year for me and music. I still listened to lots and lots and LOTS of it, it was still the soundtrack to all my commutes and occasional exercise outings and even short trips to the shops, and it remained the focal centre of the Continue Reading
Merry Christmas in books and movies and on streaming platforms and in song … may all your pop culture festive dreams come true
(courtesy Pinterest (c) Disney) In honour of Winnie the Pooh’s first appearance in a story by A. A. Milne and the 75th anniversary of Peanuts first cartoon, this year’s Christmas greeting centres on these two groups of characters. I have loved both of them ever since I was a child Continue Reading
On 12th day of Christmas … I added another 10 new pop culture ornaments to my tree incl. Scooby-Doo, Peanuts’ Spike, Miffy + more
(via Shutterstock) Forget decking the halls … at least for right now! With Christmas almost upon us, adding more pop culture ornaments to my tree is the order of the day, and yes, while I buy far too many new ones every year – is there such a thing? I Continue Reading
On 10th day of Christmas … I listened to two more festive albums – Molly Johnson’s It’s a Snow Globe World and A Holly Jolly Jill Barber Christmas
(via Shutterstock) It’s a Snow Globe World by Molly Johnson (courtesy SoundCloud) If you’re a Canadian, you will be well and truly familiar with the towering musical presence that is Molly Johnson, a singer active since 1979 who excels in delivering pop and jazz numbers with evocatively soulful ease and Continue Reading
On 7th day of Christmas, I listened to Christmastime by Trisha Yearwood and Verve: Remixed Holiday
(via Shutterstock) Christmastime by Trisha Yearwood (courtesy Apple Music) Trisha Yearwood’s new album Christmastime is as good a reminder as any that it’s best to always hold onto your expectations loosely and to never let them get in the way of experiencing something new. Initially dismissed by this reviewer because Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more Christmas songs #2 … Elysia Biro, Marcia Hines, Laufey, Jamra, LOLO + Sophie Ellis-Bextor … and more!
(via Shutterstock) The first batch of Christmas single took us down a quietly contemplative, chestnuts roasting kind of path but this time we’re channelling all the joy and eggnog-y energy of the season with 11 very catchy songs. Most of them hail from this year’s bountiful crop of festive tracks Continue Reading
On 4th day of Christmas … I listened to retro festive songs by Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra + Barbra Streisand
(via Shutterstock) Intangible though it might to say it but many Christmas songs are popular because they feel like the season. And what is that feeling exactly? It’s all kinds of cosiness and warmth, evoked by time with family and friends with snow falling outside – it may do that Continue Reading
On 1st day of Christmas … I decorated my tree with 10 new pop culture ornaments incl. Elio, Up, The Muppet Christmas Carol … and more!
(via Shutterstock) When I bought my first Christmas tree as an adult way back in 1992, I bought some pop culture ornaments but I mostly stuck to the sorts of ornaments and baubles I remembered from childhood. But as time went on, I increasingly bought more and more pop culture Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more songs Christmas songs #1: Sara Evans, Anaïs Reno, Lady A, Thelma & James, Mia McIntosh, Ingrid Michaelson + more … also Christmas releases by Eurovision artists!
(via Shutterstock) While Christmas albums from a wide variety of artists are hardly out of style, what is most remarkable in this year of our festive lord 2025 is how many Christmas singles have made their way out into an tinsel-draped, eggnog-addled world. Maybe there were always a lot of Continue Reading