[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My5Bzf0PQhc]
I know what you’re thinking. After a list filled with saccharine takes on Christmas classics, we need a collaboration that really rocks. And who to deliver but Swedish garage rockers The Hives and … Cyndi Lauper? Surprisingly enough, Lauper is no stranger to holiday songs, having recorded an album of Christmas originals in 1998 along with several other one-off tracks over the years. And she growls her way convincingly through “A Christmas Duel,” her raucous duet with The Hives’ singer Pelle Almqvist. The song starts off slow, but builds to a boisterous crescendo as Almqvist and Lauper exchange nasty lyrics about unmentionable holiday fun.