Christmastime: Christmas in Suburbia

Martin Newell: Christmas in Suburbia

[purchase]

Martin Newell's The Greatest Living Englishman is a minor gem of eccentric pop. If it sounds a bit XTC-ish, your ears aren't deceiving you--it was produced by XTC mastermind Andy Partridge. It doesn't hurt that, like Partridge (and Robyn Hitchcock and Ray Davies), Newell excels at detailing the minutia of English life.

"Christmas in Suburbia" starts out describing a pretty normal Christmas, where folks "jingle jangle by electric candle light", but by the end of the song, Martin is waking up in someone else's home with "an angel in the bed". Merry Christmas!