New Artist : The Fairline Parkway

This artist just came across my desk the other day, The Fairline Parkway, who are about to release their second album. The group is made up of Zachary Okun and Raj Gadhia, who met up while during a summer away from college and began recording in 2002. They were joined by Ben Licciardi and Krista & Elmer Sharp, and the result is this album, entitled A Memory of Open Spaces, which is being released by Kora Records. The group recently performed at South by Southwest, and they've started to take off.

These guys have a nice, laid back sound that's perfect for the coming of summer. I love their relaxed sound and easy going manner of this song. From the songs that I have listened to, there is a nice blend of vocals and a great drum section here. They've got a really good and rich mix of sound here. Hopefully, I'll be just as impressed with the rest of the album. Hopefully, these guys will be ones to really keep an eye on.


Westward Bound - The Fairline Parkway

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free offerings from iTunes. I'm not all that impressed this time around, again.

Great DJ The Ting Tings
L.E.S. Artistes Santogold
Agua del Pozo Alex Cuba

Cover and Original: Down the Line

This was one of the better songs off of José González's sophomore album, In Our Nature, and was one of the singles released alongside Smalltown Boy. It combines a good beat, nicely supported by González's vocals and excellent guitar work that sets this song apart from his earlier works.
What's interesting is that there's two bands that have separately covered this song. The Gutter Twins have their own rendition of the song, which adds in drums, piano and guitar work to this song, giving it a pretty different sound. That part's okay, but the vocal work here falls flat from the first lines.
The Twilight Singers also do a version of the song, also adding in a fast drum and piano part, but this time around, the song is turned from an fast acoustic sounding song into something that's more along the lines of a rock song, and it works here pretty well.
Neither cover comes close to González's work, but the Twilight Singer's version does do a good job with it.

Down The Line (José González) - The Gutter Twins
Down The Line (José González) - The Twilight Singers
Down The Line - José González

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José González Coming to Vermont!

HOLY CRAP! I just found that José González is coming to the Higher Ground Showroom in Vermont. June 24th, the day before my birthday.

Words cannot describe how excited I am to hear about that.

Now, to buy tickets. Tickets ordered. This summer officially rocks.

Heartbeats (The Knife) - José González
Teardrop (Massive Attack) - José González

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501stCast: Episode 13: April 17, 2008: You Can’t Spell 1138 Without 13.

Will Episode 13 be lucky or unlucky for the 501stCast? You decide as we go an episode without Dean! Highlights include the continuation of our Trooper of the Month series and rumblings of the long-awaited Heart of an Empire documentary release! As always, we give listeners a chance to win exclusive swag!

Show Notes: Episode XIII (April 17, 2008)

Hosts: Rich Sigfrit (IC-9577) and Varza (DZ-8772) and Lor (TK-7883)

Post-Production: Rich Sigfrit (IC-9577)

Content Development: Nicky Blum (DZ-8397)

Contributors: Andrew (TK-3220), TD-0013, Dean Plantamura (TK-899)

• 501st Legion hits 4,000 active members
• Matt Busch’s How to Draw Star Wars with the 501st
• Stump the Trooper #4
• Get Well Soon Kenny Baker (news article)
• Stormtrooper to Wed Queen of Naboo
• The 10th Wonder Heroes podcast
• Heart of an Empire to DVD?
• Krayt Clan Honorary Member Passes
• Jeremy Bulloch is Boba Fett (videos)
• Star Wars-themed Deal or No Deal
• Trooper of the Month Interview: Scott Will (TK-408)
• Great Lakes Garrison: Icehawks Hockey Game
• Southern California Garrison: Honor our Future Heroes
• Philippine Outpost: Star Wars Slot Machines Debut
• Venezuela: Osecon 2008
• Belgian Garrison: Charity Concert
• Badlands Garrison: Sci-Fi/Comic-themed Art Show
• Trooper Haiku
• Garrison Carida: special Where Science Meets Imagination Troop
• Taiwan Formosa Outpost: Toy Collectibles Exhibition
• Garrison Excelsior: Teen Book Festival
• UK Garrison: London Marathon
• Italian Garrison: Honorary Members donate to Autism auction
• International 501st Legion Day
• Free Comic Book Day
• Quick Calendar by Andrew, TK-3220 & Nicky, DZ-8397 (see below)

• Contest and Giveaway

• Honorary Member Birthday Wishes

  • Hayden Christensen (April 19th)
  • Rob Coleman, ILM Lead Animator (April 27th)
  • Phil Brown (April 30th)
• New 501st Legion unit: Turkish Outpost

Standard Podcast [58:25m]: Download

Carrier

iTunes had something interesting for a free download, for a documentary series that PBS will be running soon - Carrier. I've since downloaded and watched the entire thing, and I have to say, it looks like a really compelling miniseries about the life on the USS Nimitz while out on deployment at sea.
Just watching this, I'm really reminded of several episodes from a couple of science fiction shows, namely an episode from Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica, when a film crew is allowed on board the ship to see what life is like on there.
The producer says that this is non-fiction television - not reality television, which is an interesting way to describe it. I despise reality television - it's not real. This looks to be a lot more honest, a lot more interesting. This looks like it'll be a stellar look at life in the military and Navy. I'll be keeping my eyes out for this.

Citizen Soldier - 3 Doors Down

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free stuff. I grabbed the first song. Sounds a lot like Norah Jones.

Worrisome Heart - Melody Gardot
Mon vieux Lucien - Jil Aigrot
Ella Menea - NG²

Duet - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant

While some duets are the concert ones or a one-off in the studio, there are those collaborations that warrant their own album. Such is the case with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's collaboration, Raising Sand, which pairs the duo for an amazing set of songs.
It's an unlikely pairing - I remember the surprise on my dad's face when I told him about this album. You have two leading members of the bluegrass/country and rock and roll genres, which sounds on the face of it like something very odd, but here, it works brilliantly. Krauss and Plant sound fantastic together, and their songs were some of the best that I heard last year.

Please Read the Letter - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Fortune Teller - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

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Catch the trade winds in your sails

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain


I'm on a short trip out to a conference in Utah this week and the weekend - I really can't wait to get back on a plane again, see somewhere new. Here's some songs that I've been listening to recently:

Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra
Falling or Flying - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
Freeway - Removed by Request - Aimee Mann
International Airport - Carbon Leaf
It's My Turn To Fly - The Urge
Leaving on a Jet Plane - John Denver
Minutes to Memories (John Mellenkamp) - Carbon Leaf
Out of Town - Zero 7
See The World - Gomez
Venture Highway - America
Where Are You Going? - Dave Matthew's Band

Hype - Buy

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are coming back to Vermont! The Higher Ground just announced another fall concert on the Waterfront (review for the first one here). Last year's concert was an amazing, amazing one, and if you live within a couple hundred miles of Vermont, this is a show that'll likely be well worth attending. The concert turned me to Josh Ritter and was a first date for a short relationship, so I look back on it with some good memories.

Give the first concert a listen here.

Pretty Good - Grace Potter & Josh Ritter

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Album Review: A Buzz, A Buzz

This band, Bombadil, can be summed up in one word - quirky. Their first release, A Buzz, A Buzz, is a really unique and facinating one, somewhere along the lines of the Decemberists, the Softlights and Ferraby Lionheart, but even a little more out there.
They cover a lot of ground here, with some songs about history, romance, and a couple others, and is probably best described as a sort of folk-indie. Of all the bands that I've heard this year, none have been this rich in sound. It's a complex, interesting and diverse sound. Trip Out West, Get To Get It On, Buzz A Buzz, all have an interesting folk-ballad sound, while Julian Of Norwich, Rossetta Stone and Cavaliers Han Hur all have a really unique sound and feel to them that I really can't think of a parallel to.
The songs have a bit of an innocence and carefree nature to them. This is partially between the lyrics and the surrounding instrumental work. A couple have a indie movie feel to them, such as the sweet, Smile When You Kiss. Rosetta Stone and Julian of Norwich appeal to the history geek in me, with some interesting history content.
Overall, I think this is one of my favorite albums of the year thus far, for it's uniqueness, interesting lyrics and cool sound.

Julian of Norwich - Bombadil
Smile When You Kiss - Bombadil

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

Two songs this week. I'd highly recommend Madly by Tristan Prettyman. The other one, eh, not as much.

Madly - Tristan Prettyman
Bien Sudao' - Tony Dize

Album Review: Let it Go

Jon Regen seems to be a natural successor of Marc Cohn, of Walking in Memphis fame. Vocally and stylistically, they closely resemble one another - I'd love to see Regen do a couple of Cohn's songs as covers. There's also a hint of Sting / the Police (helped along by Andy Summers, from the Police on one track)
Let It Go is a wonderful album - it's full of depth, emotion and feeling from the beginning to the end. I've found it to be a very relatable album, with songs such as Photographs of You and I Come Undone.
This isn't an emotional dumping ground for Regen - there's a very dynamic feel to this album, and it covers a lot of ground, both with its songwriting and with it's feel. We have songs here with a lot of energy to some of the more downbeat ones, the type that bring out memories. Other tracks have a very old school sound to it, similar to some of the tracks that I listened to from the 60s and 70s.
What really strikes me is the piano work here. There's a really nice, familiar jazz feel to it, and he really knows his way around the keyboard - it's something that where a lot of artists play it, but I haven't really heard a whole lot who can play it at this level - it's very striking and sets the album and Regen apart from other male singer-songwriters.
The album isn't perfect - some of the songs are similar thematically and sound-wise that it's hard to distinguish them with casual listens, and at times, he does sound a bit too much like Marc Cohn - I had to really put a couple songs together and listen closely to make sure that I wasn't listening to the same singer. Fortunately, there's worse artists you can sound like.
I really got a kick out of this album - it's a good listen. I'm getting to the point where I'm overly critical of artists that I haven't heard of, who are asking for attention from the blogging world - it's very nice to be surprised and to come across an artist who I'll go out of my way to look for in the future.

Let It Go - Jon Regen
Finding My Way Back To Me - Jon Regen

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

iTune's free stuff this week. Emily Jane White's song is quite good.

Run and Hide - Algebra Blessett
Time On Your Side - Emily Jane White
Vengo Venenoso - Antonio Carmona

Spring in Vermont

Finally, it's spring in Vermont. I can wear my sneakers, not scrape my windshield every morning and get to work without risking sliding off the road.
I heard this Josh Ritter song this morning on VPR, and it's been stuck in my head all day.

Snow is Gone (Live) - Josh Ritter

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Cover and Original - Love Song

This has long been a favorite song of mine - it's always seemed like a very honest and interesting song. Interestingly, the only one that I've ever really listened to, and what remains to be my favorite of these three versions is 311's.
311's version isn't all that different from the original by The Cure, which in and of itself is a fine song. Death Cab for Cutie's version seems a little more indie to me, but the vocals really work with these guys.

Love Song (The Cure) - Death Cab for Cutie
Love Song (The Cure) - 311
Love Song - The Cure

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Album Review: Place Between Places

Every now and then, I'll get a cool artist in my inbox from somebody - This time, I came across Lili Haydn, who has just released her third album, Place Between Places, just this past week.

She has an interesting sound, playing Piano and violin, and has a sort of post-pop sound. The violin in particular is what really sets her apart - it gives her music a really nice sound. We have a nice, classical sound here - the violin and piano on several tracks makes this an odd mash of pop and classical, and the mixture really works nicely.

These two songs have a really nice, easy feel to them, with some sweeping sections that are really fantastic.

Strawberry Street - Lili Haydn
Memory One - Lili Haydn

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Best of March

This is over a week late, but I've been pretty busy with work and school. That being said, there's been some really good bands that've released some really good songs in March. Here's the best of them:

I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie) - A Fine Frenzy
- I saw this one performed life at the Iron Horse recently - one of the best covers that I've seen of this song.

Snakes and Ladders - Basia Bulat
In The Night - Basia Bulat
- I came across Bulat via NPR's all songs considered, and really like her energy and sound - it's got a lot of spirit.

Going On - Gnarls Barkley
- The other track after Run that I really got into from Gnarl Barkley's latest release, the Odd Couple.

Buffalo - Kathleen Edwards
Goodnight California - Kathleen Edwards
- Edwards was just in Vermont, and I wasn't able to make it out to see her, something that I was a bit bummed out about. These two tracks are the best off of her latest release, Asking for Flowers.

Punch Bowl - Punch Brothers
- One of the guys from Nickel Creek and some friends with their latest project. Their first album is fantastic, and this is a fun song.

Living Well is the Best Revenge - R.E.M.
- R.E.M.'s latest song is really catchy - I haven't really listened to REM extensively, but I think that I'm going to - their latest album sounds really good.

New Soul - Tristan Prettyman
- Lastly, that song that has been on the iPod commercial has already been covered - by Tristan Prettyman, who does a fantastic rendition of the song.

Hype - Buy

Frak Off

Guess what? Battlestar Galactica's starting up this weekend, finally. Season 4, the last season of the amazing SciFi show starts tonight.

Can't fraking wait.

All Along the Watchtower - Bear McCreary

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Narrow Stairs

Death Cab for Cutie's got a new album coming out in a month or so - Narrow Stairs. This one's been in the works for a little while, and it's supposed to be really, really different from their other albums. There's a couple tracks floating around now from it, as the single (which comes in at a long 8:36 minutes) which is absolutely wonderful - Great song. The early reviews have been pretty positive thus far and if this first track's something to go by, I'm really eagerly awaiting this one. I suspect that we'll see it on a lot of top ten lists this year.

Track List for Narrow Stairs:

1. Bixby Canyon Bridge
2. I Will Possess Your Heart
3. No Sunlight
4. Cath...
5. Talking Bird
6. You Can Do Better Than Me
7. Grapevine Fires
8. Your New Twin Sized Bed
9. Long Division
10. Pity And Fear
11. The Ice Is Getting Thinner

I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie

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501st Podcast

501stCast: Episode 12: April 3, 2008: Who’s the More Foolish?

In this episode of the 501stCast we look back at April Fool’s Day in the Empire, even more Fanboys drama (is it possible?), another Trooper of the Month interrogation, 501st events (past and future), and an exclusive 501stCast interview with Star Wars author and Honorary Member Michael Stackpole!
Show Notes: Episode XII (April 3, 2008)

Hosts: Dean Plantamura (TK-899), Rich (IC-9577) and Varza Cupps (DZ-8772)

Post-Production: Rich Sigfrit (IC-9577)

Content Development: Nicky Blum (DZ-8397)

Contributors: Andrew (TK-3220), TD-0013, Burr Martin (TD-9993)

• George Lucas and the 4108 Project (Interview)
• 501st units celebrate April Fool’s Day
• Stump the Trooper #3
• Trooper of the Month Interview: Darren Blum (TK-8399)
• Legion member travels to Olympics Summer Games
• Alabama Garrison recognized by Make-A-Wish
• Well wishes for 501st member in coma
• WIRED Magazine article (submit your fan photo)
• FanBoys drama -er, dicussion
• Public Service Announcement from TD-9993
• Exclusive interview with Honorary Member Michael Stackpole
• Costa Rica Outpost: Club de Libros fundraiser
• Terror Australis Garrison: Relay for Life
• Jundland Wastes Squad: St. Patrick’s Day parade
• Garrison Carida: Philadelphia 76ers Sci-Fi Night
• Terror Australis Garrison: Good Friday Appeal
• German Garrison: JediCon 2008
• Southern California Garrison: Wizard World Los Angeles
• Midwest Garrison: Star Wars birthday party
• A Different Point of View - Episode 17
• Empire City Garrison: New York Comic Con (April 18th-20th)
• French Garrison: Generations Star Wars (April 26th-27th)
• Quick Calendar:

• Contest and Giveaway: Win CIII Droid Hunt badge signed by Femi Taylor!

• Honorary Member Birthday Wishes
  • Tom Hodges (April 5th)
  • Cynthia Cummens (April 6th)
  • John Ratzenberger (April 6th)
  • Billy Dee Williams (April 6th)
  • Don Bies (April 7th)
• Happy Anniversaries to:
  • Costa Rica Outpost (March 23rd)
  • MidSouth Garrison (April 1st)
  • Alabama Garrison (April 3rd)

Download

I forgot to mention - I'm now working on this, reading off the calendar events. My voice isn't that slow or deep though...

iTunes Free Music of the Week

Two songs this week, both of which I'm skipping.

Lights & Music - Cut Copy
Malito - Señor Flavio

Thirty-One Today

A new Aimee Mann track's come up through the music blogs, and I have to say, I really like it.The song's from her upcoming album, @#%&*! Smilers, which is due out June 3rd, 2008.
I'm not a huge Aimee Mann fan, but I can't say that I've really listened too much to her. Lost In Space is the other song that I have, and really like it.
While listening to this song, I'm reminded about how much I can identify with music. The chorus, "I thought my life would be different somehow, I thought my life would be better by now." really hits me, as it's something that I've thought about and wondered as I've just graduated from college and embarked on a career, of some sorts. I find myself sitting at home alone, thinking that exact same thing.

Thirty-One Today - Aimee Mann

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