I just finished my taxes - Ugh. The 1040 form is supposed to be one of the most logical forms around, but it's just a pain. I am getting a return, which is nice, but paperwork = evil. Ugh. Taxman- The Beatles Money- Pink Floyd My Mathematical Mind- Spoon
Okay, it's been a long time since I've done a bunch of my regular features, and the recent A Fine Frenzy/ Chris Stills concert's got me back into the swing of things with a review, so here goes. Today, the two artists are Chris Stills and Cary Brothers, two singer/songwriters whom I've both seen in concert and whom I've become a fan of.
I've listened to Cary Brothers a lot more than I have with Chris Stills, because of Brother's heavy media influence with a number of TV shows and his stint on Garden State's soundtrack, along with his first album, Who You Are.
Stills and Brothers both play and sing in a way that's very similar to one another. They're both in the 'Adult Alternative' genre that's popular with the 20-30 year olds, and have an overall similar sound - both male vocalists, they both play piano and guitar, and have a good, solid tone to their sound. They're not carbon copies of one another, but while listening to both of their works, I hear a number of similarities.
Stylistically, they both have a good vocal range, and vary their energy and speed a bit - Blue Eyes vs. Who You Are for Cary Brothers and When the Pain Dies Down and Fool For Love with Chris Stills.
Additionally, they're both from California, singer-songwriters. I can really see these two guys touring together, or even collaborating - it'd be a fun listen. Most of all, they've both got a really solid sound that I really like, something that's pretty easy to listen to. When the Pain Dies Down - Chris Stills If You Were Here - Cary Brothers
Have you ever gotten one of those songs stuck in your head, and just can't find it, and can't figure out where you heard it?
I've come across this problem recently when I was watching TV with GE's commercials touting their green initiatives - one of them, regarding water recycling, had a cover of CCR's Have You Seen The Rain? Great song, but I couldn't place the title.
Secondly, this was a really cool cover version, and only through a little searching did I find that it was performed by Juju Stulbach - a version that I still haven't been able to find anywhere, although someone said that it was due out on iTunes sometime next month, which I'll really be looking out for.
Harp Magazine has just posted up a wonderful interview with Grace Potter, where she picks her top 5 protest songs:
Neil Young “Ohio”
If you listen to the second verse, it’s just “naaaaa, na-na, naaaa, na, naaaa.” It’s ‘cause he said everything he needed to say in the first damn verse. That’s pretty powerful. Not only that, but the song is amazing. I love the instrumentation. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a protest song stomps on its own point by making the music not as good as the lyrics.
Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit”
It was written by a Jewish man, actually, who handed her a poem in a club one night. It’s about a lynching, but what’s so incredible about it is it shares a perspective about not only what African-Americans were going through, but also what Jewish people were [enduring due to the Holocaust]. That’s one of the eeriest songs I’ve ever heard. Every time she sang it, she would not be able to hold her shit together.
Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”
Once again, like “Ohio,” it’s just—bang. It’s not about the lyrics, but you [understand] them later… It kinda seeps into your subconscious and I really dig that.
The Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
It’s not necessarily a protest song but it’s got one little lyric in it that I absolutely love that kinda puts this visual in my head. “I went down to the demonstration.” There’s panic in that lyric. “We gonna vent our frustration/if we don’t, we’ll blow a 50-amp fuse.” I thought that was an interesting whiplash back at protest songs, basically saying protesters can be just as bratty as the worst Republican, money-grubbing asshole.
Rage Against the Machine “Killing in the Name”
It just goes for the throat. There’s no shame, there’s no self-awareness. It’s just, boom.
On Saturday night, I drove down to Northhampton Mass for a three band concert, part of A Fine Frenzy's first headlining tour. I missed most of Ferras's set, and from the sounds of what I heard from him, I didn't really miss too much. I thought that I had a ticket waiting for me there, but that wasn't the case, so I paid my way in and found a spot. The venue was the Iron Horse, a place I'd heard a lot about, and found that it was certainly popular - there was standing room only towards the back, which was interesting, and why none of my pictures came out. From what I heard of Ferras, I wasn't terribly impressed. Seemed like a typical indie singer. His recorded works don't sound bad, but he struck me as whiny, and I suspect that he's just starting out, and there'll be improvement as time goes on.
Ferras Set (Missed the first part) Hollywood's Not America Somebody Left Me Alone
I was very impressed with Chris Stills. He had a short set of some really good songs, and for an artist that I haven't listened to as much, I was convinced to give him a better listen soon - I'll probably pick up his album soon. He started off strong, and his group had a good, solid beat and a really good sound. The one song of his that I do have, When The Pain Dies Down, is one of my current favorites, and I was happy to hear that one live. He also moved around with tone and speed. Several songs were much faster, with a lot of energy, which is nice to hear - some artists just stick to one speed. He's also the first artist that I've seen to sing in two languages - one of his songs, Kitty-Catty, was in French, and I felt it added a bit of depth to his musical skills. The girl next to me said that he reminded her of Jeff Buckey, which I can hear, but I think he reminds me the most of Cary Brothers. When he was done with his set, he walked past me and we talked for a couple minutes (if you're reading, thank you! I enjoyed the night!) which is always fun to do. I hope he comes to Vermont or back to New England sometime.
Chris Stills Set - Story of a Dying Man - Landslide - When The Pain Dies Down - Kitty-Catty - Fool For Love - Last Goodbye
The last act of the night, and the one that I'd been waiting for, was A Fine Frenzy. I'd seen her before, when she toured with Brandi Carlile (and what a fantastic show it was), and I was looking forwards to seeing her again. She picked out a wonderful set list, with some of her strongest songs on her first record, One Cell in the Sea, and a couple that I hadn't listened to as closely as before. Like the first concert, she had a wonderful and strong sound. A couple songs, such as Hope for the Hopeless, seemed a bit re-worked, which sounded fantastic. Also, because she was doing a longer set, a couple of covers were thrown in - Across the Universe, by the Beatles and I Will Follow You Into the Dark, both of which were absolutely amazing - I was thrilled to hear both of them, and applaud Allison for not going the usual route of covering the Postal Service's Such Great Heights, which is what I thought that she was going to do when she said Ben Gibbard. Her last song of the evening was a new song, What I Wouldn't Do, which also sounded absolutely wonderful - according to some of her band mates, they're starting work on another album, so hopefully we'll get some more new music down the road. The songs have already made it onto Youtube, so I'll link those through at some point. I got to speak with her drummer and bassist after the show, along with two girls who knew them - great to meet you all - Katelyn, feel free to e-mail me if you want any further recommendations. And the other person I was talking to vanished quickly - Jodi, nice to meet you as well, drop me an e-mail sometime. I missed out meeting Allison herself, but hopefully next time. The two hour drive home wasn't terribly fun - I don't do well at 2 am. Oh well.
A Fine Frenzy Set - Come On, Come Out - You Picked Me - Last of Days - Think of You - Ashes & Wine - Borrowed Time - I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie) - Instrumental Piece - Liar Liar - Minnow and the Trout - Hope for the Hopeless - Almost Lover - Rangers Encore - Across The Universe (The Beatles) - Whisper - Near to You - What I Wouldn't Do (New)
Unfortunately, none of my pictures came out - I was too far away from the stage and there were really too many people in the way - they all came out pretty blurry.
It's been a whole five years since the US invaded Iraq in 2003. I remember that morning very clearly - we watched the news as the US moved into the country very successfully. Operationally, things went really well, and then everything went to hell. Too often, this war has split the country into two sides, for and against. Both sides have valid points. We've eliminated one of the world's worst person, who's responsible for killing thousands and starting border wars which have dragged larger powers in. We've brought a form of democracy to the country. However, it's not all that functional. Large portions of Baghdad are still without power and running water, there's constant violence in the streets and the US has spent nearly 3 trillion dollars on a war that doesn't seem to be in our best interests. I've taken several classes on international relations and nation-building, and while the war is a financial disaster for the US, it might not be terribly wise to bring everyone out starting 2009 as promised by the Democratic party candidates if they win the general election. Nor do I think it's wise to keep our people there for decades. What we need to do is help eliminate the corruption in their parliament, restore basic utilities and infrastructure, give people jobs to do. Hopefully, we won't have people looking at this day in five years as the ten year mark while still there.
Last night, Arthur C. Clark, the author of over a hundred science fiction novels and the inventor of the communications satellite, died at age 90. He was a major figure in the Sci-Fi genre, and is best known for his book, 2001: A SpaceOdyssey and numerous others.
Working on getting back on track with my regular features - I haven't had time to compare anyone or do an evolution, but they will be coming back sometime soon. In the meantime, I'll continue with Cover and Original. This week's a rediscovered song, Right Place, Wrong Time, originally by Dr. John. The two covered versions are by a band called Vietnam and one of my favorites, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.Vietnam's version is an interesting take on the song that seems to drawl, while Grace Potter imitates the song a bit more, with her own flavor to it.
I forgot my preprepared mix at home, so stay tuned for it this weekend, if I can find internet.
This is the perfect song for this weekend - I'm driving down to Boston for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. This is probably the best place to go in the US for this weekend, I'm pumped. If any of you readers are in Boston, and are going to be at the parade, look for the Storm Troopers - I'll be there.
I'm going to do this as a sort of teaser for this week's CYA mix. As I've mentioned before, and reiterate: I'm a geek. I'm also a member of the 501st Legion, as a Storm Trooper. I'm doing two events this week, one tomorrow at the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra performance tomorrow, and will also be with my fellow troopers in the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade.
So, to celebrate, here's a couple versions of the outstanding Imperial March, aka Darth Vader's theme:
It's been a little while since I've done one of these, so here's a couple to catch up for lost time:
This song you would have heard if you've turned on a TV recently. Tristan Prettyman has a fantastic cover of it: New Soul (Yael Naïm) - Tristan Prettyman New Soul - Yael Naïm
Again, I think that Matt Nathanson is a bit of a prat, but this is a fun cover/duet of Matt, Cary Brothers and Kate Vogele:
And Coldplay's one of my favorites, so it's interesting to come across a cover of their works. Here's a good one from Aimee Mann and another from Johnette Napolitano:
I'm always on the lookout for new and upcoming Vermont artists. I present: Myra Flynn. Myra's a fellow Norwich University Graduate, and who's been playing gigs locally. When it comes to soul music, I'm somewhat out of the loop - there's not a whole lot of singers that really interest me with this genre, but I have to say that Myra's really left an impression. She has an incredible voice - she reminds me a lot of Dianna Reeves (who sang on the wonderful Goodnight and GoodLuck soundtrack) Myra recently auditioned for American Idol for a press assignment, and was rejected (which is probably a good thing - I absolutely can't stand that show.) One thing is for sure - Myra's going to make a splash here in Vermont, and hopefully a bit further out in the States.
Alrighty, it's that time of the month again (a couple days late) with the best new songs that I found this past month, and I've found some really good ones.
For Emma, Forever Ago -
For people who loved Iron & Wine, this guy's for you. This album's already on my short list for one of my top albums of the year, and I suspect that it'll remain on it. This guy just put together a beautiful album - highly minimalist, quiet, calm - something that I've listened to a number of times and just can't stop - the imagery that some of these songs conjures up, such as Re: Stacks, like a winter day here in Vermont. Flume - Bon Iver Lump Sum - Bon Iver Re: Stacks - Bon Iver
Human - Civil Twilight came to my attention via the show House with the title track. These guys sound good, a solid album that really fits together well, with a number of songs that I've really enjoyed listening to. There's nothing innovative or totally original here, but that's okay - they've got a good sound, lyrics and style, and that's good for me.
Gnarls Barkley's back with another catchy song that will be stuck in my head for a while now. Run is a nice followup to Crazy, but it's not a copy of it. Rather, it's fast, retro-sounding song that'll be big on the radio.
This song (and video) just made me completely crack up when I first watched it. I'm not a big fan of Sarah Silverman, but I am one of Matt Damon, and I can't stop laughing when he comes in for this.
I wasn't familiar with Flint prior to coming across her music on a couple music blogs and her myspace page. I fell in love with her voice and acoustic sound - both work well together - a really good sound here.
Sheryl Crow's latest album, another one that's sure to drive up the top 40 tracks. The songs that I've heard from this album really feel like some of her earlier stuff, which brings me back to the 90s when I was in middle and high school, listening to her stuff on the school bus's radio in the morning. Both of these tracks are my favorites from the album - very free and fun songs.
Tina Dico is one artist that'll most likely rate a mention on a new discoveries list at the end of this year. A collaborator with Zero 7, she's got a wonderful album coming out soon, Count To Ten, with some fantastic stories and a great sound.
Tristan Prettyman's coming out with a new, richer and better album that I'll probably talk about more soon, when we get closer to the release date. I'm really looking forwards to it. This is reminiscent of her last. album, Twentythree, but slightly better.
To adapt from last night's Daily Show - today's what could be the last major contest in voting for who to vote for. Hm... If you're in Ohio, Texas, my fair state of Vermont and Rhode Island, get out and vote!
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