It's cold outside, it's dark by 5pm and you need something to shove on the stereo to keep the family warm. 

This isn't it.

These are the rather excellent tracks from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - everyone's favourite Boxing Day treat for 2011 - that have been released as a free sampler by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (much like the five track free EP for Social Network). You can read more about the pre-ordering of the soundtrack and the ridiculous number of other versions planned to hit the digital shelves over at Wired.

Anyway, back to these seven tracks. They're chilling, upsetting and have chimes in them. So in a way, they're the best Christmas music you could choose for your living room. Presuming you're a twisted parent with a penchant for traumatising small children. 

What better, then, for our first Christmas playlist in our Advent Calendar? (The others are less disturbing - I promise.) Think Let the Right One In meets The Social Network. Think serious Oscar contender against Alberto Iglesias' two superb scores. Then stop thinking and listen to the damned thing. 

Oh, and a special mention for track number 4, Oraculum, for its constantly wrong-footing 5/4-6/4 alternating time signature - 11 beats in a bar? Suck on that, Dave Brubeck.