In the spirit of Phil Spector's classic Christmas album, Xenomania produced a bonus disc of Christmas songs for Girls Aloud's Chemistry album, which includes covers of seasonal classics, as well as a few originals.
"I Wanna Kiss You So (Christmas In A Nutshell)" is, hands down, the best of the bunch. It was produced by Brian Higgins and written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Nick Coler and Shawn Lee.
It's overloaded with Christmas references, but manages to convey quite beautifully the warm sense of feeling like a big kid on Christmas night. And it's packed with brilliant lyrics like "I make angels in the snow / I like that funny feeling when my bum gets cold" or the classic "Bish bash bong whoo!", that you'll be shouting in your head all Christmas.
Lyrics:
I like going out on Christmas eve If Santa needs a helper why should it be me? And I like dancing the night away And waking up to Jingle Bells on Christmas day
And Christmas morning when the church bells ring My heart starts beating fast Oh, I'll never stop being a big kid deep in my heart
I wanna kiss you so like no-one's done before Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure It's only a kiss you know, so don't you ask for more Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure
I make angels in the snow I like that funny feeling when my bum gets cold And I like getting in a snowball fight Then racing my toboggan through the starry night
And Christmas morning when the church bells ring My heart starts beating fast Oh, I'll never stop being a big kid deep in my heart
I wanna kiss you so like no-one's done before Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure It's only a kiss you know, so don't you ask for more Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure
Christmas ain't fun if your heart don't feel young I guess I'll always believe there's a big kid in me
Bish Bash bong Whoo! We're just another Christmas crazy family baby Bish Bash bong Whoo! We'll be loving Christmas day when we're 80
[Written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Nick Coler and Shawn Lee]
"Not Tonight Santa" is one of the four original songs on Girls Aloud's mini Christmas CD that was included on the special edition of Chemistry. It was produced by Brian Higgins and written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Nick Coler and Shawn Lee.
It's a song about someone who needs Cupid more than Santa Claus, with a great couplet like "You give me something I could never get from Santa Claus / I'll let you peep inside my stocking if you show me yours". To put it simple, it's a Christmas song about sex. It's naughty and nice, and Girls Aloud are a brilliant Trojan horse to pull it off.
Lyrics:
No Santa this morning I guess my note got through I told him, quit calling, 'cos all I want is you
Gotta get a minute gotta get you on your own Your baby sister's sleeping and your daddy's on the phone I'm sure you're hiding something hot you want to give to me And not another pair of socks from underneath the tree
Ooh, ooh, you give me something I could never get from Santa Claus, baby Ooh, ooh, I'll let you peep inside my stocking if you show me yours
No stocking this morning but that don't make me blue There's one thing I'm wanting that I can only get from you
Gotta get a minute gotta get you on your own Your baby sister's sleeping and your daddy's on the phone I'm sure you're hiding something hot you want to give to me And not another pair of socks from underneath the tree
Ooh, ooh, you give me something I could never get from Santa Claus, baby Ooh, ooh, I'll let you peep inside my stocking if you show me yours
Now don't get crazy, Santa baby, you know I'll always leave a little treat for you It might sound stupid, but I need cupid more than all the presents that I think I'm due
[Written by Miranda Cooper (Holly Bush), Brian Higgins (S. Claws), Lisa Cowling (Beth Lehem), Nick Coler (Festiv Gifts) and Shawn Lee (Yuell Logg)]
"Warm This Winter" is a cover of a Connie Francis single released in December 1962 (originally titled "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter"). Gabriella Cilmi's version was produced by Xenomania and was featured in television advertisements for the Co-operative retail chain in the UK over the 2008 Christmas period.
"Warm This Winter" was released as a digital download and peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, outranking Cilmi's precedent physical singles "Sanctuary" and "Save the Lies". The song was added to the deluxe edition of her debut album Lessons To Be Learned. It has been receiving enough downloads this year to appear at #94 on the UK Singles Chart.
Gabriella Cilmi's version of the song alters the opening line from "We met at a ski lodge" to "We met in the winter", but other than that remains faithful to the original. The arrangements are a bit more lively and the vocals are more dominant and have more depth. Connie Francis' voice is more pure, but Cilmi's soulful delivery is certainly well-suited for a lost '60s Christmas song.
Lyrics:
We met in the winter and we fell in love...
Right by a fire place we shared our first embrace And then inside my heart I felt a fire start It’s gonna snow outside, the weather will be cold But I’m gonna be warm this winter
Each time your lips touch mine they taste like sparkling wine I feel so warm and loved just cause i love you so It's cosy in your arms if you’re so happy to hold But I’m gonna be warm this winter
Ice skating on a frozen lake Sleigh riding down a mountain slide Roasting popcorn, dancing till the dawn That was how a new love was born
It’s just like make believe each night is new years eve Each day is Christmas day, you make me feel this way It’s gonna snow outside, the weather will be cold But I’m gonna be warm this winter
Girls Aloud are a lot more Christmassy than most groups: they have the best Christmas No.1 of the decade, they released a mini Christmas album and they make people feel happy and warm inside, just like Christmas (err).
So they can get away with recording a Christmas song that sounds nothing like a Christmas song. Sonically, "Christmas Round At Ours" wouldn't sound out of place in one of Blur's early albums.
It's a a funny little song about kisses under the mistletoe and the boring side of a family Christmas. As Tom Ewing accurately puts it, it «captures the frustration of being just too old for a trad family christmas, too young to have hanging out with your mates as an escape route, and still wanting to enjoy the thing anyway».
Lyrics:
Uncle Bernie's got me on his knee, chocolate fingers in his tea He thinks he's super cool but he's a fool And I've been sitting, waiting here for hours Sydney won't get out the shower Another lazy boring Christmas morning round at ours
Daddy, daddy told me You'll never get from Santa what you're wanting to If he know, he'd be cool Oh, I'm not that bad, dad, yeah, yeah, yeah
It's boring at Christmas, I'm no kid anymore And I'm too old for the panto and too young for the sauce But when the bells start ringing, I start grinning and lose my Christmas blues I'll get my kiss under the mistletoe with you
Grandma's had the best of all the sweets, picking toffee out her teeth She says she shoulda been a beauty queen And mother sighs as everybody shouts, we don't want no soggy sprouts Another lazy boring Christmas morning round at ours
Written by Miranda Cooper (Holly Bush), Brian Higgins (S. Claws), Lisa Cowling (Beth Lehem), Tim Larcombe (Henry Mistletoe) and Shawn Lee (Yuell Logg).
"Count The Days" is one of the four original songs on Girls Aloud's Chemistry Christmas CD (a bonus disc with Christmas songs that was included on the special edition of Chemistry).
It is up there with the best Girls Aloud ballads, with lovely melodies and delicate vocals from the girls. It sounds like a typical acoustic ballad, but the layers of sound and beautiful arrangements turn it into something a bit more special. And although it does have several Christmas references, "Count The Days" is simply a love song, about longing to be with someone.
It was produced by Brian Higgins and written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Tim Larcombe and Shawn Lee. The song credits of the Chemistry bonus CD were very amusing, with each Xenomania member adopting a festive pseudonym for themselves (Brian Higgins was "S. Claws", Miranda Cooper was "Holly Bush", etc.).
Lyrics:
I would write a thousand letters just to talk to you I would climb a hundred mountains just to be with you I would make it snow in summer if it meant you'd stay Turn back time when we're together, make it Christmas day
Look at the stars twinkling bright in the dark Like the snow in the cold winter sun Here by the fire, the sound of your voice warms my heart But it don't feel like Christmas without you in my arms
All over town people running around, they've got stars in their eyes Hurrying home to be close to the one that they love Light on the tree, shining shadows on me as I wait by the fire Presents and dreams, but for me you'd be enough
I'll be waiting by the phone, 'till my baby's coming home I'll be praying every night you'll be back soon by my side I'll be waiting by the phone 'till my baby's coming home I'll be praying every night you'll be back soon by my side
Count the days, count the days, I've been so lonely Come home baby, it ain't Christmas 'till you're here with me Count the days, count the days 'till this wait is through Come home baby, Christmas just ain't the same without you
When I think my world could fall apart And I'm damn near broken in my heart, and my world is falling down In my mind I will keep you safe from harm 'till you're lying in my arms Until then I'll wait somehow
Written by Miranda Cooper (Holly Bush), Brian Higgins (S. Claws), Lisa Cowling (Beth Lehem), Tim Larcombe (Henry Mistletoe) and Shawn Lee (Yuell Logg).
Xenomania is a songwriting and production house based in Kent, England. It was founded by songwriter and producer Brian Higgins.
Since 1996, Xenomania have written, produced and remixed tracks for a string of successful artists including Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes, Dannii and Kylie Minogue, Saint Etienne, Cher, Gabriella Cilmi and many others.
