Christmas Jollies, Gummibär (self-issued)

Pronounce the artist's name out loud. Get it? Music to chew on. Not surprisingly, this is a viral marketing stunt for the actual product mentioned above. For 2010, this artist has a five-song EP consisting of electro-pop versions of popular carols, with a vocal distorted in such a way as to suggest a cuddly critter is singing. Looks like it's aimed at kids, but it's silly enough to pass as a novelty. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is rendered as a synth-polka, "Jingle Bells" gets a dance beat behind the machines, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" is sprightly but not so danceable, "O Christmas Tree" ramps up the rhythm and they end by covering "Last Christmas," again with the dance-floor rhythms. I highly recommend the latter song for folks who remember the 80s -- or for those who want to flip out people who remember the 80s. Apparently these guys had a Christmas song out in 2007, "You Know It's Christmas," and the song was revisited as a duet with Felix the Cat in 2008. (You know, it seems like this stuff ought to be free since it's basically an advertising campaign.)