John Adams's Slonimsky's Earbox will open the LA Philharmonic's January 9 concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It's the first of three concerts that will be broadcast live to movie theaters across North America as part of LA Phil LIVE. Also on the program are works by Bernstein and Beethoven. In a video posted here, LA Phil Music Director Gustavo Dudamel calls it "a program with a lot of spirit and a lot of energy and a lot of joy."

When Ben Folds and Nick Hornby came to New York City last month to celebrate the release of their album, Lonely Avenue, they met up at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe to discuss and perform a few songs off the album. It was the latest in the "Liner Notes" series from SPIN and raised $10,000 for Housing Works. You can now watch six exclusive videos from the evening at spin.com. Folds launches his fall tour this Friday in Chicago.

AfroCubism is set for its North American release on Nonesuch this Tuesday, November 2. The band comes to North America for just three nights of live shows the following weekend in Montreal, Boston, and New York City. AfroCubism made its first live appearance at the Mar de Musicas festival in Cartagena, Spain, this past July. You can watch the band perform the album track "Nima diyala" at the festival in a video here.

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night, with Folds performing "Saskia Hamilton," off their album Lonely Avenue. Watch the episode here. The two will be in Washington, DC, next week for a PEN/Faulkner event. Following Folds own US tour, he returns to DC for a National Geographic Live! event in December featuring his photos, which he discusses on National Geographic Weekend, now online.

Rhys Chatham made his Nonesuch debut last month with the release of A Crimson Grail, featuring the 200-guitar version recorded at the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival. The New York Times says: "It might justly be considered 'music to pray to.’” Now you can experience that music through a short film set to music from the album, shot on rolls of expired, unexposed Kodachrome Super 8mm film. Watch it here.

Wanda Jackson, whose new Jack White-produced album, The Party Ain't Over, in January 25, performs outside Boston tonight. The Boston Globe quotes Rosanne Cash, who described Jackson "as the prototype, the first female rock star," adding that "Jackson is still kicking out the jams." She performs at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Friday, leading The New Yorker to note "her growly vocals, remarkable energy, and boundless good humor." Jackson spoke with Y'all Wire at last month's Americana Honors & Awards for an interview you can watch here.

There's just over a week to go to submit entries in the contest to remix "Beyond Reason" off Philip Selway's solo debut Familial. Rolling Stone, in its album review, writes, "News flash: Radiohead officially have another songwriter." The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Selway's dual roles as Radiohead drummer and singer-songwriter and says: "The thoughtful 43-year-old has a way of making the unexpected decision seem just right ...  Selway's compositions echo elements of Radiohead, but their themes tell us they are his own."

UK internet sensation Charlie McDonnell offers a video of Ben Folds and Nick Hornby's song, "Saskia Hamilton" from the album Lonely Avenue. Time Magazine spoke with Folds and Hornby about the project and tracks "the beauty of Lonely Avenue," back to the special pairing of the English novelist with the American singer-songwriter.

Yesterday marked the release of Ben Folds and Nick Hornby's Lonely Avenue, about which the Huffington Post opines: "If only all music was so smart and hummable." Music OMH gives the album four stars and says the Folds/Hornby partnership "works like a marriage made in heaven." The Atlantic calls it "an adventure in genre-crossing and a testament to an artistic friendship. It's also a collection of 11 rich and unusual songs." Today, the video for the song "From Above" premieres on AOL, which calls it "priceless ... all you could ask for from a music video."

Philip Selway and Cheikh Lô are among the many musicians from around the world who have lent their talents to a new video from Sudan365, a global campaign calling for a peaceful future for Sudan. The video, part of its Beat for Peace effort, comes as world leaders meet at the UN to discuss the future of Sudan. The video also features the drummers of Coldplay, the Police, and Pink Floyd, as well as Angelique Kidjo, Hugh Masakaela, and others.

Lonely Avenue, the Ben Folds / Nick Hornby album due out next week, has been described as "an affecting and intelligent record" by the BBC. Folds, whom the BBC calls "a consistently enthralling songwriter," joins Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose—recent collaborators on the VideoSong "Things You Think"—for a live online chat Wednesday evening at benfolds.com/chat, as part of the Lonely Interview series.

As The Black Keys continue their tour with Kings of Leon on the East Coast this weekend, their music will be well represented at Sunday night's 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. The video for "Tighten Up," off The Black Keys' album Brothers, has been nominated for Breakthrough Video. MTV says, while it's up against some heavy hitters, "it was the Black Keys' clip that made the biggest impression." Watch it here.