Several studies claim that, while the pre-holiday season is lush with holly and hopeful children, late-November through mid-December is the time of year most of us will ditch or be ditched by our significant other.

One 2010 study by David McCandless gathered data from more than 10,000 Facebook status updates, searching for the use of the words "break up" and "broken up." McCandless's study found that the month before Chrismas is the likeliest time for breakups, alongside spring break, while Christmas Day itself is the least likely (see a graph of breakup highs and lows at the end of this post).

If your partner has given you an aversion to mistletoe this year, here are 10 breakup songs you can sooth yourself with. The list features many queer artists, including Peaches, Gossip, Woodpigeon and Tegan and Sara. This opener from Swedish imp Lykke Li is an obvious choice and a great song if you can overcome the off-key chorus. For more breakup tracks, pick up Li's 2008 debut, Youth Novels, which is essentially a breakup album (also see "Little Bit," "I'm Good, I'm Gone" and "Let It Fall").

"Breaking It Up," Lykke Li

"Darling we're here but my true love is not." 

 

 

"Lose You," Peaches

"How does it happen all of a sudden? Finger to button, push it and nothing."   

 

 

"Love Long Distance," Gossip

"I heard it through the bass line. Not much longer would you be my baby." 

 

"Emma et Hampus," Woodpigeon 

"And if your baby's gone back. He's gone for good." 

 

"Back in Your Head," Tegan and Sara 

"Build a wall of books between us in our bed." 

 

"Knives Out," Radiohead

"Look into my eyes. I'm not coming back."

 

 

"Cupid," Spinnerette

"Cupid don't you know that, that it's over?" 

 

 

"Not in Love," Crystal Castles, featuring Robert Smith

"And we were lovers. Now we can't be friends. Fascination ends." 

 

 

"You and I," Cut Off Your Hands

"You were not there for me. I just moved on. I've been moving on for so long." 

 

 

"Divorce Song," Liz Phair

"And the licence said you had to stick around 'til I was dead. But if you're tired of looking at my face, I guess I already am."

  

 

A graph of breakups throughout the year, according to British writer David McCandless's 2010 Facebook study. Breakups peak before Christmas and during spring break. Additionally, while Monday is widely considered the worst day of the week, it is the least likely day for a breakup to occur.

When Courtney Love caught wind of Lana Del Rey's live cover of Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box," Love took to Twitter to remind pop's most perlustrated princess that the song is in fact about Love's well-travelled hole.

Love tweeted: "@LanaDelRey you do know the song is about my Vagina right? 'Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back' umm." In her third tweet on the subject, Love wrote: "@LanaDelRey so umm next time you sing it think about my vagina will you? lol xc." 

Del Rey's take on the Nirvana classic has about as much appeal as a stillborn fetus. We all know music is completely subjective. That said, Del Rey's grating caterwauling just doesn't gel with my musical taste. Before you queers write a hateful comment, listen to these five cover songs that weren't born to die in your ears. 

Cibo Matto, "About a Girl"

We'll start with a Nirvana cover done right; well, as right as it can be being sung in broken English. This take on another Nirvana effort by Japanese duo Cibo Matto is inarguably cute and kitschy. Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda disbanded Cibo Matto in 2001 but resurfaced last year to play shows benefiting the victims of the Japanese tsumani. Rumours of a new record are swirling. It's not yet known if Courtney Love's vagina will be the subject of one or more tracks.

Peaches, "Turn It On"

Pansexual provocateur Peaches has been turning on audiences since her first short-lived group, Mermaid Cafe, formed in 1990. Yet it wasn't until her 2000 breakthrough debut, The Teaches of Peaches, that the Canadian electro-clasher received widespread acclaim. This androgynous envelope pusher's 2011 cover of Franz Ferdinand's "Turn It On" is catchy and sexually charged. Both prerequisites for a Peaches track.

Esperanza Spalding, "I Can't Help It"

It's no easy feat to improve upon Michael Jackson's music, although Alien Ant Farm came close with their 2001 rendition of "Smooth Criminal." I definitely prefer Spalding's jazzy, modern take on "I Can't Help It" to Jackson's original. Ms Spalding was the breakout performer at this year's Ottawa Jazz Fest, and the album that "I Can't Help It" is included on, Radio Music Society, has been her highest-charting collection to date. Judging by her smooth, inspired grooves, it seems like her 2011 Best New Artist Grammy triumph over Justin Bieber and Drake, among others, was well deserved. 

Neko Case, "Knock Loud"

Case covers bisexual CBC radio host Sook-Yin Lee's very sad "Knock Loud" with haunting efficiency. American by birth but Canadian by choice, Case's take on "Knock Loud" can be found on her album of Canuck cover songs, Canadian Amp.   

Richard Cheese, "Only Happy When It Rains"

Richard Cheese (an apt surname for the cagiest cover artist of all time) manages to make Garbage's depressing ditty bright and hopeful. Cheese has classed-up dozens of seemingly uncoverable songs, including Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness." Also, see his interpretation of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance." While that version won't win over any Gaga groupies, it's still utterly hilarious.