Team Hot Press have been ding-donging merrily and possibly on high all week as we’ve compiled the very last Free Music Friday (On A Wednesday) of 2011.

While obviously not as life-affirming as Ronan Keating’s tilt at it – yes, we’re being sarcastic – Maverick Sabre did a very fine job of covering ‘Fairytale Of New York’ recently when he popped into BBC Radio One’s Chris Moyles Show.
Check out the video below:

Also getting their mitts on the Pogues classic this week are Dublin ska-punks Chewing On Tinfoil whose entire BBC Radio One Punk Show session is available for free download @ [link]www.chewingontinfoil.bandcamp.com/album/bbc-punk-show-session[/link]

Keeping things festive, [link]soundcloud.com/eatenbybears[/link] finds Belfast’s Eatenbybears covering Chris De Burgh’s ‘A Spaceman Came Travelling’. It sounds a lot better than you might think!

If it’s some yuletide raving you’re after, look no further than [link]soundcloud.com/the-japanese-popstars/the-japanese-popstars-eat[/link] which finds the Derry trio getting deliciously squelchy – in an old skool acid house way!

If you prefer a jingly janglier Christmas, Johnny Marr & The Healers have a little summat for you @ [link]www.soundcloud.com/officialjohnnymarr/free-christmas[/link]

Next to [link]www.rollingstone.com/music/news/free-download-diamond-rugs-holiday-track-christmas-in-a-chinese-restaurant-20111220[/link]
where there’s some supergroup-ery from assorted members of Deer Tick, The Black Lips, Six Finger Satellite and Dead Confederate. ‘Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant’ might just be our favourite festive tune of ‘11.

We’re indebted to Free Music Friday fan David McKeogh for reminding us of The Ramones’ magnificent 1987 non-hit ‘Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)’, the video for which is wonderfully raucous fun.

Willie Nelson, Ladytron, Freelance Whales, Adele, Patti Smith and Damien Rice are among those featuring at [link]www.covermesongs.com/2011/12/the-best-cover-songs-of-2011.html[/link] – a handy, dandy round-up of the 50 best covers of the year.

Next to [link]www.rollingstone.com/music/news/free-download-kievs-dynamic-3rnd-20111215[/link] where you can cop an earful of Kiev, a Californian quintet who we’re expecting to do great things in 2012.

Judging by the version of ‘Look How The Stars Turn On’ below, the lovely Stewart Agnew and his equally lovely band had a right old knees-up last Saturday when they played a homecoming show in the Dundalk Spirit Store.

We’re also predicting lots of hot chart action for Kentucky’s Sleeper Agent who have a load of videos for your perusal at [link]sleeperagentmusic.com[/link]
Start with the awesome ‘Get It Daddy’.

America’s National Public Radio gift us the eleven-track Favourite New Artists Of 2012 album at [link]www.npr.org/2011/12/16/143860462/download-npr-musics-favorite-new-artists-of-2011?ps=mh_frhdl1[/link] It’s a tough call, but Alabama Shakes’ Motown-tastic ‘I Found You’ is the pick of an extremely good bunch.

The Xmas presents keep on coming with [link]soundcloud.com/azealia-banks/liquorice[/link] home to a new Azealia Banks track, ‘Liquorice’, which makes us even more excited about her upcoming album and [link]itunes.apple.com/gb/album/off-to-the-races-single/id488697409[/link] directing iTunes customers to Lana Del Rey’s also brand new ‘Off To The Races’.

Finally, we are loving the new Tindersticks single, ‘Medicine’, which finds Stuart A. Staples & Co. in super-chilled mode. Its parent album, The Something Rain, follows in February and is AWESOME!

And that is yer’ Free Music Friday lot for 2011. Thanks for dropping by and have an obscenely Merry Xmas & Happy New Year.