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So here it is, the inevitable Happy Christmas to our listeners Christmas Blog!!!!

Happy Christmas to our listeners!!!!

If you listened to our radio programmes , if you checked out our TV show, looked at the website, read this blog or even just managed to not give any of us a dig in the chops....thank you.

One last thing to do, if you're still not as festive as you think you should be, is check out the world famous Carol Service either tonight at 9pm (after our rundown of the top local acts of the year) or by listening again before next Monday (skip to the last hour).

If you don't listen to it then immediately go out and hug a stranger, murmering Christmas greetings into their ear and promising them more gifts than they can fit in their boot, then you are clearing DOING IT WRONG.

As our gift to you, here is .

Enjoy, and big love, as always, from all at ATL - Warren, Rigsy and the two Pauls!

xoxo

I remember being asked once who had influenced me most, outside family members and friends. It was expected I'd go on about some musician, but I couldn't think of a single one who had properly changed me or influenced me to the point I'd be any different than I am today. , for originally turning me on to dance music, encouraging me to listen to music that hadn't been made by guitars and eventually make me want to become a DJ? Nah, if it hadn't been them, would have done it a year later. Or someone after that.

Then I realized that I'd spent more of my life in the company of one man's work than anyone else and he wasn't even a musician. This guy's output had influence me and tweaked my personality much more than music ever could. I realised I spend about an hour every week, at the very least, enjoying his material - much more than I'd ever listen to one specific band or CD.

I've never been in the guy's company and have only seen what he looks like a handful of times. I don't know much about him and I couldn't tell you for sure in what city he grew up in (it's Dublin - I just checked).

His name? .

If it wasn't for Linehan, my life up to this point would not have been just as much fun. I certainly wouldn't have laughed as much and I definitely would have spent less time chatting to my friends about a mutual love of certain TV shows, characters and punchlines. I am absolutely certain I'd be a slightly different person - not as content, and lumbered with a less developed sense of humour. I reckon I'd have spent about 5% less of my life to date smiling, which is quite a big chunk.

From this point on, this blog is going to be nothing other than a celebration of Graham Linehan's work, via some clips. It's slightly unfair on Arthur Matthews, his co-writer on many projects, but let's not get too worked up about that. There are laughs to be had.

Linehan and Matthews first struck gold on the incredible Fast Show - a ridiculous, random sketch show from the 1990s.

The funniest characters in the Fast Show were Ted and Ralph - an old man and his younger employer. They made a full length feature out of these two once and I remember I weeped a wee bit. As the Fast Show went on, their relationship got more and more poignant -incredible characters, invented by Linehan and Matthews.

I guess he'll be remember most for . What gets me about Father Ted, apart from it being (on some days) the funniest TV show ever,Ìýare the characters. So many incredible priests played by actors you'd maybe never see again. The best casting in any show, ever.

I picked that clip cause it reminded me that Graham Linehan is also the man who pretty much informed the world about , as the first person to write about them in any great detail, both for and . So yeah, he 'broke' one of my favourite bands. But that's a whole other blog.

Big Train!!!! What a show. The stupidest programme TV has ever broadcast and the finest sketch show in the history of comedy. Linehan and Matthews work once again - or at least the (superior) first season - Arthur Matthews would write the second season on his own. Linehan's voice is actually in the above clip - 'he would consider himself the office prankster....'.

Linehan also wrote a lot for Steve Coogan. In fact, Steve Coogan's output wouldn't be nearly as great, had Linehan not been so involved.

, Coogan's finest character was the (very similar) Gareth Cheeseman. He featured in the episode of called 'Dearth of a Salesman' written by....well you get it by now. The clips have a little swearing in them so I won't put them up here, but Cheeseman is a legend.

As if writing for Coogan isn't enough, Linehan has actually appeared alongside of 'I'm Alan Partridge'.

He was one of the Irish guys that Alan meets to discuss ideas for presenting on RTE. Linehan on the right, Matthews on the left. I reckon I've mentioned or discussed this scene with friends maybe 150 times in my life.

If you like Coogan, you probably like Chris Morris.

Linehan wrote for ....(again hard to find a clean clip)

And the insane, occasionally upsetting and always creepy Blue Jam, which turned into Jam for the TV.

Then, Black Books. I never gave it much of a chance, but have it to look forward to having just bought the box set.

Also, without doubt the most underrated show ever, a show so rarely discussed it's not even mentioned in , which is very odd. Matthews may have been the main guy behind this show, I guess.

It's called Hippies. I'm always going on to people about it - I don't understand why it's not considered a classic.

I've just watched the above clip and am laughing like an idiot in the ATL office - I think Cherrie McIllwaine is a bit concerned. Simon Pegg's finest hour - and that comes from a massive fan of .

He also worked on and appeared in The Day Today (not this clip, it just came into my head for some reason).

And and Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Little Britain and other shows that have made every one of you reading giggle at some, if not several thousand points in your life, have all had the Linehan touch at some point.

I could go on, but I'm actually worn out, having laughed so hard finding clips for this blog (given they had to be clean, it wasn't easy, but it certainly was fun).

Graham Linehan - my favourite human, for sure.

OK, so you're a new promoter looking to set up a gig in London to showcase Northern Irish bands. You get your venue sorted, lights PA etc. plus you have your bands booked and ready to fly to the big smoke to show their chops to a few A+R men. Easy enough? Think again.

, every London live gig will now be required to provide police with the names, addresses and aliases of any performers plus list the likely audience.

is a risk assessment, a usually innoucuous piece of bureaucracy that helps plan ahead to minimise risks. In most cases (ATL fills these in at every gig we record at for instance) this will be about loose cabling, noise levels, fire hazards and the like, but 696 seems to be going into areas about audience profiles that concern human rights groups and also the Musicians' Union. started by Rev and the Makers Jon McClure is gathering signatures presently.

It looks like this may be some attempt by the powers that be to keep a check on rogue elements in the music scene, but there is very little if any evidence of pervious wrongdoing or even potential harm offered as to why this information would be required. The UK's live music Czar ( former ) is apparently going to try to overturn this policy, which critics claim could be used to .

Ironically, given the status of the , had this type of clampdown on live music taken place back then the Undertones would never have been allowed to play the capital, along with and, for that matter, possibly even the . Forget about the altogether, but for different reasons.

The story hasn't yet caused great ripples outside London, but any continuation of such a policy outside London, especially to Northern Ireland would create a great deal of potential stress to a fledgling live music scene not to mention the potential political fallout.

Many are now asking what exactly this can possibly achieve? Will Taliban-inspired hip-hop Mullahs be put off denouncing the evil axis of Western decadance from their pulpits? Is this meant to slow down or stop protest gigs? Or is it a simple case of the police trying clumsily to be vigilant but failing to understand the ?

People Who Are Annoying On Buses

Now I'm not one for branding myself a loser, so I definitely don't subscribe to the notion () that anyone still taking the bus beyond the age of 26 can consider themselves a failure. I think it's ok to take the bus, whatever your age or status. I am not, however,Ìýan eco-warrior who insists that everyone should take public transport. In fact, I think there are a few people who certainly should not.

I don't mind travelling on the bus, but there should be a shared understanding that it both widens and shrinks your . Physically, it shrinks it. Audibly, it widens it. On the whole, people tend to accept these truths. Some do not.

Like this woman on the bus the other day. Alerts all of us bus-dwellers to her presence by arguing with the driver about the fare before she even properly gets on, marches down the bus with bedraggled boyfriend strolling sheepishly behind and, with seats at a premium, they sit on isle seats across from each other. I mention the boyfriend because he offered a beautiful counterpoint of how a reasonable person behaves on a bus throughout. After taking no part in the loud and pointless exchange with the driver, he sat down in his seat, tucking himself into the available space while taking care not to enter the orbit of the person he sat beside. She, in contrast,Ìýkept her rucksack on her back, turning sideways as she sat down to smack the person next to her on the arm, then thrust her legs out into the isle to block the route of everyone else getting on and off the bus. Naturally, with job done on the invasion of physical space front, she immediately opened a second front on all of our ears. Fascinating details of what this girl would be doing once she got off the bus were available for all to enjoy for the duration of the journey, even if you had the presence of mind to stick a pair of headphones on and crank the volume. Why are the people with the most disinteresting conversations always the ones bestowed with the most piercing voices? Of course, the boyfriend managed to participate in this conversation without us all having a rigid timetable of his movements over the next number of hours because HE ONLY SPOKE AS LOUDLY AS HE NEEDED TO IN THAT SITUATION.

You'll be pleased to know that I struck a minor blow for natural justice (or, possibly, mild ) by kicking deliberately failing to avoid her outstretched foot as I alighted the vehicle. That ought to teach her. Unite, reasonable people, UNITE!

Hello y'all, time for our weekly 'here's what we're at' blog, in which we tell you....what we are at.

Loads happening at the moment - the collective ATL team are currently basking in the glory that was our gig last night - , and were all brilliant, in very different ways. Really lovely atmosphere as well - everyone seemed so happy, especially when Fight Like Apes started performing songs in the middle of the crowd. It always helps, having a big haired lady-loon in hot pants sing a song from point blank range.

In honour of the 'Apes general greatness, Monday night's ATL will be almost entirely dedicated to them. We've an hour co-present, during which singer May Kay and keyboardist Pockets will join Rigsy to play some of their favourite tunes. Expect random anecdotes about dead dogs as well.

Then, we'll broadcast most of the gig, alongside a couple of tracks from both LaFaro and Cutaways.

As if that wasn't enough, we'll also have footage of the gig online pretty soon. There was five cameras, so we just need to find time to sit down and edit the thing together!!!!

Other things that have been happening in the ATL office...

- Build up to performing in Belfast next week (debating their best album/track)

- Rigsy trying to work out whether he's happy about or depressed about his birthday (he's turning 30!)

- Listening to Joe Lindsay sing hit singles, but in the style of Billy Bragg (so far: 'Crazy in Love', 'Firestarter' and 'Run')

- Raving the bit out to the podcast mix Fergie has done for us

- Picking what classic carols will join new tracks for the legendary ATL carol service - coming on December 22nd!!

So there you have it. Fight Like Apes mania, basically.

Before we go, what will be our semi-regular column from our clueless presenter (honestly, this is the kind of thing he comes out with regularly)

'In these credit crunchy times, why not just get an extra Visa card? They're rally easy to get your hands on and it's basically free money. Just let your next of kin pay it off, pass that debt right on. Seriously, it's fool proof.'

* Please NEVER listen to Rigsy, as we certainly don't. He is a fool. In fact, probably best doing the opposite of absolutely everything he says.

Indulge me. I'm going to take you on the mental journey that led to this post. It begins with me studying for an exam some years ago. Being a practised procrastinator, I tended to leave such things until deep into the night before a morning of horror staring at an exam paper wondering why it didn't feature the one question I had revised an answer to. Anyway, at about 1am when I was still trying to decide via a complex analysis of which single topic I would chance my arm with, a housemate crashed into my room armed with a typically bizarre question: "are you familiar with the concept of memes at all?"

Normally, I would have sent him on his merry way like a travelling salesman ("not today, thanks") but we all know that, when you're meant to be revising for an exam, almost ANYTHING else becomes preferable. Years earlier I had happily sat through episodes of '' and '' to avoid doing any work.

So, it turns out that memes are more or less ideas that pass in and out of people's brains. Anything you see, hear or experience is essentially a meme that, once you have encountered it, maps itself to your brain where it nestles in with all the other memes to create the little ball of wonder that is you. , but that's what I recall. Sadly, the exam the following morning was completely free of meme-related questions. Ah well.

To get to the point, when we start thinking about something and end up thinking about something else that appears at first glance entirely unrelated, it's basically a load of memes playing tig in your brain.

Here's how mine went...

It's raining again. It ALWAYS rains here recently. My car lets the rain in to make small swimming pools on the floor on the driver's side. My car is old, and rubbish. It still has a tape player for goodness sake. Mind you, that does let you rediscover some old classics you have on tape. Like 'Just Got Paid' by the unfortunately named , one of . Or 'Winterlong' by the . Brilliant covers both, of and respectively. Used to think doing was a bit of a cop out, but actually come to think of it, there's plenty of brilliant ones by bands I love. If I made a mix tape of them I could play it in my rubbish car to help alleviate the depression of driving around in a moving puddle while it rains.

, as was perhaps inevitable give that cassettes now have a kind of retro appeal. In fact, we even heard on the show last week that are selling cassettes of their own material at gigs. Old Skool. So that's it really. Mix tapes are back - what are you going to do about it?

Here's what I did - I made a mix tape of some of my favourite cover versions. You may wish to dispute whether these versions are indeed as brilliant as I reckon, add some choice cuts of your own, pour scorn on my tragically indie tastes, or suggest your own mix tapes on different themes but, nevertheless, here's what I made, just about squeezing it all onto a C-90...

1. Just Got Paid - Rapeman (original by ZZ Top on album 'Rio Grande Mud')
2. Winterlong - Pixies (original by Neil Young on album 'Decade')
3. Superstar - Sonic Youth (original by Delaney & Bonnie on B-side of single 'Comin Ö÷²¥´óÐã', although best known is The Carpenters' version)
4. Gin and Juice - The Gourds (original by Snoop Doggy Dogg on album 'Doggy Style')
5. It Must Be Love - Madness (original by Labi Siffre, single A-side)
6. Like A Virgin - Teenage Fanclub (original by Madonna on album 'Like A Virgin')
7. Renegades of Funk - Rage Against The Machine ( on album 'Planet Rock: The Album')
8. Stop Breathin' - Boxstop (original by Pavement on album 'Crooked Rain; Crooked Rain')
9. Polk Salad Annie - Elvis Presley (original by Tony Joe White on album 'Black and White')
10. Baby Please Don't Go - Them (a blues standard originally recorded by Big Joe Williams but probably best known by Muddy Waters' version prior to Them's cover)
11. The Times They Are A-Changin' - The Brothers and Sisters (original by Bob Dylan on album 'The Time They Are A-Changin')
12. California Uber-Alles - The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy (original by the Dead Kennedys on album 'Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables')
13. Personal Jesus - Johnny Cash (original by Depeche Mode on album 'Violater')
14. We Can Work It Out - Stevie Wonder (original by The Beatles, single double A-side with 'Day Tripper)
15. Shocker In Gloomtown - The Breeders (original by Guided By Voices, on album 'The Grand Hour')
16. (Now) I Know (Where I'm Going) Our Kid - The Shirehorses (spoof of 'Love Is The Law' by John Squire's tragic follow-up to the Stone Roses, the Seahorses)
17. Hey - "Prince" (cover of Pixies original by pretending to be Prince - genius)
18. The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals (a complicated history to this tune, but surely one of the best covers ever)
19. Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam - Nirvana (original by The Vaselines, adapted from the Christian standard 'Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam)
20. Brass Buttons - The Lemonheads (original by Gram Parsons on album 'Grievous Angel')
21. Viva Las Vegas - The Dead Kennedys (original by Elvis Presley)
22. Life On Mars? - Seu George (from 'The Life Aquatic' soundtrack, original by David Bowie on album 'Hunky Dory')
23. I Call Your Name - The Mamas & The Papas (original by The Beatles)
24. California Dreaming - Bobby Womack (original by The Mamas & The Papas, A-side single)
25. Last Caress - Metallica (orignal by The Misfits on album 'Static Age')
26. Star Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix (cover of American national anthem)

Hard to know . Maybe this is a whole other blog posting in itself. I mean, you could possibly argue, for example, that every single Elvis song is a cover seeing as he didn't write any of the music he recorded. But I reckon that would be cheating. My tape is made up of songs that are either interesting or entertaining takes on songs that I already knew well (4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26), versions that are in my opinion indisputably better than their originals (1, 5, 7, 9, 10, 18), or covers that may not be that remarkable but that alerted me to the work of the original artist (2, 3, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 25). I kinda debated whether things like Root Down by the Beastie Boys qualified as a cover of the Jimmy Smith original it sampled, Beck's 'Jack-Ass' as a cover of Them's 'It's All Over Now Baby Blue' (itself a cover of the Bob Dylan classic) which it samples, or Young MC's 'Know How' as a cover of the theme from Shaft by Isaac Hayes, or even '?Do The Digs Dug?' by The Goats, which uses magnificently in its chorus. And what about something like '99 Problems' as it appears on ? A mash-up of 'Helter Skelter' by The Beatles and '99 Problems' by Jay-Z, itself a cover of Ice T's original. I opted to keep them out of this one, but you may beg to differ.