Take a peek into the demented minds of Fred and Adam, two members of Taking Back Sunday, as they call out the senselessness of bird-gifting. This video is brilliantly animated and features giant blue elves, an ugly holiday sweater, and Donnie Bonaduce.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is one of those songs that became a classic not because it has any music merit, but because it's obnoxiously long and easy to spoof. Taking Back Sunday’s unique rendition of the holiday carol is perfect example of how outrageous holiday songs can become.

In all my years of hearing "The 12 Days...", I never realized that the original Christmas carol was so dead set on giving poultry as gifts. Partridges, turtledoves, French hens -- who would ever give a bird to someone, really? A bird is by far the most obnoxious pet imaginable; it's painful to see the feathered little guy perched in the living room as a centerpiece, alone, in a cage.

Moral of this holiday story? No one want wants geese-a-laying for Christamas. Except maybe Danny Bonaduce.

In the spirit of the holiday season, this new Shins video reminds the populace of how easy life is now in comparison to yesteryear. Remarkably similar to the Jib Jab Year in Review, the Shins use the context of a school play to explore a vivid and public history. With children acting out graphic historic events, there are moments that you forget that A) these events actually happened and B) these are children playing with swords and dying in horrific ways.

The video is visually stunning, but I found myself unable to fully appreciate the weight of these images when combined with the harmlessly melodic track. Why? The song in itself isn’t bad, though with more subtle bands like the Shins, you love the song either the first time you hear it or the tenth. I think the problem with "Phantom Limb" is that the video is almost too good. The sharp, well-composed narrative is almost lessened by the lyrics that accompany it. It needs a song that can keep up to the relevance and tone of its murderous plot.

I don't mean to get all hyperbolic on you, but Sufjan Stevens is the closest thing this generation has to a Brian Wilson. His ambition knows no bounds, his compositions are both esoteric and universal, his instrumentation is chaotic yet graceful, his attitude both incredibly optimistic and hopelessly heartbroken, and his influences are almost strictly Americana. Hopefully his relatively recent yet prolific career will continue to produce more masterpieces; he has yet to misstep. If you haven't seen him live, keep an eye out for him. His highly theatrical performances have been known to turn non-fans into true believers.

For now though, help him celebrate the holidays by watching this adorable animation by Tom Eaton for the song "Put the Lights on the Christmas Tree," made to accompany his 5 disc box-set, "Songs for Christmas." In a holiday known for its commercial excess it's nice to see that someone still knows what it's all about...spending time with Grandma.

Saying that hip-hop has died when your new video for your new single off your new album is one of YouTube's top favorites - a bit of a stretch. This heavily bleeped video (available uncensored here) is slick and rhythmic, never quite capturing a post-apocalyptic vibe but still making its point.

One could argue that the reason hip-hop is less than vital has something to do with its reliance on sampling classic rock riffs (in this instance, Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"), but Nas chooses to blame the commercialization of the genre. With lyrics like "Get cash, live fast, body their man's mama/Rich ass n***** is ridin' with three llamas", it's a bit disappointing that they didn't choose to take a literal approach to this video. Nas's ability to triumph over his lack of llamas is an inspiring victory, indeed.