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Some Yuletide messages of joy from the stars.

'I would make a distinction between legalising and decriminalising (cannabis). I’m in favour of the latter. The problem is that jails are stuffed full of kids doing what a lot of people do. Why stuff the jails with young kids? Plus it’s one of the best places to score.’

Paul Bong’ l/lcClirtney's handy dope scoring hints Part one

Adam Yauch: ’One of the main principles of Buddhism is not to get too attached to ideas. I don't base my happiness on how important we are.’

Mike Diamond: ’But, I think it's a natural human reaction to hope that you don’t suck.’

Two thirds of The Beastie Boys get philosophii o/ on yo’ ass

’There was a young man from Bombay/On a slow boat to China one day/He was trapped at the tiller by a sex-crazed gorilla/And China’s a bloody long way.’

Spike Mil/iiyan on the subject of

’Tis the season to be shoddy’

It's Christmas, and to celebrate the birth of Christ and help share in the joyful spirit of community which pervades the air at this time of year, the record companies have swamped the shops with dire compilations. Words: Alastair Mabbott

THE BEST

SCO‘l‘l'lSl-l nLaum

in THE WORLDWEVEKl'

We could see their star falling last. but who wOuld have guessed that. by Christmas. The Spice Girls would already be eclipsed by anarcho- punks Chumbawamba‘.’ It‘s true. their drinking anthem ‘Tubthumping‘ has crossed all social boundaries and no end-ol-year compilation is complete without it.

‘Tubthumping’ turns tip on the nightmarishly chantalong track listing of Men Behaving Badly

a

(Reproduction). Like Loaded readers. individually t. gOll/lfijgl WWI/0; j/III/g‘tJfC’SG'W/ig these songs can be as nice as pie ‘The Boys Are 5"“ C [fl/’1" “V,” ; [750 55! mg 6 ' ' -' Oll VVrI f \chl ( c.) l_ (ill/V Back In Town . Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick . 7 g I g _ . h I ‘Crazy Horses' but when they turn up mob-handed Acome alnhd V'S't lme it trtflTarargu a it’s time to lock away anything breakable and brace . a? ' thrms "h :V:: h‘zv‘i); I'Oc:t:je,ust . . . . . . . . . . ..-~ . r , , yoursell tor a night 01 lart ignition. Quintessential _, _ - h . \ v e e e e l .. . . . ~ T t '*' ._.t east of a rock and west of a hard track. Hurry Up Hariv by Sham 6). . v m . i . i . , . . . .. r . 4 . ,H i . . place, he he he he, in God 5 waiting 'I he lirst thing to say about The Best Party A/hum . - i i room he he he he, In The World . . liver (Virgin/EMI) is that. i "" ,.~,;57A"”“'““;:. .., 1 PM ,g'pooky.5/)0C[()}m(.)kcmnOffer obyiously. it isn‘t. The second thing is that it‘s a sort , ' t “2 ,\ Ian; [my]; row/yam“, easy (0 mil/50 . I - I W . ,1 I. .1” I" ~. . : fl); ,, I} g,“ c . o ,. ol watcrcd down wedding and bai mitzyah \LrSlOn‘Ol / ’y ,How (an we take n senously when Men Behaving Badly. Backstreet Boys and 9]] tor it" 3:73, : girlsjust stand there saying the. um. youngsters; Hot Chocolate. Village People . W" 2 M.» ,' ,. "gngungungunggnugn" to your

and ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining‘ for those old enough to know better and Starsound for those too far gone to care. Outside the function suite. there are few who

; face?’ 3 Zac Henson, aged twelve, on the [)lifd/IS of teen group/es,

would choose to listen to the whole thing. and the best tracks are available on better compilations anyway. "l‘ubthumping‘ included.

Willi so many crossoyei‘s between the two. there‘s little to choose between Now That's What I Call Music 38 (Virgin/EMl/Polygram) and Smash Hits 98 (Circa). except that Now 38 includes singles by The Verve. Oasis. Ocean Colour Scene and Radiohead which would render the poptastic Hits too sluggish by half. 'Tubthumping‘. needless to say. crops tip on both.

And in a year that has apparently rehabilitated the word ‘Sexy' (you can‘t move for ‘You Sexy Thing‘ and ‘Do Ya Think I'm Sexy‘ in the Christmas compilations) Hanson are to be applauded for reviving the custom of the pop star’s Christmas album. That‘s not to say that SilOlt'c’d In (Mercury) is in the same league as efforts by the Phil Spector and Motown stable. But it’s fresh. polished and. in its own way. quite an honest and wholesome way ol~ scalping the punters at the most expensive time of year.

time of year.

iianson are to he €§§§B§§i£iii§it3ti for reviving the custom a? “this. we

star's Christmas album. .Eiirim’teci in is fresh, polisht own way, quite an hes'ie t and Wholesome way at seal; _ punters at the mos‘: expensive

3"? ‘72? *3 5-? it’ll.“ sis (3:33, :3} :1..;>

The Best Scottish Album In The World. . . Iz'i‘er

(Circa) may have been intended as a tribute to the Scots people alter their historic i‘el‘ereiiduiii vote. but

it‘s emerged as a Hydra-headed llogmanay monster

breathing whisky in complete strangers’ laces. The scope is broad Harry Lauder. the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Pilot. The lltimblebiims. The Waterboys. Runrig. Danny Wilson but so incomplete and unrepresentatiye it seems hardly to have been worth the time. Couldn't they work otit a Scottish link l'oi‘ (‘humbawgimba or what‘.’ Volume three of A V'ry Special ('hristmas. released in aid of the Special Olympics. suffers a tad from the impression that many ol‘ these tracks were dashed off double-quick. But at least its predecessors had a l'ew rare pleasures scattered among them. like Chrissie l-lynde scorching her way through ‘llaye Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’. This year’s wild card is Patti Smith‘s yery individual rendition of ‘We Three Kings'. which you really should hear. ll. that is. you can dig this out from all the unsold copies of The Ultimate Gary Glitter (Snapper). Bad timing. Gaz.

‘3 :3

mg; the

’Everything important in my life, I've discovered in a pub. The best

mates, the best jokes, the best

girls, the best information. You

never have a better adventure than

you do in a pub.’

Chris Evans lino/Iv revm/s the secret of

the universe

’Our arses are jewels.’ Sho/ of the All Saints comes up with a quote which we can use as an excuse

to print their picture (arses not shown).

21 Nov-4 Dec 1997 THE U8T45