Here’s the hot-off-the-presses video for She & Him’s new single, “In the Sun.” It’s every ounce of the sweetness and light you’d expect.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t delight in the pleasure inherent in watching a Rube Goldberg device flow through its motions to a successful conclusion.

Though OK Go has been around for a relatively short time, they’ve quickly become known for their creative videos. Their latest, for “This Too Shall Pass,” is no exception. An elaborate Goldberg contraption, captured in one long shot, accompanies the full length of the 3:53 track, and also provides the solution to the puzzle of why the band members spend the filming covered in paint.

Getting this shot is every bit as labor-intensive as it looks. It took 55 to 60 people and over 60 takes to get it right, and lmost an hour to reset the machine properly each time it didn’t work.

If I talk to you regularly, or if you have other friends in Pittsburgh, Philly, Baltimore, or DC, you’ve no doubt heard about the overwhelming amounts of snowfall and cold that we’ve experienced this winter. Here in the ‘burgh, we had our first major accumulation of snowfall on December 16, and that same snow is still on the ground, buried under lots more that’s followed it. It’s quite unusual for us to have such a long stretch of cold days; in most years, the snow we get here tends to melt almost as quickly as it comes.

The biggest storm of all hit on Friday night, February 5th. It dropped 26″ on the city in less than 24 hours. Thanks to Pop City for passing along this excellent video shot by a group of filmmaking skiiers who took advantage of a rare opportunity to do some urban skiing on Pittsburgh’s steep, hilly terrain and unusual city staircases.

–Melanie

Spoon continues to garner universal critical acclaim for their latest album, Transference. Last night, they performed on Letterman, offering up a blistering version of “Got Nuffin’”. As Stereogum put it best: they got swagger.

It’s been just over a year since I was making the commute from Manhattan out to the Songlines office in Westchester County. As many of you probably remember from talking to me back then, the daily trek wasn’t particularly challenging in nature — only in length. It took about an hour and fifteen minutes to go door-to-door each way, and involved a short subway ride, a bit of walking, and a long haul on a commuter train.

While most of the days (especially in retrospect) tended to blend together as far as the train rides were concerned, some of the moments that impacted my memory the most took place on the short walking stint. The transfer from the underground subway to the above-ground train involved hoofing it down a very busy block of 125th Street, in the heart of Harlem. I can’t count the number of times I was hit on, yelled at, offered interesting wares, forced to run in heels when I saw the train approaching, splashed by buses crashing through puddles — you name it. But while all of this might sound a bit negative to a casual observer, my lasting impression of the block is one of constant movement and variety, peopled by friendly, busy New Yorkers every bit as invested in their day-to-day as I was. There was something so vital and real about the scene; I can honestly say I miss it.

Apparently, someone at Slate agrees with me — Camilo Jose Vergara has brought brought the block to life with much more eloquence than I ever could. Check out this vibrant photo essay.

So much is being blogged, Twittered and said about John Mayer’s recent interviews in Rolling Stone and Playboy. Check out this interesting discussion from yesterday’s Los Angeles Times online between veteran music journalists Ann Powers and Rob Tannenbaum (the man who conducted the interview for Playboy). Tannenbaum discusses the two interviews he conducted with Mayer and both journos comment on the echnical and cultural changes that have made it possible for a (now rare) 7000 word interview to be distilled into 140 word summaries.

Our lives seem to be flying by at an increasingly rapid pace. I often wonder about the little details I’m missing, and take an inordinate amount of pleasure from the information that I actually retain by the end of each day.

Maybe this notion is the reason why I find Al Hoff’s Walking to New Orleans blog so pleasing. Last month, he set out from my hometown, Pittsburgh, for New Orleans — on foot.

In the forced slowness of the journey, he’s coming upon the unusual sights of a forgotten time, such as the Dean Martin mural on a grocery store wall in the industrial town of Steubenville, Ohio (the birthplace I share with Martin).

Hoff obviously got more than he bargained for, with Snowpocalypse sweeping this section of the country. I wish him well, and can’t wait to see what bits of Americana he discovers along his way.

Each day this week, Hype Machine has been posting 10 of the top 50 albums of 2009, calculated based on the top 10 lists of 550 music bloggers, to reveal an altogether different sort of an end-of-year rundown. For Triple A programmers and listeners, this list is worth a look for several reasons.

Because bloggers tend to be weary of artists that have found a comfortable innertube on which to float down the mainstream, this list highlights scads of records that you may not have had an opportunity to hear (or even hear of). What’s more, the posting is beautifully designed, clean and bold, with an image of each album cover set against a live performance shot of each artist, as well as a quote from a featured blogger. You can also click for screenshots of every blog that chose a particular record. (Find an album you love, and you might find a few great new blogs to follow.) And best of all? There’s a full album stream of all 50 choices for your listening pleasure.

Bravo, Hype Machine!

It took me a long time to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. I scratched my head at its usefulness until I bit the bullet and signed up to see what all the fuss was about. Quickly, you realize that it’s more about what you get than what you post. David Carr’s concise recent Times article does a terrific job of summing up Twitter’s value.

Oh, and you know how I found out about the article? By following Bruce Warren on Twitter.

Check out NPR Music’s terrific memoriam of important musicians lost in 2009.