Every once in a while Cyndi Lauper shows up where you least expect her to. I never thought I'd be spending Christmas with her and the Hives, but here they are together on "A Christmas Duel". As previously reported, the track will be on the Hives website as a free download November 28-30 and in music stores in the UK December 1 and in the States the next day from the Orchard. As for the song itself, it sounds like they've been listening to the Phil Spector Christmas album, never a bad thing, and Howlin' Pete and Cyndi both seem pretty caught up in their strange duet. [from the "A Christmas Duel" single; available for download 11/20/08 from the Hives website]