The lad has been busy.  Now from Sufjan Stevens comes a relatively straightforward (albeit with crazy choral-esque vocals) cover of Silent Night.   Enjoy.

For those of you that think Sufjan Stevens is a humorless twit, think again.  Check out this infomercial below (via Pitchfork) for Stevens’ new box set, Silver & Gold.  Now THAT’S entertainment.  It’s as if Saturday Night Live asked Pastor The Reverend Karl to produce its weekly skits.  Too funny.

And if you like that, Pitchfork TV has seven new hilarious videos from Stevens under the title Friendship Slay Ride.  Check out our favorite, Law Office, after Joy to the World, and continue on with remaining Friendship Slay Ride videos adjacent thereto.  If this music thing doesn’t work out, Suf-Jan Sta-Vons, you might want to think about comedy.

Sure the video itself is kitschy as all Christmas.  But Sufjan Stevens’  re-imagining of the Christmas chestnut, Joy to the World, is no parts kitsch (well, except for that vexing vocoder, but we’re dealing).   Beginning with the sound set at sheer-beauty, the song segues into static, electronica-wonderland and other niblets of noise, even tossing in the glorious chorus (“we can do much more together it’s not so impossible”) from Impossible Soul off his last album, The Age of Adz.   Joy to the World is off of the new Christmas box set Silver & Gold from Stevens.

Aimee Mann recently released the tres-charmant album Charmer.  Watch the slow-burn (but also hilarious) Mann perform Living a Lie off the album with James Mercer of The Shins on the Jimmy Kimmel Show below.  After watch Mann perform lead single Labrador off Charmer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU2Pdg2k-Gs&feature=channel&list=UL

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down will release their third album We The Common on February 05, 2013 in North America and February 04, 2013 in rest of the world.  We’ve enjoyed this Bay Area band since their inception.  Check out the first song off the album, Holy Roller, including its salient chorus.  The song’s riffs remind us of Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers’ 1977 song Egyptian Reggae, which in turn borrowed from Earl Zero’s None Shall Escape the Judgement.  All three are set out sequentially below.  Proof positive that there’s nothing new under the sun (though Thao has added banjo to the mix).  You can also download Holy Roller HERE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha-VXWxgvR8

We’re still reveling in the recent Band of Horses show we were fortunate to catch at the Troubadour in LA.  It’s been a great year of concerts (Radiohead and Bon Iver at the Santa Barbara Bowl at the tip-top of the list), and this was another one of the best of 2012.  Those be rockin’ Horses.  To get a feel, check out Band of Horses performing their incredibly catchy and powerful song Knock Knock below on Later with Jools Holland followed by the ’70s-rock of Electric Music (with some fine piano playing a la mid-’70s Elton John; a great meld of Elton, Eagles and Stones).

As mentioned recently, the jury’s still out on the staying power of Mumford & Sons. On Saturday, the Mumfords (and Flogging Molly) played an energetic (will always grant them that) five-song set on Austin City Limits. Below is a 20-minute portion, with the entire episode available on PBS HERE.

Watch Mumford & Sons / Flogging Molly on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.

Carson Daly has been clandestinely and routinely featuring some of the best musicians and performances on his show.  Recent performances by The Walkmen, Desaparecidos and Rachel Yamagata, amongst others, have been stunning.  As an example, check out Regina Spektor performing The Voice-worthy song How on the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKcK4k004lg

Supergroup Divine Fits (with members of Spoon, Handsome Furs and Wolf Parade) showed up on the Letterman Show last night to play some more of their well-crafted power pop that can be found on their album A Thing Called Divine Fits.  Check ’em out below.

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

Over the years we have been huge fans of Nada Surf.  Several of their recordings register very high on our all-time favorite albums list (Let Go, The Weight is a Gift, and Lucky are all outstanding).  And if you get a chance to catch them live, don’t miss it.  They simply rule the stage.  Earlier this year they released another gem, The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy.  The music video below is for song Jules and Jim off the new album.

According to the band, the video “was filmed over the span of several months on location in Arch Cape, Oregon and inside a historic house in Providence, Rhode Island. It gently alludes to the classic French New Wave film of the same name. The video brings you into the dreamlike world of three characters who are both intertwined and isolated and into three different worlds which are also intertwined and yet isolated. The different perspectives of both the three characters and the three worlds seek to evoke the ever changing feelings and roller coaster ride that comes from being a rational being crazy in love – desire, jealousy, security, ecstasy, sadness, beauty and the like, and yet to be able to see clearly outside ones own feelings. The sets are either actual outdoor settings or were composed from organic materials and found objects. The characters were made from found objects, wire, and Sculpey. The film was directed, animated and edited by Rachel Chaiya Blumberg.”

The claymation (Skulpey?) thing may just about be played out in music videos, but the song is a beauty.  Check it out.