Jasmine Van den Bogaerde, or Birdy, is a 15 year old artist from England who won Open Mic UK in 2008 at the age of 12, and has been writing music since she was 7. She’s been on the radar ever since she released her cover of Skinny Love by Bon Iver early this  year at the age of 14, and she’s recently released a cover of Shelter by The xx.

When I first heard her cover of Skinny Love, I didn’t know she was so young, so the fact that I loved it had nothing to do with her age… but once I found out she was 14 when she recorded it, it was that much more impressive. What I love is that she doesn’t try to do a note-for-note remake of the song, but instead switches the accompaniment to piano and makes the melody lines her own. You can listen to the song below:

Download audio file (Birdy-Skinny-Love.mp3)
Skinny Love (cover) — Birdy

No word yet on when a full length album is due, but she was quickly picked up by Good Soldier Songs Ltd. after her success at Open Mic UK, so an album is most likely not too far away. File this under “Artists to Keep an Eye On.”

As it turns out, Phoenix is in the studio working on their follow-up to their breakout fourth LP, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Fashion designer/photographer Hedi Slimane caught up with Mars and gang in a New York recording studio and took a whole bunch of candid pictures of the band as they worked. Bassist Deck D’arcy has mentioned that they’re working with an orchestra for the new release that is somehow inspired by the TGV train. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I know Phoenix won’t disappoint, and neither do these photos.

There’s a whole set of really great photography here, and if you’re not familiar with Hedi Slimane’s work, visit his website and look around. What I love about him is that he seems to capture the true emotion of the people he’s shooting, it’s not the standard staged posing that usually goes on an album cover, but it really gives you an insight into what the musicians, actors, and models are really like.

It’s no mystery that his self-titled sophomore release has jumped once again to the top of my most-played list; this time with much more complex lines… scattered percussion and haphazard chirps like a chaotic wood, still managing to sing its hushed tones in unison. This new album is littered with detail in every moment of every lyric for miles, miles, miles, finally coming to rest on the last track; harkening back to the early 90′s ballad you slow-danced to at the prom, with its synth keyboard and tongue-in-cheek saxophone.

This album has all the same addictive ingredients as Vernon’s previous work, but somehow still preserves the sentimental value we found in For Emma. It’s the work of a man who has a burdened past, but has progressed forward into a promising future, and it certainly does not disappoint. (I’ll not speak to his involvement with Kanye, however progressive it may be)

For those of you who haven’t heard the new album, or for those of you who’d just like to take a moment apart from yourself, here are two tracks from Bon Iver, and one from the Calgary EP; a Bonnie Raitt cover you might recognize from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. If you feel so inclined, leave your thoughts on the new album here. I’ve heard polarized reviews, and I’d like to see what my readers feel about it.

Download audio file (holocene.mp3)
Holocene — Bon Iver

Download audio file (michicant.mp3)
Michicant — Bon Iver

Download audio file (cantmakeyouloveme.mp3)
I Can’t Make You Love Me — Bon Iver

The Black Keys have the most played tracks in my library over the past 6 months… so it goes without saying that I love their music. This is a great video by the DKNG studio combining great music with great design and it shows the process that goes into creating a really nice show poster, from the initial concept to the screen printing.
The music is a mashup called Black Bug featuring The Keys and Big Boi.

This is the video for Josh Ritter’s song, The Curse from his latest album, So Runs the World Away. It’s a great song with a great story, and the visual representation just makes it that much more beautiful. I never really understood the last line of the song until this video, but now it’s my favorite line. For best results, watch it in 720p.

This ragtag group of hipsters are known as Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and I’ve been jamming out to their song “Home” for the past few weeks. It’s got a really brave, pioneer feel to it that makes you want to explore new lands and conquer new territories.

Go check out their album on iTunes (even though the art is terrible). It’s all great stuff that I think you might enjoy.

If you haven’t seen this already, it’s worth dropping whatever you’re doing for a few minutes and checking out Arcade Fire’s video for their song We Used to Wait. I wouldn’t describe this as a music video, as much as an innovative HTML5 experience. It’s amazing to see what can be done without flash, and this is just the start of an HTML5 era. Three cheers for <canvas>!

Here’s the site. Great song and album too.