(Taking a break from the 2004 review to bring you this concession to the holiday spirit. And also because I love this song, and so should you.)

As Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne put it, “When you’re in a pop group, you want to do a Christmas single, don’t you?” And so, in 1993, Saint Etienne did just that. Featuring Tim Burgess of the Charlatans (or the Charlatans UK for those of us in North America) as the second half of the duet, “I Was Born On Christmas Day” is upbeat, fun and very cute�everything Christmas should be but isn’t.

In slightly related news, the new album now has a tentative release date (late March or early April) and a first single (”It’s A Good Thing”). And, as it turns out, Saint Etienne still send out fanclub packages for Christmas, making me even more of a sucker for not signing up this year. Oh well.