This week we pay respects to Jimmy Castor, revisit the jazz fusion debate via some Miles Davis, drop some properly dirty dub courtesy of Bully alumni Carlo, drop large bass with Orange Hill & Hint and argue over whether Savoy Brown is “loose 70s rock” or just funk. Go get some.

I was going to write a florid description for this show, but our listener @MarianneStephen said everything that needs to be said with this tweet:

“Just turned up & it’s all about zombie porn. That track sounded pretty groovy to me tho. Now some mum jazz (!) – nice one!”

Indeed.

So here it is people: our 2011 Christmas Special. Sporting a Trick in a festive mood and a Tom feeling positively curmudgeonly, we roll out another selection of Christmas-themed treats traversing the lesser-trodden paths that take in anything from the Rhythm & Blues classics of The Debonaires and post-punk of Steel Leg through to the outright creepiness of Pac-Man and straight-up funk of Binky Griptite. Take a listen by the fire with a cup of eggnog.

Its a stellar selection this week (if we say so ourselves) as we drop old-style beats of the J Saul Kane variety in the shape of Red Ninja, get rootsy with The Band covering Marvin Gaye, check Beck channelling Prince’s slowjams, deliver sun-splashed dancehall with Spice & Pinchers and… just a whole load more. Go get some – this one’s a keeper.

This week we kickstart with some ’99 DnB courtesy of Ram Trilogy, then tour acoustic sounds courtesy of Violent Femmes, Infesticons and Hopi-influenced jazz, taking in some dark technoid breakbeats courtesy of Porter Ricks VS Techno Animal, 60′s Cali-Valley vibes from Jack Nitzsche and the straight-up beauty of Sufjan Stevens. Go get some.