Sick of Slade, appalled at the thought of an X-Factor Christmas Number 1, and out of ideas for New Year's Eve? The Guide's Music Editor Tim Hughes offers some festive advice on how to get rocking around the Christmas tree - with just a hint of tacky fun!

Christmas

So, the cards are sent, the presents are wrapped, and the bird is well and truly stuffed.

You've earned yourself a break, so go and let your hair down.

Who are we kidding! If you're anything like us, you'll have left everything to the last minute and are now feeling the first pangs of panic.

Fear not. You've got a whole weekend to go before you need to start worrying. And even then, there's very little that you can't pick up at your local petrol station.

So wrap up warm, pull on your dancing shoes, and hit the town for the biggest weekend of the festive party season.

But where to go? Generations of Oxford music-lovers have been asking themselves that very same question. And for as long as anyone can remember, the answer has always been the same: Cowley Road!

However, on Friday Supergrass round off their Christmas Party, with the second of their shows at Oxford Town Hall. The night will see Gaz and the boys serving up all their hits among the baroque splendour of the city's most unusual venue.

For those who missed out on tickets, or who just want to stay up late, the Carling Academy celebrates its first Christmas with Shake! A night of funk, soul reggae, rock'n'roll, disco and get-down ghetto-jazz in the Bar Academy (that busy bit at the front) from the man behind Skylarkin' Soundsystem - Aidan Larkin.

The dapper bloke in the sharp suit and snappy hat will be endeavouring to turn our festive season a deeper shade of dub with a seasonal selection (10.30pm-2am). On Saturday, the festivities go into overdrive at the venue, with action courtesy of Transformation (indie and electro), Trashy (retro-kitsch trash pop) and Room 101 (rock and metal), 11.30pm-3am.

If you're still standing on Christmas Eve, come back to sup a pint of the venue's eponymous lager while skanking along to Oxford's very best reggae band - Makating.

Legend has it that Makating have been providing the soundtrack for Oxford Christmas Eves since Oxfordshire's original party people put up the Rollright Stones. True or not, it's certainly been a while. And there is still no better way of celebrating the winter solstice than with gorgeous Caribbean rhythms and party tunes.

Appearing alongside Makating are African Roots Soundsystem. Further strutting can be done to the sounds of Trashy, who will be lowering the tone with a box full of festive guilty pleasures in the Bar Academy. Spice Girls and Wham anyone? (9pm-2am).

For something a bit more twisted, head down to Cornmarket Street, duck into Frewin Court, and take the first steps down on your right, for there lies The Cellar, which on Friday holds its Christmas Fancy Dress Party.

Beware, however, this is no normal fancy dress. Oh no! This being The Cellar, it's a little madder than that, which is why punters are invited to roll up in their best festive finery - or granddad cardigans! There are prizes for the best seasonal get-up or item of knitwear.

Music wise, you can expect traditional fayre with all the trimmings, including party food, vodka jelly and a sackful of dirty electro, care of DJs Jakeone, Rob Dunstone, Ed Steele and Scott Parker (9pm-3am). Saturday sees the chaps from HQ winding up Advent with the Oxford Drum 'n' Bass Sessions. Tunes come courtesy of Sabre and MC Lowqui. (8pm-3am).

One of our favourite bands, Borderville, entertain a clued-up crowd with their take on glam-rock at The Wheatsheaf on Saturday (doors 8pm), while more wacky sounds are on offer at The Port Mahon, which hosts the Poor Girl Noise all-dayer - a feast of experimental music, completely free.

For something a bit more tuneful, head to the Jericho Tavern, which just happens to be laying on some of the best gigs this holiday season, starting on Friday with a night of live music from indie Essex boys The Brights - with support from Boog, The Gog and Shortwave Fade.

The hot ticket at the venue, however, is Saturday's Coo-Coo Club Christmas bash, featuring Binsey Americana aficionados The Epstein, Danny George Wilson, Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou.

Expect to hear old favourites from The Epstein's debut album Last of the Charanguistas (get yourself one as an early Christmas present), and material from next year's follow-up.

Danny George Wilson is also becoming an Oxford regular and the gig follows a clutch of Truck-related appearances. A truly awesome performer, just wait for those hairs on the back of your neck to start pricking up! (doors 8pm) Feeling too full of festive cheer to stray beyond the city centre? You could do worse than check out the relaunched Park End Club, or 'Lava Ignite', as that boisterous pleasure dome is now known.

Christmas Eve sees punters treated to three rooms of full-on action, with all the commercial pop, r'n'b and 'sharking' you can handle.

Should it all get too much, which it surely will, there's a chill-out bar (9.30pm-2am).

The difficult 'in between' bit

Known to hardened clubbers as the 'dead zone', the cultural wasteland between Christmas and New Year can be a nerve-jangling ordeal.

True, many of us need a few days off recovering from the excesses of the festive season before diving headlong into the hedonist carnival of New Year. But, still, it's nice to have the choice.

On Thursday you can escape your cold turkey blues at The Cellar, with something of a rarity at this time of year - live music. The venue's Big Hair crew host a Post Xmas 'Great Escape' night with sets by The Walk off, Party Shank, and Clanky Robo (doors 8.30pm).

Next Friday, meanwhile, the basement club goes all deranged with a Bassmentality Christmas Special. This involves the very best hip hop, drum'n'bass, house, breaks, funk and reggae from Horizontal Life (live hip hop), Num8er N1ne (live drum 'n' bass), Charlie Macs, Random Character, Drunken Uncle Bungle and Dan Fraser. (9pm-3am).

Back at the Carling Academy, meanwhile, the usual Friday night fun continues, with Shake! (10.30pm-2am), followed on Saturday with Transformation, Trashy and Room 101 (11.30pm-3am).

On Friday, the Jericho Tavern plays host to the remarkably relaxed, but undeniably talented, three-piece Eternal Sunshines, with support from Seven Foot Trannys and the Carter Manoeuvre.

In town, Lava Ignite keeps it, er, 'real', on Thursday, with r'n'b, hip hop, and other urban flavas. It does the whole thing over again on Friday and Saturday with the addition of pop, party anthems and indie.

New Year

For many denizens of our fine city, the first and last words for New Year shenanigans are "George" and "Street".

And while a reasonable night can be had on the thriving thoroughfare, the sheer effort of repeatedly side-stepping broken glass, prone bodies, nutters and vomit, can make it a trial.

There are more imaginative ways of seeing in 2008. The obvious one being a good, old-fashioned boozer.

Oxford's finer hostelries are still the city's best selling point. And if you can find a seat, you are guaranteed a great night of quality beer and interesting company - particularly in the city centre, Jericho and East Oxford.

For the full-on party, however, make your way to one of the city's more reputable party venues - starting, predictably, with the Carling Academy, which offers a quite extraordinary night of talent - with its feet anchored solidly in 2008.

No fewer than eight quality Oxford bands have been enlisted to play the venue's Your Song night.

The concept sees bands playing other people's tunes, and acts gracing the stage for this, the 36th instalment, include Smilex, Ninestone Cowboy, The Evenings, Eduard Sounding Block, Witches, The Dresdens and Ivy's Itch.

And if the promise of hearing some of the city's best, and dynamic live bands hasn't swayed you already, how about the chance to dance your way into the New Year to the sounds of indie, cult pop and metal courtesy of Transformation, Trashy and Room 101?

Upstairs, meanwhile, prepare to get 'out of your shed'. Yes, hedonism becomes 'Shedonism' with Aidan 'Count' Skylarkin and sidekick Peepshow Paddy returning to their horticultural roots to usher in 2008 from the confines of a little wooden hut.

Not content with bringing their garden shed-bound brand of madness to the wide open spaces of Reading, Big Chill and Truck, Oxford's kings of cool will be setting up their decks among the grow bags and garden gnomes for more eclectic groove alongside something/someone called the Funky Gibbon. Interesting! (8.30pm-4am).

For a more authentic 'north of the border' Hogmanay, head to the Jericho Tavern, where one of the bands of the year, Stornoway, lead the action with Hebridean-tinged folky pop. If you find yourself dancing along to a trumpeting horse, fear not, your 'dram' has not been spiked - the nag is called Lewis, and he's an integral part of the act.

There will also be tunes from DJ Dave on the decks, nibbles and a free glass of bubbly (8pm-2am).

Back in town, meanwhile, The Cellar marks the end of the year with an Abort, Retry, Fail NYE Party, with electro, indie and beats from Tj Hertz, 10bb, ARF, and Race Riot (9pm-4am).

More subterranean antics can be had next door at The Purple Turtle, or up the road at Po Na Na.

Those who prefer things a bit more, er, vigorous, can take their chances among an expected 1,200 punters grinding to pop, urban and commercial dance on the dance floors of Lava Ignite (9.30pm-3am).

Wherever you go, make it a good one, with people you like. And do try and get home safely.

And with a packed season of live music kicking off 2008, make sure you get you get a bit of shut-eye afterwards. The de-tox, however, can wait!

The live music highlight of the end of 2007 is likely to be the Your Song night at the Carling Academy.

Among those taking their chances in this knock-about duel of cover versions are Oxford band Ivy's Itch.

This stunning punk-forged avant-garde rock outfit are one of those rare things - a band who look as good as they sound.

Characterised by a muscular psychosis-inducing heavy rock underlined by fragile beauty, unspoken menace and darkness, they describe their influences as: "All things macabre, fairytales, loud noises, distorted guitar, pounding drums, emotion, nature, theatre, books, diseases and opening our eyes of a morning."

Curious scene-watchers should get their hands on their third - and best - EP Roses (Devolution Records) - the sound of an innovative and boundary-shattering band at the top of their game.