(If you just gotta see the video right away click here)

I know, I know, this is insane. But it feels so right after starting to wade through the big stack of Christmas CDs I’ve got to listen to.

Look, a lot of great art depends on juxtaposition — where would Dylan be today if he hadn’t put earnest acoustic folk next to freewheelin’ electric blues? And there’s a fine line between juxtapositions that work and those that don’t. “Christmas in the Heart” is about walking that line: this for-charity album of Christmas standards mixes the classic kitsch of yuletide tunes (lots of cooing, elfish singers, jingling bells) and the aging artist’s drifter’s croak.

Dylan straining at the top of his register over a heavenly choir on “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and mumbling in Latin to begin “O’ Come All Ye Faithful” may cross the line into absurdity. But those are two of the worst on a batch of mostly cool cuts. OK, they won’t be considered cool by fans of Christmas music performed by Bing Crosby or Harry Connick Jr. But the impish twinkle in Dylan’s voice puts some mischief in a genre that’s been hijacked by the unholy new age of Mannheim Steamroller and the faux metal of Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

His jazzy, shuffling bluesy takes on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “The Christmas Blues,” “Silver Bells” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” are right in Dylan’s wheelhouse; they sound very much like they were recorded during downtime from Dylan’s last disc, “Together Through Life.”

But the standout is “Must Be Christmas.” With its Tex-Mex accordion swagger and the renaming of reindeer as ex-presidents (”Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton”), the song is an eggnog-sloshed hoot.

Most people don’t want to hear the man who penned “Idiot Wind” croon “Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane” - and maybe for good reason. But Dylan freaks know he doesn’t do anything without reason. Clearly, he thought he could add something to these carols. A listen to the slap-happy accordion solo in “Must Be Christmas” proves he has.

And just to make things weirder, Dylan’s done a video — the first he’s appeared in since ’97’s “Not Dark Yet” — for “Must Be Christmas.” You got see it to believe it.

Best live album ever? I’d actually go with Van the Man’s “It’s Too Late To Stop Now.” But it’s had to argue with somebody championing “The Last Waltz.” And it’s hard to argue with an intimate night at the Lizard Lounge, a few draft beers and a bunch of young bands covering the Band.

This Saturday, the Rationales, Phil Aiken Army, Teenage Prayers and Beau Roland Band are doing a big chunk of the album with guests (Ad Frank, Andy Cambria, Brendan Boogie, John Powhida, Mike Verge and more).

How very Thanksgiving of them.

Nominations for the 22nd Annual BMAs just popped up online — you can vote here. The first thing I noticed is that the BMAs took the Herald’s suggestions to heart (my nod to Pretty & Nice as best live act was rightly included).

Not a ton of surprises. The usual favorites are here — the Dropkick Murphys, Amanda Palmer. The big breakout stars and cool newcomers are all represented from Will Dailey, Drug Rug and the Low Anthem to the New Collisions, Mean Creek and the band everyone’s got their money on, Passion Pit.

The 2009 BMAs will be held on December 2nd at the Liberty Hotel and will feature a dozen plus live performances and award presentations. VIP tickets to the event can be purchased by making a $100 donation to Music Drives Us.

A few of my favorite BMA nominees:

I’ve got my theories… He’s never really rocked. He’s a cornball. The Hall of Fame is trying to be important and they don’t think Neil’s important. But he really should be in. As wack as the Hall of Fame is (and it’s wack beyond wack), Diamond is at least as good as James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt and those two made the cut a decade ago.

But if you wanna hear a theory more schooled than any of mine, ask Jon Bream for his thoughts on Monday. He’ll be signing copies of his book, “Neil Diamond Is Forever,” at Borders at 5 pm.

And please join the angry Neil fans over on the Hotline blog and rail against the Hall of Fame snub. Sample post:

“Have you ever listened to “Walk on Water”? If NOT you should–it’s a rockin’ song–released 37 yrs ago TODAY!!! Those who THINK they know Neil’s music, need to take a long, hard look again—we know Neil’s music and it’s the best there is.”

Does “Walk on Water” rock? Um… Take a listen:

How does this even happen? The odds against it are just nuts.

So there’s a very decent metal band called Municipal Waste and two night ago they were covered in actual municipal waste:

In Houston, TX at The Meridian during the opener’s set some overexcited fan ripped down a ceiling pipe while trying to scale the walls. The result was flood of god’s knows what. Then the sprinkler system went off and the whole club was turned into an instant swamp. Guitarist Ryan Waste got caught in the middle of the mess.

“All I could see was black water pouring from the ceiling,” he said. “The crowd was still hungry for more so we couldn’t let them down. We had to pull it together and it turned out to be one of the raddest shows of the tour.”

Eventually the show was moved to another room and apparently it rocked. The band played much longer then usual and did a whole bunch of crowd requests.

Catch the band in a (hopefully) non-flooded Worcester Palladium on 12/8.