We’ve been trying desperately to attend the The New Pornographers’ show tonight at the Wiltern Theater in LA, all to no avail and all fail. To salve our wounds, we’ve had on repeat last night’s performance on Conan by the band of Dancehall Domine off of their fantastic recent album Brill Bruisers.  Watch below as the band, but especially A.C. Newman, Neko Case and the talented Kathryn Calder sing the song with a vengeance (once again, where is Dan Bejar? Oh wait, there he is today on KCRW.  So it’s a nighttime thing?  Or are Case and Bejar in fact the same person?  Or can they not be seen on the same stage together?  Tongues will wag).  While you’re at it, check out the band’s recently released Official Video for Dancehall Domine.  The members of this band are nothing if not hilarious (and musically talented).

Afterwards watch the band’s always-superb delivery on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic this morning of the oustanding title track from the new album.

Finally at bottom, watch their stunningly great recent performances (of Brill Bruisers, Dancehall Domine, Fantasy Fools and Spidyrfor) on KEXP.  Wow!

As mentioned previously, Damien Rice has a new album coming out (his first in eight years) entitled My Favourite Faded Fantasy (due November 10th on Warner Bros Records).  The first single off the album is I Don’t Want to Change You, and Rice has today released the official video for the song.  As seen below, the visual backdrop is a tremendously tranquil lake/mountain/pier setup.  All is moody peace in the video until the 1:59 mark, when Rice breaks out into some spastic dance moves and then lays out into the lake.   We can’t tell if this is a great vignette of Rice dancing-in-tongues or a hilariously spiteful spoof of Thom Yorke’s dance videos.  Given Rice’s normal seriousness, we’ll go with dancing-in-tongues.  Regardless, it’s a sound song and video.

Rice is out on tour now in the US in support of the impending album (unfortunately having to curtail a recent concert after six songs due to an ear infection), and you can check the entire schedule HERE.

Neil Young has frankly been getting on our last nerve.  While he is one of our all-time favorite artists, his ridiculously high-priced recent tours, PONO-grandstanding, and (horrors) divorce of long-loved wife Pegi (for Daryl Hannah?), have taken a toll on our admiration.  Thankfully, Young showed up on The Colbert Report last night and took in stride some hilarious slings and arrows from Stephen Colbert.  And so some of the Young-love has been restored.  Neil is out promoting his new book, Special Deluxe: A Memoir of Life & Cars, along with new album Storytone (out November 4th), and new digital music player (dubbed “Toblerone” by Colbert).  After a hilarious interview (see at bottom), the two performed Young’s new single Who’s Gonna Stand Up? (And Save The Earth).  Watch below as Colbert provides the politically-incorrect, humorous counterpart to Young.  We love the intro by Young of “Neil Young and Crazy Host.”  Check out the performance and interview below.

Hmmm…how to follow-up our “recent discovery” of Glass Animals and Tei Shi?  OK, we got this.  Check out below the Glass Animals’ track Holiest on which the two artists collaborate. The song features new fave Tei Shi on vocals, which are once again far more riveting/convincing/incisive than the standard fare.  Two names for the future: Glass Animals and Tei Shi.

Earlier this year, FKA Twigs began to take over the electronic pop world.  Now comes Tei Shi to give FKA Twigs a run for her money for Queen of 2014 Electro-Pop.  We’d been sifting Tei Shi semaphores for a while, but this past week she unleashed her latest single, Bassically, which is basically impossible to ignore.  Bassically is the follow-up to last year’s EP, Saudade, and wormed into and took over our jukebox completely this week.  Tei Shi is Colombian artist Valerie Teicher who now resides in Brooklyn.  While hyper-catchy, her songs (aided by fellow Berklee School of Music alum producer Luca Buccellati) have a density, sophistication and depth not often found in such great supply in the genre.  Let Bassically take you over below.  It’s out now via Mom + Pop label Mermaid Avenue.  After you get hooked on Bassically, check out two of our other favorites of the artist, Nevermind The End and M&Ms.  If you want to stake a discovery claim, you best start dropping her name yesterday ’cause she’s gonna be huge.

And, why not, at bottom check out the superb, ethereal remix of Nevermind The End by the trending remixologist Saint Pepsi.

A documentary will soon be released capturing the 2012 collaboration in Uganda between La Blogothèque and Invisible Children, and the bands The Very Best and The Polyphonic Spree.  In Uganda the entourage met up with Ugandans and played songs with and for local choirs and musicians.  Check out below a beautiful sample from the film: The Very Best (the London/Malawi ensemble) singing their song Yoshua Alikuti on top of Koni Rock, one of the most iconic sites in Uganda.  Superbly done.

You may have noticed over the last few years that the magnificent Mary J. Blige had somewhat disappeared from the top of the pops.  Well that seems destined to change since Blige is back with a vengeance and will in December release her new album entitled The London Sessions on Capitol Records.  Blige decided to go about reprising her popularity by hanging out in London this past summer with the likes of Disclosure, Emile Sande and Sam Smith.   If the songs below are any indication, it sounds like the fountain of youth superbly sated her musical needs. Check out below the lyric video for the intimate, brutally-honest and brutally-beautiful song Whole Damn Year.  After, check out another winning track, Right Now, with updated and enhanced production by the dynamic Disclosure.  Bring on The London Sessions!

Canadian producer-composer Ryan Hemsworth will soon release his second album Alone For The First Time.  Late last month we fell in love with Hemsworth’s superb, Postal Service-esque first single off the album, Snow In Newark, which features the vocals of Dawn Golden.  Today the song’s beautifully-captured official video for the song was released.  Check out the Nepalese travelogue and soundtrack below, and prepare to get Alone For The First Time.

Just two days ago we posted our first impression of Britain’s Glass Animals and their song Gooey.  A scant 48 hours later they appeared out of the blue on Late Night With Seth Meyers and played that very song.  The band still has a sumptuous groove-psychedelia about it.  Check the performance out below, and by all means: get gooey.

Following on the heels of fantastic live sets in San Francisco last weekend at the Make-Out Room and at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Chuck Prophet has released a new video for the cut Ford Econoline from his stand-up (tube-of-a) new album Night Surfer.  Listen/watch as Prophet pays his respects to a vehicle that rockers immemorial (including Prophet, his talented wife Stephanie Finch, and his various bandmates) have driven around the world and back.  That’s life (for musicians).  And death (for vans). Along the way Chuck name-checks the Talking Heads.

Amongst others, REM’s Peter Buck was enlisted on guitar on the new album.  Go buy Night Surfer HERE.