I guess when Lynyrd Skynyrd can release a Christmas album, you can get away with anything... listening to "Run, Run Rudolph" ranks as one of my more excrutiating Yuletide moments. "Freebird" it isn't. It's almost as bad as the worst Christmas song ever, "Jingle Bell Rock."

And that's not even the most bizarre release of the week. Mahir-he of the ridiculous "I Kiss You" website trend-has released a single entitled, inevitably, "I Kiss You." Generic quasi-dance music. Still, if you must watch the whole video, you can fire up your RealVideo players to www.music365.co.uk/audio/mahir-vid300.ram.

SANTA BABY

Music cred advertisers of the season: the Gap, who give Badly Drawn Boy badly needed publicity by using the BDB song "The Shining" on a commercial. Brilliant. Other ads feature slo-core faves Low, as well the Red House Painters and the Dandy Warhols. Like I said, cred.

I WANNA BE YOUR WILLIAM FAULKNER

One concert worth mentioning: impossibly catchy campus rock band Invisible Downtown (whose lead singer Jen is pictured to the right) are performing next Wednesday (Dec. 13) at T.T. The Bear's, which is a great venue. If you need directions, the band's organizing an "escort"-meet at Out of Town News at 10p.m. Those wanting to hear their songs first, check out

www.invisibledowntown.com. When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can always go...