It’s a basic holiday fact that for every truly wonderful and original Christmas song, there are about a thousand horrible ones. But in the right hands, even the worst Christmas music has high comedic potential. And in the realm of turning coal to gold, few hands are more capable than Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, creators of the excellent Adult Swim series, The Venture Bros. Every Christmas since 2004, Publick and Hammer have crafted special Venture Bros. Christmas songs for Quick Stop Entertainment. The songs are covers of dubious classics, performed by characters from the TV show. This year’s song just went online today, and it does not disappoint.

(Note: If you’ve never seen an episode of The Venture Bros., I’m in no mood to summarize it for you. Instead, here are some episodes you can stream.)

This year, Henchmen #21 and #24 sing a cover of Paul McCartney’s 1979 classic, “Wonderful Christmastime.” They butcher the song terribly, and ad lib when McCartney’s original lyrics start to get repetitive, and it’s all quite hilarious and fun.

But there’s a deeper subtext here, relating to the broader plot of the show. As anyone who’s seen the finale of season 3 knows, 24 dies at the end, his head flying out of an exploding car in the final moments of the episode. So how does this song fit in with the canon? As 21 explains in the introduction, they recorded the song in June so that they’d have it out of the way when Christmas came, in order to focus on the plans for their big Christmas Break vacation to Cancun. Their spirits are high, and all seems well for The Monarch’s two most unkillable minions. But, alas, shortly after this recording, 24 is indeed killed, robbing 21 of his best buddy in the world. And then Christmas rolls around, and because Quick Stop Entertainment demands satisfaction, 21 is forced to send in the song anyway, the shipping envelope’s adhesive sealed with his own tears. That, dear readers, is some unquestionably rich and brutal subtext to a seemingly goofy holiday song. I hope you’re taking notes.

Publick and Hammer’s previous holiday forays are equally brilliant. In 2004, The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend reenacted a 1977 sketch performed by David Bowie and Bing Crosby. Verbatim. With The Monarch taking the part of Bowie and Dr. Girlfriend taking the part of Crosby, they sing “The Little Drummer Boy,” banter, and even replicate all of Crosby’s cheesy jokes about how ancient he is. Not only is it surreal, but it also has this wonderful, “holy shit they’re really going to do the whole thing,” quality.

In 2005, The Monarch and Henchmen #21 and #24 sing the song “Hard Candy Christmas,” from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, made famous by Dolly Parton. At this time in the series The Monarch is incarcerated in a prison full of supervillains, and Dr. Girlfriend has left him for Phantom Limb. The Monarch is thus at his lowest point, and easily matches the despair of Parton’s prostitute. 21 and 24, taking on the roles of all the other whores, provide comic relief.

Focus shifted from the villains somewhat in 2006, when Dr. Thaddeus Venture assembled his family, friends, and enemies for Venture Aid 2006 and performed “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The original song was performed by Band Aid, a fundraising group created by Bob Geldof and featuring a large section of the best pop musicians 1984 had to offer. In 2006, instead of Freddie Mercury, Simon Le Bon, George Michael and Bono, Venture Industries assembled the likes of Dr. Byron Orpheus, Pete White, Master Billy Quizboy, Hank and Dean Venture, and the entire Monarch Horde. Far from the well-meaning post-colonial famine-induced sympathy of the original, Venture’s version highlights the sinister implications of the song’s lyrics. One feels distinctly uneasy as Orpheus sings of “the clanging chimes of doom,” and delightfully horrified when Dean Venture enthusiastically shouts, “Thanks, God!” that it’s the Ethiopians, and not him, who are starving.

In 2007, The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend treated us to a rendition of The Pogues’ beautiful and tragic holiday song of love, entrapment, and desperation, “Fairytale of New York.” The song tells the story of a young Irish couple who emigrate to New York City, fall in love, and make each other’s lives miserable. The pain and devotion mirror The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend’s own storyline, as they (at the end of season 2), reunite and get married.

Taken as a whole, the annual Venture Bros. Christmas songs are both delicious fan candy and a welcome departure from the sentimentality typically found in most holiday music. Hopefully they’ll keep it up, at least as long as the series runs on television. At any rate, enjoy these songs, and enjoy the genius of The Venture Bros. in general. But keep an eye out on Christmas Eve, lest the Krampus appear at your house to punish the wicked:

We’ve been naughty, too. Oh, and if you want to see “A Very Venture Christmas” in its entirety, click here for a free stream courtesy of Adult Swim.