1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!"
A song about Lazarus by a guy whose career came back from the dead this year. [Visions and Revisions]

2. Los Campesinos, "Death to Los Campesinos!"
The studio version of this track featured in the band's new video is one of the best songs we've heard all day. Here's an early version of it that's almost as much fun. [The Line of Best Fit]

3. Lil' Mama, "Lip Gloss (Ghislaine Poirier remix)"
The best shout-along rap track of the year is remade, minimalistically, with steel drums as a pretty good replacement for the hand claps. [Republic, Um]

4. Sufjan Stevens, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
Stevens gives us yet another Christmas song, this one an off-kilter sing-along recorded over Thanksgiving, just in case the five-disc Christmas box set he released last year wasn't enough. [Sounds Familyre]

5. Glasvegas, "Daddy's Gone"
These melodic Scots deliver a strummy, pop gem with doo-wop falsettos. Thankfully, what happens in Glasvegas doesn't stay there. [The Pop Cop]
—Ehren Gresehover