You won’t believe this collection of stunning photos, capturing some of the year’s most moving moments. We’ve been returning to them all week, and pretending we’re just chopping onions.

We love this song from Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland’s Whitehorse project.

This has nothing to do with music, per se, but it sure is cool. Hang on…where’s my floating turntable!

You can stream or download Bon Iver‘s entire performance from last night’s show at the 9:30 Club in DC at NPR Music’s site. The 9-piece band played the new album almost in its entirety, gave a Bjork song a new spin, and also fleshed out several tunes from For Emma, Forever Ago.

Today at 8pm GMT/3pm EDT/12pm PDT, Bell X1 will play an exclusive gig on the rooftop of Facebook’s European headquarters in Dublin. This is the first such Facebook music event of its kind and coincides with a visit from company founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Dublin. Watch it here.

If you’ve ever wondered where the MP3 form of audio encryption was born and how it came to dominate and change the industry, check out this interesting piece by Jacob Ganz and Joel Rose posted today at NPR Music.

Fleet Foxes are auctioning off a test pressing of the double vinyl of their new record, Helplessness Blues, with 100% of the proceeds supporting the relief efforts in Japan. Current bidding stands at $2700. A tight lid has been kept on this forthcoming album, with only two songs currently available for listening: the title track, which is the first single, and the newly-streamable “Battery Kinzie.” So, the ultimate winner of this auction is set for a feast for the ears.

Check out this wonderful short essay from NPR Music‘s Ann Powers about the blurring of racial and cultural lines in indie rock, and the benefits reaped from those blurred lines as evidenced at SXSW.

TV on the Radio at SXSW 2011

Our thoughts are with the Swell Season after last night’s suicide at their San Francisco show. Glen and Marketa’s beautiful music has helped us weather many a storm.

“Feeling the Pull,” live from the Triple Door in Seattle

Arcade Fire will release their new full length CD via Merge on Tuesday. The Suburbs is a remarkable collection of songs that demand to be heard as a whole. In the New York Times, Jon Pareles says “the album doesn’t resolve its own questions; it expands their mystery.” Read more about the band in his article today.