A Christmas Gift for You from Jarvis Cocker

The first half of a look back over the Sunday Services of 2011.  Michael Horovitz performs a mulled wine recipe in the form of a poem; Bobby Gillespie introduces Loaded; Caroline Coon discusses the politics of partying; Paul Morley signs off; and Alan Vega remembers the early days of his band Suicide.  There's an hour of music and chat from Brian Eno's celebration of gospel music.  We hear Justin Bieber slowed down by 800%; Steve Davis advising on snooker; an Elvis anecdote retold by Nick Hornby; and Adam Curtis on how computers are making us all into curators of pop's past.  Simon Reynolds considers freedom and the internet; Marianne Faithfull praises the power of music; and Lawrence of Felt finishes by describing how much he loves The Velvet Underground.  

A Child's Christmas in Radio

This tinkly, twinkly festive special opens with Roger McGough's dotty gift suggestions from The Dada Christmas Catalogue. It includes a megamix themed around Dylan Thomas's story A Child's Christmas in Wales, featuring readings by Thomas; plus Jarvis reads The Journey of the Magi by TS Eliot and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. We also hear the eerie sound of a satellite, because the first communications satellite was launched today in 1958: it carried a peaceful message with a Cold War edge. Birthdays: Keith Richards (on songwriting), Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Charles Wesley (who wrote the words for Hark the Herald Angels Sing) and Michael Moorcock (talking about his deranged dystopian song with Hawkwind, Sonic Attack...)

Getting into the Spirit of Things

 
Cash registers ping a carol: but is shopping the true spirit of Christmas? Jarvis asks what gets you into the spirit of things.  On This Day, Llywelyn the Last died; The Rolling Stones staged their Rock 'n' Roll Circus; Che Guevara addressed the UN; Indiana joined the USA; and Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson had his last drink.  Jarvis reads a story by Grace Paley about her mother, and explains how you can help ATP Recordings make a music video.  Astronaut Gene Cernan reflects on Apollo 17, the last manned moon landing -- Jarvis thinks about space and the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.  This week, Ted Hughes was honoured with a plaque in Poet's Corner, so we hear him explain how to capture the essence of a creature.  Birthdays: Marco Pierre White (on what makes a great chef), Jon Brion, Grace Paley, Jermaine Jackson, Kamehameha V and Brenda Lee.

PADGETT POWELL?

American novelist Padgett Powell joins Jarvis to talk about his new work, You and I.  Synopsis to follow.