We’re skipping the technical jargon for this article and just letting you know about two wonderful Christmas projects from The xx and Nikki Jean. While Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra, TLC, and Run-DMC classics blast from the inside of your favorite United States mall store, these two widely respected artists have recently released these songs for the 2012 holiday season. And they sure do earn their spot next to Wham’s “Last Christmas”.

Speaking Wham!, we tweeted earlier this year that “Last Christmas” is probably the best holiday song ever, and a couple of weeks later The xx turned it into a euphoric counterpart on their cover version. It’s a live version, promptly presented on the prestigious BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge and contains the same somber and reverberated atmosphere and guitar plucks that’s made The xx an indie-household name.

“La Di Da Di Da”, said Nikki Jean (that’s a reference!) and she’s surely making the sun shine with her unique takes on classic Hip-Hop instrumentals like “The Art Of Storytellin’ (Part 1)” by OutKast and “One Beer” by MF Doom. What transpires out of them are hip-hop inspired takes put together with Mic the Drum as a Christmas EP in support of a Kickstarter program to raise money for a Cookie Social in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For those who didn’t follow Nikki before the release of her debut Pennies in a Jar (2020k review & interview), Nikki would (and sometimes still does) bake cookies and bring them to her shows, mail them to her fans, and would make YouTube videos of her making them in her home. The Cookie Social has been done before and now, thanks to your contributions, she’s doing it again! Anyone in Philly? Go get some Nikki Jean cookies and travel on over to Pittsburgh, PA so you can bring us some goodness and light!

What’s better than streaming these songs? What if they were free?! Well, they are! Download them through their respective Soundcloud links.

Merry Christmas, readers!