It’s another week of new releases and it’s time to check out the best and worst in music. This week we’ve learned that distance really does make the heart grow fonder thanks to the Glasgow-based Belle and Sebastian. We may have felt that way about Illinois but we are definitely not feeling the Adz (whatever that means, Sufjan Stevens), and on another note, the British invasion is alive and well…

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Holy crap! Sufjan Stevens has finally released a collection of songs with entirely new material! The critically acclaimed indie pop singer-songwriter has been teasing us with The BQE, Music For Insomnia (which was basically background music), or Run Rabbit Run (which was just renditions of his other songs), “All Delighted People,” is eight tracks long. Yes, it’s an EP but two of these tracks are over 11 minutes long and the collection of dreamy soundscapes is nearly an hour in its entirety.

The oddest part about this? There was no warning of this gorgeousness coming our way. Thank you, bandcamp! You can take a listen to the entire EP after the jump!

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With Christmas coming up right around the corner, we know some of you may have already started blasting holiday music to get in the mood. Let’s face it, when we’re surrounded by our loved ones around this time of year it’s hard not to be jolly and have a go at songs like “Jingle Bell Rock!” We here at BeatCrave would like to provide you with some rad tunes for the holidays. (It’s the closest thing to a present that you’ll get from us.)

We’ve compiled a playlist for Christmas 2009 and hope you dig it as much as we do. We’ve chosen a variety of styles and covers including Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas, ” John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” and of course some indie tunes as well! Check it all out below!

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With the creative mastermind behind lush string or percussion arrangements, Sujfan Stevens is a working man who continuously needs numerous creative outlets. Of course, we commend this because anything new from Stevens is worth listening to.

For instance, when found that live video of “There’s Too Much Love,” it was our consolation (and hopefully yours too) for the fact that Stevens has yet to come out with brand new material on an official solo album. Now there is word of multiple releases from the musician and his label, Asthmatic Kitty, but it’s not exactly what we were hoping for.

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I think there’s a lot of love going on for new material from Sufjan Stevens. The multi-instrumentalist and singer hasn’t released a new official album since Illinois – and that was over four years ago! His upcoming album, Run Rabbit Run, is slated for release on October 6, and a bulk of it is still just rearrangement of songs from Enjoy Your Rabbit.

So when we found this video of him performing a new song called “There’s Too Much Love,” we were stoked to share it with you right away. Not only does the video have great quality, but the song, itself, goes into a variety of textures that range from electro to jazz to noise rock. Check it all out below!

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CalTech grad student named Virgil Griffith has conducted an interesting (albeit somewhat unscientific) study relating music preferences with SAT scores. While SAT scores are criticized for not accurately determining intelligence, the results show that the “smartest” students’ favorite musician is Beethoven, with an average SAT score of 1371, and at the other end of the spectrum is Lil’ Wayne, with an average score of 889.

Other bands at the top of the scale are Counting Crows, Radiohead, and Sufjan Stevens. Check out the full image of the results after the jump:

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Remember in high school when your English teacher would make you write compare and contrast essays?  Well, for some reason I always tried to sneak just a comparison paper by her – I hated writing the contrast part.  Something about how if two things are inherently different, its more fun to find similarities than to point out the obvious differences. I love comparing books to movies, movies to TV shows, apples to oranges (they’re both round) – hell, whatever comes to mind.  This article is aimed at taking my two favorite things in the world and smashing them together: LOST and music.

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Music lovers can be a hard bunch to shop for, and with the holidays being as hectic as they are, we here at BeatCrave thought we’d make things easier for you with our list of twelve items sure to tickle any music lover’s fancy. We’ve got things for the cost-conscious and the spendthrifts alike, so take a look before you waste an hour and a half rifling through mall shops and only come away with a previously-owned “Hannah Montana” CD.

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On Monday we asked you about those cheesy pop songs about Christmas. Today, we want to know which of these three indie rock artists did their best at singing about Christmas. Some are covers and some are not but they’re better than the regular songs you hear while you shop for the holidays. Most likely, your parents have never heard these renditions because, well – they’re pretty cool. Come on, whose parents listen to Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab For Cutie, or The Raveonettes?

Vote below and see what others think!

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