Sufjan Stevens continued his heightened Christmas-related activity moments ago by releasing the video below for Christmas in The Room with the following announcement:

“Tomorrow is official release day [TLR–for new Christmas box set, Silver & Gold].  Until then, here’s “Christmas in the Room” from the Christmas Infinity Voyage EP.  I’m releasing all my original songs from the Christmas box set into public domain, including this one.”  For now you can download Christmas in The Room here:  Merry Christmas.

My Morning Jacket’s leader Jim James has announced that in February he will release his first full-length album, Regions Of Light And Sound Of God.  While the magnificent and magnanimous James has previously released a gorgeous EP of  George Harrison cover songs under the Yim Yames moniker, this will be his first solo album.

According to Pitchfork, James’ press release states that the album “chronicles an artist’s struggles with temptation and corruption, along with finding true love. Some of the things happening in the book were happening to me in real life, in a very strange and painful, then a very beautiful way.  I wanted the album to sound like it came from a different place in time. Perhaps sounding as if it were the past of the future, if that makes any sense—like a hazy dream that a fully-realized android or humanoid capable of thought might have when it reminisces about the good old days of just being a simple robot.”

Evidently James engineered and played all the instruments on the album.  You can pre-order and download new track Know Til Now HERE.  Or you can listen below as James evokes a soul-and-synth motif on the new song.   We can’t wait.  A track list follows below.

Regions of Light and Sound of God:

1 State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U)
2 Know Til Now
3 Dear One
4 A New Life
5 Exploding
6 Of the Mother Again
7 Actress
8 All Is Forgiven
9 God’s Love to Deliver

Allo Darlin’ can do no wrong in our book. As we’ve written, earlier this year they released one of the (if not THE) best albums of 2012, Europe. In honor of the success of Europe, Rough Trade Records will soon release the band’s Covers EP featuring songs by AC/DC, The Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, Eux Autres, The Go-Betweens (natch) and Darren Hayman. Check out below the band’s touching and incendiary cover of Hayman’s Wu-Tang Clan.  Check out the cover’s spot-on singing by Elizabeth Morris set against the incendiary guitar playing of Paul Rains and drumming of Michael Collins.  And go pre-order the EP HERE.  The song’s lyrics follow the song below.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the song’s lyrics of a lass from London seeking solace and escape through the music of the Staten Island hip-hop group, Wu Tang Clan, are given added charge (see the videos at bottom by Casey Neistat featuring Wu-Tan Clang’s song Can It Be All So Simple).  And please do donate to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts HERE or at your preferred non-profit.

“She dreams of Staten Island
She never ever dreams of Walthamstow
Her friends are getting married
Getting their hair cut like Jill Dando
She hopes that Terry Soams won’t ask her out tonight
For the fourth time
She wants to be alone

With the curtains drawn and the stereo on
She swings her hips and dances to the Wu-Tang Clan
And the sadness ebbs away now
She shuts her eyes and throws her head up high
It’s better when there’s no one around
And she’s feeling something real now

And on the train home everyone moves away
Because she stinks of work
And she does, and she knows so it doesn’t hurt
And in her mind she pictures ODB
In his prison cell alone
It’s not wrong to want to be alone
She would tell him so

With the curtains drawn and the stereo on
She swings her hips and dances to the Wu-Tang Clan
And the sadness ebbs away now
She shuts her eyes and throws her head up high
It’s better when there’s no one around
And she’s feeling something real now

And RZA, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck
Golden Arms will hold the time out of harm
In the council flat tonight
And the thought hits her at 105 BPM
That sometimes for a second
She believes that everything will be alright
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright”

Hurricane Sandy on Bikes in NYC from Casey Neistat on Vimeo.

Sufjan Stevens Saturday continues with he and his label Asthmatic Kitty‘s release today of Stevens’ cover of Prince’s Alphabet St.  Check it out below.

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