Bettye LaVette has been sharing her soulful voice with the world since 1962, when she cut her first record at the age of 16. The Michigan-born singer never quite reached superstar levels of fame, but throughout her extraordinary career she has toured with legends like Otis Redding, James Brown and Cab Calloway. Her latest single is 'Talking Old Soldiers,' a heart wrenching piano ballad originally performed by Elton John. In the video, LaVette reminisces about friends who have passed away as cigarette smoke slowly plumes around her in an empty bar. Goosebumps guaranteed. Buy it on iTunes.

Even back during her punk rock days in the late '80s group Blake Babies, Juliana Hatfield has always had a knack for melodic pop. The singer-songwriter's prolific solo career spans 16 years, and her upcoming album, 'How To Walk Away,' proves she is still going strong. For her latest single, Hatfield endured 40-degree weather in a short skirt to help portray the song's message. "The song 'This Lonely Love' is about being in love with a song, or with the sound and feeling and spirit in someone's singing voice," she says. "So with the video I wanted to show myself as all alone, with only music as my companion." Have a look. Buy it on iTunes.

Indie rock piano man Ben Folds is readying his third solo album, titled 'Way to Normal.' The album's first single, 'Hiroshima,' is brought to stop-motion animated life in a video that features Folds living large with a go-go dancing Kewpie doll, among other bizarre images. "I laughed until I cried. It's not the way to normal, that's for sure," Folds told Spinner of the clip. Enjoy the new video exclusively on Spinner before the album's September 30 release date.

G. Love (aka Garrett Dutton III) has spent the last 15 years making a name for himself by crafting a unique sound that combines the laid back vibe of jam band funk with hip-hop lyrical delivery akin to the Beastie Boys or Beck. The Philadelphia native recently released 'Superhero Brother,' his 10th album with bandmates the Special Sauce, on Jack Johnson's Brushfire record label. At Brushfire's Solar Powered Plastic Plant studios in L.A., G. Love filmed a stripped down solo performance of one of the new tunes, and Spinner has the exclusive video. Take a look. Buy 'Superhero Brother' on iTunes.

Johnny Whitney and Cody Votolato, former members of beloved hardcore outfit the Blood Brothers, have teamed up with the pop sensibilities of Pretty Girls Make Graves' J Clark to craft 'Take Me to the Sea,' an album that combines the best of both worlds. The first track, 'Highways of Gold,' showcases what makes Jaguar Love special: the excitement and energy of hardcore rockers playing pop while just barely restraining themselves from the unhinged chaos of their previous groups. Buy it on iTunes.

In anticipation of the release of his new album 'Dark Shades of Blue,' laid-back Australian songwriter Xavier Rudd is featured in a video that showcases some of the new tunes. In this exclusive EPK, the shoeless Aussie talks about his love of live performances, with a clip of Rudd surrounded by didgeridoos, rocking multiple instruments at once for an adoring festival crowd. The mellow new songs can be heard as Rudd preps for some surfing, and later as he discusses his music's positive message: "The goodness of groove." Take a look.

Brooklyn's Love as Laughter take you on a psychedelic joyride through sound and vision on 'All Parts of Me,' the lead track off the veteran band's sixth album, 'Holy.' The LP marks their first on Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace label. "This record sounds like I've just eaten a bunch of Skittles and spit 'em out as songs," singer Sam Jayne tells Spinner. Its safe to say that director Daniel Perez had a similar vision when he brought the bands jangly new tune to life. Have an exclusive look. Buy it on iTunes.

For his latest single, Venezuelan folk rocker Devendra Banhart sends up low-budget Bollywood flicks with a clip that is full of dancing, hammy special effects and tongue-in-cheek subtitles with questionable English translations. Banhart plays a prince who must use his snake-shooting eyes, knife throwing prowess and "rebellious beard" to save the a beautiful princess. Real-life girlfriend Natalie Portman plays the damsel in distress, and clearly has some fun with the role. Take a look. Buy it on iTunes.

For those who have spent the last year living under a rock, MGMT are the latest Brooklyn-based band to have all the music blogs abuzz. Members Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser have crafted a psychedelic sound that explores gritty electronic dance rhythms and spacey synthesizers but remains rooted in '70s pop. The sound has caught the attention of indie elitists and mainstream music fans alike, and has earned the band a performance on 'The Late Show with David Letterman,' as well as opening act slots for major artists like Of Montreal, Radiohead and, most recently, Beck.

Riding on their wave of recent success, MGMT are releasing a film documenting the creation of their single 'Electric Feel' and the accompanying music video. Spinner has exclusive footage of the movie, which gives fans a behind-the-scenes look as the bandmates tinker in the studio, hang out on their video set and go about their day-to-day in Brooklyn. As you'll see, the guys are definitely a colorful pair.

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Buy 'Oracular Spectaular' on iTunes

While music is the normal means of communication for Daft Punk, the French duo chose to tell the story of two robots on a quest to become human in a different manner. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo set their samplers and drum machines aside in lieu of cameras, using the music of Todd Rundgren and Curtis Mayfield, among others, to score the film.

The result is 'Electroma,' a film employing stunning imagery and unique cinematic techniques to document life as an automaton in a suburban American landscape. The film opens up with an epic drive through the California desert in a 1987 Ferrari, which evokes the feel of Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey,' as Daft Punk explore new horizons with this visually captivating intro. Enjoy a five minute excerpt ahead of its July 22nd stateside DVD release.


Buy 'Electroma' on DVD.

R.E.M. have always had a thing or two to say about the world at large. The alt-rock legends' most recent album, 'Accelerate,' is as much an unapologetic commentary on the state of the nation as it is a return to the band's raw, guitar-driven sound. For their latest single, 'Man-Sized Wreath,' Michael Stipe and the boys sought out the Toronto-based production studio Crush to provide an animated vision for their song's socially conscious message.

Fans who attended the June 19 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York were treated to a sneak peek of the video, which mainly features computer-generated graphics and photo-collaged imagery. In the clip, a CG trail of cubes and a crudely designed motorcade are used to make a bold statement on the callous power of authority, and the distractions that keep people from recognizing the trouble around them.

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"Every album is a new chapter," Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo explains in a behind-the-scenes video about the band's latest release, known as the 'Red Album.' In addition, the group also reveals some might-have-been album titles, and assert that they are "sassy and fun as ever." We guessed that with Cuomo's 'stache.



Buy 'Weezer' (Red Album) on iTunes

The Wallflowers frontman strips down his sound with the help of veteran producer Rick Rubin. In the video for his debut solo single, Dylan pays homage to simplicity as he quietly strums his guitar amidst the scenery of small town life. Buy it on iTunes.

The legend of Joe Strummer will forever live on. Director Julien Temple is doing his part by immortalizing the late Clash visionary on film with the documentary 'The Future Is Unwritten,' which finds Strummer's peers, bandmates and generations of artists and actors who were influenced by him to tell Strummer's story.

"Whatever we discussed, we always ended up disagreeing, not in a nasty way -- you can talk to Joe about anything in the world and he would have a conversation with you on it," original Clash drummer Terry Chimes says.

Have a look at two exclusive clips of Mick Jones and Chimes sharing their experiences with Strummer, and then check out the accompanying soundtrack to the film, which includes a rare live version of 'In the Pouring Rain.'

To help promote his latest album, 'Soul Speak,' husky-voiced soul singer Michael McDonald has released a series of delightfully bizarre short films entitled 'Memoirs of Michael McDonald.'

In the following clip, set to the tune of 'Walk on By,' a young (and fully bearded) Michael McDonald provides solace to a lady love during an afternoon playground frolic. Buy 'Soul Speak' on iTunes.