
It's hard to believe that Annie Clark of St. Vincent was once just a backing member for Sufjan Stevens (not that that isn't an honor in itself). She's come such a long way since then and not only has she proven herself as a solo artist, worthy of every bit of attention she's gotten over the last few years, but she's also managed to melt the hearts of many with her vast personality, which bleeds through the power of her music, oh so well. One moment delicate and as sweet as a honeybee and the next, [...]
...and why, by contract, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor is today's Mozart. Challenge accepted! You're probably most familiar with Mussorgsky's most popular piece, "Night on Bald Mountain." However, I was always drawn to his later work, "Pictures at an Exhibition" from 1874. It's a very musically literal piece, as are most of his works, but this is about as literal as you can get: The composer
![[Introducing] – Teletextile](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3972808_lg.jpg)
Tweet It is a rare treat when a group like Teletextile falls into your lap, and you realize that you have been given the opportunity to share something truly special with others who are bound to be a bit *ahem* blown away. Despite being recorded in June of 2011, I consider this to be my first exciting discovery of 2012. I am bound to be putting some great tunes, such as "I Don't Know How To Act Here" on several mix CDs [...]
Download new covers of Michael Jackson, Portishead, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, and Sharon Van Etten!

There are the essential albums that need to be in everyone's collection. There are the personal favorites, the ones that aren't highly acclaimed but still get played every once in a while. And then there are the albums that you stick in the back of your collection because you want to forget that you spent money on them. "Own It or Disown It" gives the writer the opportunity to look at such discarded albums and determine if they are diamonds in the rough or if they deserve to be used as mini-frisbees. [...]
Download covers of Sufjan Stevens, Pat Benatar, and a bunch more from both Sister Crayon and Bird by Bird.
As 2011 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors. of Montreal's music is hard to define, given it changes more often than frontman Kevin Barnes' sequined and feathered outfits during a live show. One album might be heavy on [...]

Sister Crayon - Futile Devices [Sufjan Stevens] | od | bx

This is not how I intended on ending. I had another song planned but as the days went by I felt like I was missing the spirit of the holidays in the offerings. It has never really mattered, the Musical Fruitcake has never been meant to be a holiday themed collection, but for some reason it was nagging at me. But what song would work? Then my oldest son's teacher sent home a collection of holiday stuff with him and this was on it. My wife played it one day as we drove and it [...]

The holiday season is upon us (also basketball season, finally). But mostly, it's the season of ugly sweaters, drunk uncles, and, if you're a teenager, enough gift cards to paper your walls because nobody knows what to get you. We here at The Wild Honey Pie are better at Christmas shopping than your great Aunt Mildred, though. We put together a holiday playlist full of classics and indie favorites that will keep your earbuds warm when the weather outside starts to get frightful. There's no better soundtrack to accompany the decking of halls, the nogging of eggs, [...]

I could have just featured this in a new 'Don't Blow Your Cover' column, but I'm already liking this recent cover of Sufjan Steven's "Futile Devices" by Sister Crayon. Age of Adz was one of my favorite albums last year, and this cover made me fall in love with it all over again. Download it after the jump. Read more » http://rpc.blogcatalog.com/ http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ ping
It's incredible how many lovely covers of traditional holiday songs - Christmas and everything else under the sun - popped into our inbox this year. Just as family get-togethers, work potlucks and visions of sugarplums are traditions every December, so are the renditions of classics like "Frosty The Snowman" and "White Christmas" by underground talents [...]
We told you about a week ago about the free covers album that Sister Crayon would be releasing on Christmas Day, and it would include a Sufjan Stevens cover of "Futile Devices." We only had a :30 sample of it...
Sactown indie favorites Sister Crayon, whose Terra Lopez was featured prominently in our Area Codes feature highlighting that particular scene, recently recorded a cover of Sufjan's " Futile Devices ." It's a good match. Download the track after the jump. Read More...
The next stop on the Gummys express is Your Top 20 Indie Rock Crushes Of 2011; ten females, ten males, one Gosling. Hit the gallery to check out the winners of this award, truly the people's champions when it comes to crushes. Just outside the fray: EMA and Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner for the ladies, Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold, Noah Lennox and Kurt Vile for the fellas. And for the person that voted for '3112 in every single category, we'll relay the (paraphrased) wisdom of an old sage as advice; "Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged. [...]

The trouble with acoustic covers of popular songs is that some earnest singer armed with a guitar will slow down Jingle Bells and whisper the lyrics as if they have a deep meaning. I have no principles that compel me to disallow the notion of whispering songstresses, but on this Christmas mix I've tried to keep them to a respectful minimum. Still, we have the doses of yuletide angst which the acoustic genre prescribes to go with the upbeat welcome of the merry season. Don't be alarmed by the inclusion of three tracks called Christmas Song: they are [...]

Dear Mrs. Claus - The Barr Brothers Walking In The Air - Carter Moulton Christmas Must Be Tonight (The Band) - Bahamas Blue Christmas - Tristen Go Tell It On The Mountain - Branches When The Bells Start Ringing - My Morning Jacket The Rebel Jesus - Ivan & Alyosha White Christmas - Banjo or Freakout You Never Come Home For Christmas - Caitlin Rose w/ Keegan Dewitt [...]
A few days ago I wrote a post about a track called Boeing 737 by The Low Anthem. In the lyrics of that song The Low Anthem intertwines the tragedy of the World Trade Center terrorist attack with hanging out in a bar with Philippe Petit (the man who strung a high wire between the twin towers). In that track there is a certain beauty found in what is ultimately a melancholy and utterly tragic experience. It takes a unique talent to capture the bittersweet emotions of certain events and forge from that fire something beautiful and worthy. [...]