The Ongoing History of New Music, Episode 739: Xmas Show 19

For reasons unknown to me, I’ve always had a fascination with alt-rock Christmas music. It’s some kind of (choose all that apply) sickness/genetic error/mental aberration/brain damage. Whatever the case, every single Ongoing History of New Music season since its inception in 1993 has come with an annual Christmas show. The time for #19 has arrived.

Normally I’d post a playlist for the show on Rdio, but since that service is going to shutter for good at 8pm ET on Tuesday, there’s no point, really. Any suggestions on which streaming service to which I should  import all my playlists? Should the default be Spotify? If you’re a soon-to-be-ex-Rdio user, we should compare notes.

Here are the songs used in the show.

1.The Darkness, “I Am Santa”

2. Cockney John, “I Can’t Wait for Christmas”

3.Diedre & the Dark, “The Ghost of Christmas Past”

4. Cyndi Cresswell Cook, “Zombie Wonderland”

5. Sink Tapes, “Priority Mail (This Christmas)

6. Ria Mae, “Gimme My Presents (Take Your Bows Off)”

7. Fake Shark, “Foreign Christmas”

8. Amusement Parks on Fire, “The Day It Snowed”

9.Paper Aeroplanes, “In the Bleak Midwinter”

10. Astro Color, “We Three Kings”

11.Dirty Sidewalks, “It’s Christmas and Everyone is Miserable”

12.Fucked Up and Friends, “Do They Know It’s Christmas”

13.Henry Rollins, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”

The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on the following stations:

• 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7, Monday night at 11 with archives show Tuesday and Wednesday at midnight.
• Live 88-5/Ottawa
• 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener
• FM96/London – Sunday night at 7, Monday night at 11
• The Drive/Kingston
• 98.1 The Bridge/Lethbridge – Saturday night at 6, Sunday morning at 10am
• Rock 97.7/Grand Prairie – Sunday nights at 6.
• 92X/Calgary
• Sonic 102.9/Edmonton
• The Zone/Victoria
• Live 105/Halifax

We’re still looking for more affiliates in Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon, Brandon, Windsor,  Montreal, Charlottetown, Moncton, Fredericton, and St John’s and anywhere else with a transmitter. If you’re in any of those markets and you want the show, lemme know and I’ll see what I can do.

If you’re in the US and you want to stream the show, I wish I could help. A performing rights organization called SESAC has made threatening noises about suing non-American radio stations who dare stream into the US without paying crazy fees. Most Canadian broadcasters had no choice but to geo-block their streams. But hey, if you know of an American station that would like to take the show, contact me and we’ll make it a priority.

As for posting playlists from the program, is everyone okay if we start using Spotify when Rdio goes away? Suggestions welcome.

Anyone else? Love to hear from you. Just email me at [email protected].