I have one ironclad rule about music this time of year: I refuse to listen to Vincent Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" until at least Thanksgiving day, which is my attempt to avoid burnout. But the loophole is that I can listen to someone else's cover versions, such as the immensely weird and wonderful banjo rendition of "Linus and Lucy" on Bela Fleck & the Flecktones' new Christmas album. You can take a listen on Fleck's MySpace; and since the Reivers aren't around to cover "Linus and Lucy" nowadays, I'm happy to have this.

(Props to Peter B.)

ADDENDUM (1/14/09): "Listening to Schroeder."