As the hilarious Scot and late-night host, Craig Ferguson, would say:  “It’s been a great week in America.”  And, we might add, California too!   Regardless your take on the outcomes (our sincere condolences to our good American friends on the right), democracy ultimately prevailed on Tuesday.  Once again, Americans had voices and sang out.

It’s been a busy week for all, and particularly Sufjan Stevens (see immediately below).  It turns out that while we were all voting on Tuesday, Sufjan Stevens (not knowing the outcomes) released his interpretation of the Star Spangled Banner with added lyrics.  It’s a classic Sufjanese interpretation of our National Anthem.  The jarring (but apt) electric guitar sections are somewhat surprising (but not unusual) for Stevens (particularly following the seminal Hendrix interpretation). But the chorus is classic Sufjanese and captures the collective democratic voice well.  Check it out, followed by another Christmas song, Angels We Have Heard On High, off the impending Silver & Gold box set.

As we’ve written before, the stupendously-talented Sufjan Stevens will soon release a box-set of covers of Christmas songs entitled Silver & Gold.  Stevens has now released the official video for a track off the new album, an embellished cover of  Johnny Marks’ song, Justice Delivers Its Death Gift.  Check out the song below and what appears to be a melange of Stevens’ old home movies.  Stevens explains the song and video:  “Super 8 of my nephew Gavin, age 4, exhibiting immense joy. I shot this a few years ago in HK. Sorry, title card is wrong. Should read “Justice Delivers Its GIFT (not Death, oops!)” by Sufjan Stevens and Johnny Marks ©St. Nicholas Music Inc.  No I’m Not Going Crazy for Cocoa Puffs. Peace to the world. XXO, S”.

The song’s lyrics follow the video.  Stevens has once again hit his lofty target.  Amen brother!

“Justice Delivers Its Death
Silver and gold, silver and gold
Everyone wishes for it
How do you measure its worth?
Just by the pleasure it gives here on earth.

Oh I’m getting old. Oh I’m getting old. Everyone wishes for youth.
How have I wasted my life?
Trusting the pleasure it gives here on earth.

Lord, come with fire. Lord, come with fire. Everyone’s wasting their time
Storing up treasure in vain.
Trusting the pleasure it gives here on earth.

Oh I see the end. Oh I see the end. Everyone’s waiting for death
How do you measure its worth? Justice delivers its gift here on earth.

Silver and gold. Silver and gold. Silver and gold. Silver and gold.”

The re-grouped and phenomenal Afghan Whigs showed up today at KCRW to play Fountain and Fairfax.  Check it out below. Their show tonight at the Henry Fonda is sold out, but tomorrow night’s show is makable (as they say).   We are suckers for their guitar sounds and Greg Dulli’s raspy vocals and songs.

As we wrote recently, newfound Brit-band Daughter just finished a hit-and-run tour of the U.S. and left in their wake critics and fans raving about their songs and delivery.  Check out the band captured perfectly on KEXP below.

We’ve written before of our reverence for Brandi Carlile’s singing and songwriting.  She and her jaunty band performed on Conan last night in support of her fine new album, Bear Creek.  Check out the performance and wise sentiment in Keep Your Heart Young.  The load is a loaded gun indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu5LaIe6CBY&feature=em-unknown

Despite avowed health issues and financial concerns, Cat Power managed to take the stage last night on Conan, adopting a “show must go on” attitude.  Nine lives; you know.

Check her and band performing Cherokee off of her fine recent album Sun.  Here’s to your health and welfare, Chan.

We went in skeptical at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in October, but came out completely won over by the talent of The Head and the Heart.  Their set was the second-best of the entire Festival behind Glen Hansard’s over-the-top set.  Check the heady band out below, as captured well by “Audio-Files,” performing a re-arranged Sounds Like Hallelujah off their debut album in a warehouse somewhere in Salt Lake City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liN_frVYqAw&feature=em-uploademail-new

Last Saturday we posted some fan videos of the Avett Brothers covering Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.   The Avetts must have grown weary of the amateur videos and had their own videographer “Crackerfarm” properly record them covering the song.  Check it out below.

As we’ve repeatedly written, Daniel Lanois can do no wrong in our minds.  Watch/listen below a 50-minute set by his band Black Dub (featuring Trixie Whitley on lead vocals, guitar, and keyboards; the fantastic Brian Blade on drums and Jim Wilson on bass and vocals) at the  Miles Davis Hall in Montreux, Switzerland from July 2011.  Amongst other things that he does so well (producer, songwriter, singer, you name it), Lanois is one of our most soulful, tasteful and talented guitar and pedal steel (check at 11:37 on) players extant.  Watch and feel it.  The setlist is below the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zWviNBgsleU

1) Intro
2) Surely
3) I Belive In You
4) Steel
5) The Collection Of Marie Claire
6) Silverado
7) The Messenger
8) I’d Rather Go Blind
9) Ring The Alarm

Where to start with Correatown, Angela Correa’s project?  We were first introduced to the talented Correa when she and constant musical companion Tom Brosseau (together they were/are The Shelleys) came to Santa Barbara to play in-store at John Healy’s much-missed Buffalo Records.  And we’ve been in love with both artists’ music ever since (more about Brosseau later).  Initially Correa/Brosseau sang  folk/country/standards.  And Angela put out a couple of great Correatown discs that continued in the indie-folk-ballad genre.  So we were floored when Angela passed along a new disc of Correatown demos a while back, but didn’t tell us of the seismic shift in her/their sound.  Suddenly Correatown had gone ’80s synth-pop!  And what a perfect sound it was/is to show off Correa’s phenomenal songwriting and vocals.  Correa explains: “When I began writing songs for our latest recordings I kept imagining the sounds and instruments that would shape the direction of our new songs. The most appealing were really freaked out thick and pulsing bass sounds or odd twitchy static noises tucked into shimmering and ethereal melodies. The more the band explored different arrangements and instruments, the more I felt the possibility of having a less organic sound that felt more evocative of the music we wanted to create was our compass.”

We’re not alone in our appreciation for Correa and Correatown.  Angela’s voice was featured in the film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story on the song Let’s Duet, she has sung backup with Moby and others, and last year Further was included on the Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack Vol 4.  Her songs have also appeared on Ugly Betty, Brothers and Sisters and How I Met Your Mother.  Correatown is fresh off the heels of a successful UK / European tour where Angela did a session with Lauren Laverne on BBC 6 Music and received raves at CMJ, making Spin’s “Next Big Thing” list.  Correa has also recently scored her first film, Sassy Pants, which was released this October as well as having one of her tracks in the recent Scott Hicks’ film, The Lucky One starring Zac Efron.  Where does she find the time?

You can get a feel for what we’re talking about by listening/watching the official video for Play, the first single off of her fantastic album Pleiades below.  After, check out one of our all-time favorite songs (making our Best Songs of 2010) , Further, off of the album, which was released in the US on October 16th by Highline Records.  Put that one on repeat.  Wow.  We are still mesmerized by this song.  Further Everything, All At Once is a phenomenal song off of the album that made our Best Songs of 2011 list.

We can’t say enough about the album.  Go forth and buy it HERE to support this talented artist.