To say that there’s buzz around Lebanon-born, London-based popster, Mika (born Mica Penniman) would be an understatement. Given the avalanche of praise, accolades and testimonials, one would think the release of his full-length debut, Life in Cartoon Motion, will change the course of music history forever, creating an aural aftershock heard all over the world. And, in some respects you’d be right: Mika’s album will most likely continue to be one of the most talked about albums of the year. And rightfully so. Whether it's history in the making - that remains to be seen.

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Yeah, we know it's possibly the gayest thing ever, but we love Mariah Carey's Christmas album. It's even better than Streisand's - a pretty serious statement, that.

Anyway, we just wanted to let you guys know what we want for Christmas, Hanukkah and even Kwanzaa: you!

xoxo,
Queerty

It's been a while since we last enjoyed the musical stylings of British electropoppers Sneaker Pimps. Thus, we've been rocking out for - well, about the last ten minutes. It'll be closer to fifteen after we watch this video of their single, "Post Modern Sleaze" from the classic Becoming X.

It's too bad they asked lead singer Kelli Dayton to leave after the album's release, because things went down hill from there...

While we're on the subject of music, we'd like to direct your attention to Pitchfork - the online music magazine. They're reporting that Arcade Fire's Owen Pallett's side project, Final Fantasy, will be recording a new album. Pallett - whose string skills and cum-stained conversations won our hearts long ago - tells Pitchfork:

Right now I'm at work on some 7"s and some EPs... Down the line, I'll follow up He Poos Clouds with an LP with the inoffensive/boring title of Heartland... It's another concept album, but this one has an overarching narrative. A plot arc, if you will. Like a Batman comic or... or... a 19th century Romantic song cycle like [Robert Schumann's] Dichterliebe...

Recording wise, it's going to sound exactly like He Poos Clouds but with better microphones, better writing and we're using compressors to make it sound taut and clicky. No more weak, fey shit! Except the singing. That will always be tacky.

The kids over at Refinery 29 love to give. Not only do they pump out hit after hit of independent fashion and style, they're celebrating the holiday's by pumping out literal hits. They've selected twenty of this year's most inspired and inspiring singles and posted the MP3s for you to download.

Among the illustrious collection, you can find The Whitest Boy Alive's "Fireworks", Final Fantasy's "He Poos Clouds", Camera Obscura's "False Contender" and seventeen other aural wonders. And, yes, Grizzly Bear's listed in the top 20.

So head on over and get some free tunes. You'll be the coolest kid on the block - or, at least you'll have some good music, which is certainly a step in the right direction.

Only a total monster wouldn't appreciate a little Monday morning Depeche Mode. Here's a video for one of our favorite DM tunes, "See you". It reminds us of our childhood crush on singer Dave Gahan...which, we've just realized, never went away.

Swoon...

Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel may be one of our favorite couples in history. If not that, they're certainly one of our favorite married musical duo.

Getting together in Lawrence Kansas, the couple soon became inseparable. From 1997 until the turn of the century, the played in a foursome called Vosotros. Though she loved playing, Gardner decided to try her hand at medical school. Thankfully it didn't work out and the lovebirds decided to tour together, deeming themselves Mates of State.

Since then, they've gone on to record four album, the most recent of which, Bring It Back, came out this year. Though keeping with their tradition of dual harmony, poppy tempos and resilient drums, the album has a more celebratory air than some of their previous efforts, no doubt influenced by the birth of their daughter, Magnolia.

Here's the video for their song, "Fraud in the '80s" from the aforementioned album. If you like what you hear/see, head on over to their website.

Christ, is it still Monday? We've been hunched over our desks for hours now and we trust you have been, too. So, let's all stand up, hit play and dance around to French pop-rock outfit Phoenix's "Consolation Prizes" from their most recent album, It's Never Been Like That.

Or you can just sit there while your muscles atrophy. Your choice, really. Us? We're all about dancing. Now, if only we had a partner. (Sniff, sniff...)

We've been in love with Japanese singer Miho Hatori since her days with Cibo Matto. While CM's not making any music these days, Hatori's been hard at work on her solo endeavor, Ecdysis.

While we haven't heard the entire album, we j'adore her single "Barracuda". Check out the video and then head on over to her website for more of her innovative sound.

In an effort to help your day along, we planned on posting a little video action from one of our favorite ladies, Mary J. Blige. At first we were going to post "Enough Cryin'", but the sound just didn't live up to its potential. So, we scrapped it.

Then we thought we'd post "No One Will Do", which we planned on dedicating to you kids. Because, really, no one else will do but you (yes, you).

Anyway, it seems Ms. Blige hasn't gotten around to making a visual-friendly version. While we typically eschew film of lip-synching fans, something told us to watch this video of a YouTuber named " Madanna" doing his best Mary J. impression. Boy oh boy are we glad we did! We've watched it three times and we fall more and more in love with this kid with each view.

So, we dedicate this Mary J. Blige fan's lip-synching video to you, our beloved and irreplaceable readers. Also, we don't want to assume, but something tells us Madanna may be a reader...

Don't be fooled by the grainy video: Patrick Wolf's one of Britain's newest musical wunderkinds.

Raised in South London, Wolf's musical musings started early with violin and chorus lessons. Harnessing the innovation of youth, Wolf began to synergize this classical training with his burgeoning love of electronic music. While he may have found solace, Wolf's home life left much to be desired: incessant bullying forced him to switch schools and he fell out with his parents.

Moving out at the age of sixteen, Wolf made a living with a string quartet, Maison Crimineaux. It was during a performance in Paris that Wolf first hooked up with electronic music legend, Capitol K, who helped Wolf produce his first album, Lycanthropy.

A critical success, the album introduced Wolf to a wider audience, including Chicks on Speed and The Hidden Cameras, with both of whom he's performed. Last year saw the release of Wolf's second album, Wind in The Wires. Lesser people may abuse their success, living it up at bars and clubs. Not Wolf. He's busy recording his third album, The Magic Position, which will feature a collaboration with Marianne Faithfull. Keep your ears peeled around February 2007, when it's meant to drop.

In the meantime, enjoy this video from Wolf's debut album, "To The Lighthouse".

Also, can we just say that Wolf brings back fond memories of the late, great Frank Tovey?

Elton John's one of the more prominent faces in Ron Galella's The Disco Years. Looking over those pictures made us realize how much we love Elton John's music. Sure, we make a little fun now and again, but he's our fairy gay mother and there ain't no escaping it.

In tribute of Sir Elton, we're posting this video for his song, "Club at the End of The Street". Some of you may be wondering why it's illustrated. Well, according to its YouTube tag, John was too busy working on sitting with the dying Ryan White (and, of course, mourning his death) to sit down for a shoot. The suits at the studio, however, demanded some visual accompaniment; this is what they got. We can't imagine a better video, actually.