Kelly Clarkson sort of gets into the holiday spirit. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) A weekly playlist for the listener with a one-track mind...

Special Holiday Songs Edition!

My Morning Jacket featuring the Head and the Heart: “When the Bells Start Ringing”

Besides releasing the curiously forgotten “Circuital” and working on various Muppet-related projects, MMJ found time to release a Christmas-centric iTunes album this year, from which this great and mournful new track hails.

Kelly Clarkson: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”

Every few years, a pop diva will bust out a spirited seasonal ode intended to rival Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” for holiday-themed awesomeness. This is not one of those songs. Actually, it’s kind of depressing, though it’s the most relaxed Clarkson has sounded all year.

The Flaming Lips featuring the Plastic Ono Band: “Atlas Eets Christmas”

Originally recorded in ’07 and recently redone with Yoko Ono and company, this continues the Lips’ tradition of releasing holiday tracks and of being weird.

James Whetzel: “God Rest Ye Funky Bhangra (2011 Mix)”

The DJ/tablist/spoken word artist pumps up the bass on this newly holiday-party-friendly jam.

Tim McGraw: “Christmas All Over the World”

This gleeful almost-pop song, no relation to the similarly named New Edition hit,is McGraw’s first release since being freed from his longtime recording contract.

The Killers: “The Cowboys’ Christmas Ball”

No band on the planet does holiday songs with more exuberance than the Killers, who whip who whipup an original track for charity every year. Bonus points for this year’s video, which answers the question “What if ‘Paint Your Wagon’ had featured adorable robots?”