LargeHeartedBoy — Stereo Subversion lovingly profiles singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and his music. The New York Times ArtsBeat blog looks to the history of the National Book Awards and its selections. Jacket Copy wraps up last night's National Book Awards ceremony ... more info

Guardian Music — • The Strokes take top spot in NME list with Is This It• Libertines debut Up The Bracket is best British entryNew York rockers The Strokes have topped a list of the best albums of the decade, beating British indie stars – and tablo... more info

Bridging The Atlantic — The best hip-hop right now is coming from the unsigned and underground. No question. That's right 50 cent, your album sucks. Upon my return from some epic surfing in Tofino I came across these tracks to add to my November playlist. Chiddy Bang, who h... more info

411 Mania — Pixies offer up a new release, The Magnetic Fields offer up a new album, Yoko, Sean and Julian Lennon offer up an old release, Sufjan Stevens offers up a retraction, Tom Waits tweets, AC/DC fans fight back, Sublime legally break up, Aerosmith technic... more info

Culture Bully — Michigan was relatively straightforward when compared to its much ballyhooed follow up, Illinois, but the album packs quite a punch. more info

NME — Musician admits project was result of him becoming a 'cliché' more info

Chorus.fm — Don't hold your breath (http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/11/sufjan-stevens-50-states-project-was-such-a-joke.html) for *Sufjan Stevens' (http://myspace.com/sufjanstevens)* 50 States Project. Submitted by oncedarkness more info

Allmusic Blog — Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois is the best album of the 2000s, according to a recent list issued by Paste Magazine. Bright Eyes, Radiohead, Kid A, Arcade Fire, and Wilco also occupy the top five. [PasteMagazine.com] Chris Brown has unveiled the futuristi... more info

Rollo & Grady — Montreal-based producer Tor’s Illinoize is by far the smoothest use of mainstream samples on an album since Amplive reworked Radiohead’s In Rainbows. Tor sampled tracks from Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 LP Illinoise, as well as 3 of his other albums, A... more info

Rollo & Grady — 1. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois 2. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 3. Arcade Fire: Funeral 4. Radiohead: Kid A 5. Bright Eyes: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning 6. The White Stripes: Elephant 7. Gillian Welch: Time (the Revelator) 8. OutKast: Stanko... more info