End of the Line

I'm sorry to say, but this is the end. I'm going now. Farewell.

Between work and play, I can't keep up, and some things have to go. Carry You Away has been a very fun ride, with a lot of shows, albums and sounds coming through it, and I've really enjoyed working on it. Rest assured, I'll still post up something when I hit a concert or when I come across something interesting, but it won't be often, I'm pretty sure.

If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.

~Gustav Mahler

If you're really interested in what I'm up to, you can always do the following:

My regular blog, where I talk about Sci-Fi & other serious things, is here:

http://jeditrilobite.wordpress.com

My 501st Blog, about the 501st Legion, is here:

http://tk3220.wordpress.com

The Last Song - Foo Fighters

Life on Mars

Last night's Life on Mars brought a couple more good songs to the episode. The show's still doing okay, but the music, like its predecessor in the UK, is definitely a highlight. Last night's episode was a good one - they're starting to deviate a bit from the original, which is good.

Sweet Cherry Wine - Tommy James & the Shondells
Just A Little Lovin' - Dusty Springfield
Reflections of My Life - The Marmalade

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Album Review: The Good Life

Tim Myer's recently released EP The Good Life opens lightly with A Beautiful World, a folk-pop song that helps to wash away any problems you might be having for the three and a half minutes that you listen to it. This is Myer's second release, following 2007's RevolutionEP, which gained acclaim and a lot of airplay on shows such as Army Wives and Grey's Anatomy.

Myers sounds much like prior artists Joshua Radin or Chris Stills in a sort of indie-alternative-pop that seems to be tailor made for inclusion in a television show's soundtrack or a college freshman's playlist. The sound is catchy, pleasant and done before by other artists.

The saving grace here is that Myers works the sound pretty well, which does help. The sound is tight and doesn't entirely pigdgeonhole into any one catagory. A Beautiful World is far different from the ending track, Magic, soundwise, for example. The rest of the album falls somewhere between there and predictability, but comes out as a good sound overall.

The album is overwhelmingly positive, which is a plus considering the state of the world today. A Beautiful World is followed by The Good Life, both of which are carefree and agreeable, while California and On Your Side inject a good dose of nostalgia and a certain amount of longing for the recent days gone by. While this is a nice sound, it's misleading and somewhat representative of the Y-age, of a generation that feels very entitled and has a hard time stepping up to the plate and being accountable. To me, this optimism is one that is somewhat misplaced and not long for this world, for as soon as something challenging comes along, it evaporates.

The Good Life is a fine EP, a good one even - there isn't a bad song on it. It's a bit short, given its status as an EP, and it feels like Myers is testing the waters a little before jumping into the pool. He does well making sure the album isn't peppy-optimistic, but with his sound, I want a little more variety - I want some cynacism and I want to hear a song that will jolt me from an overly-positive haze and bring me back down to earth a little.

A Beautiful World - Tim Myers

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New Artist: Break and Repair Method

Occasionally, I click on banner ads, and Hypem.com was running one for these guys the other day, and I have to say, they have a fun and pretty interesting sound that hooked me in.
The Break and Repair Method is a side project by Matchbox Twenty guitarist Paul Doucette, and recently released their first album, Milk the Bee back in September. Vocally, this stands out a bit for me, and its accompanied with some fun lyrics with an energetic, indie-popish type of sound.
As a first release, Milk the Bee falls under the radar. There are only a couple of songs here that really stand out, my favorites being I'm At A Low, You Won't Be Able To Be Sad and This City (Is Bound to Do Us In). While this is a light number for an album, these couple of songs stand out a bit enough for me to sit up and take notice. There's certainly a feel for MB20 with a couple of these songs, while others, such as Low, this isn't the case.
In any case, this is a decent first effort from the group, one that shows quite a bit of promise if we hear more from them in the future. The group is currently on the road with Matt Nathanson.

I'm At A Low - Break and Repair Method

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[Excitement]

If all goes well, I'm off for a couple days...

EDIT: Nope. I guess not.

Leavin' on A Jet Plane - John Denver
This Time Tomorrow - The Kinks
International Airport - Carbon Leaf

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Concert Report: Ray LaMontagne @ the Boston Opera House

So despite having two ways in which I usually keep track of songs during concerts, my iPod (creating an on the go playlist) for bands that I have an absurd amount of music of, or a pad of paper and a pen to scribble down lyrics and song titles that I catch while trying to enjoy the show. Sadly, I left both of these methods in the car, a mile away from the concert hall and as a result don't have a set list for anyone.

That being said, I can say that the following songs were played: Hold You In My Arms, Sarah, Meg White, I Still Care For You, Three More Days, Trouble, Roses and Cigarettes, Hey Me, Hey Mama, Empty, Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's A Shame) Gossip in the Grain, You Are The Best Thing, and a couple of others that I'm forgetting.

Ray LaMontagne plays a fantastic show. One thing that I noticed right off was that he doesn't play front and center like most lead singers - he was off to the side, with the entire crew in a sort of semi-circle. I'm not sure if that was just for acoustic reasons, or if it relates somewhat to his personality, but it was something different.

The set that he played was excellent. There were a number of songs off of the new album, Gossip in the Grain, but a couple of favorites, such as Trouble and Three More Days, which was fantastic to hear. Soundwise, this was a really intimate show - the audience was fairly quiet, and seated, and it felt like we were in a much smaller place than the Opera House really was. The sound in that building was absolutely fantastic, and I've been do shows there before in which the same was true.

Ray had one guy thrown out, which caught me a little by surprise. I don't remember exactly what happened, but he seemed to get very mad all of a sudden, stopping the music, which put a little bit of a damper on the rest of the encore. He's also the first musician that I've seen do two encores, which was pretty cool.

Overall? Excellent, energetic and thoughtful performance.

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Review: Gossip in the Grain

Ever since I've started up my music blog, I've come across hundreds of new artists and found a lot that I've liked, and a lot that I haven't liked. But, there are only a handful of artists whom I literally count down the days until I can pick up their new album. This is the case with Ray LaMontagne, whom I've been a fan of since his first release, Trouble.

Gossip in the Grain is his most personal, emotional and well crafted album, and is easily one of the best albums of the year. It comes as an extremely bittersweet release for me, because a number of the songs hit so close to home for me that it literally knocked the breathe out of me during a couple of songs.

Gossip expands the sound of Trouble and Till the Sun Turns Black, building on the sound and feel of both extremely well, while not being boxed into any particular mode - this album represents an evolution in his sound - very similar to what Amos Lee did with his own third album earlier this summer, Last Days at the Lodge. The album opens with horns in the opening track, You Are The Best Thing. The playlist reads like a story - a love story, with all the hurt, joy and love with You Are the Best Thing, Let It Be Me, Sarah, I Still Care For You, and later, with Falling Through. This is the section that is absolutely brilliant, but at times, far too relatable, at least for me.

There are tracks that are easily some of the best that LaMontagne has done thus far. In addition to the aforementioned tracks, Meg White proves to be a fun listen to singer Meg White, of the White Stripes, Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's a Shame), and the title track, Gossip in the Grain. There's a wide variety of emotion and sound, and we see LaMontagne at vulnerable times, and when the cuffs come off and the sound takes right off. With this, there's a wide blend of rock, acoustic, bluegrass and country brought in here to build a fantastic sound.

This album is easily one of the best of the year, and its sure to make a high point on my end of the year lists. Its emotion, energy and spirit sets this far above most of the albums that I've listened to, and proves that LaMontagne is still capable to release better material as his music career ages, and that he is one of the best, and defining musicians of the decade.

I'm particularly excited to see LaMontagne live tomorrow night (Stay turned on Monday for a review)- he is one of the artists on my priority to see list, and it'll be nice to see his performance live. Gossip in the Grain is due out next Tuesday, October 14th.

You Are The Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne

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Cover & Original: Life on Mars

Tomorrow, ABC will be airing the US remake of the brilliant UK show by the same name. The title takes its name from the David Bowie song, Life on Mars. In the story, detective Sam Tyler is hit by a car and wakes up in 1973, where he has to exist while trying to find his way home.

The UK version is one of my absolute favorite shows of all time, and it's got a fantastic soundtrack to boot. I'm excited for this US remake, and a little worried that it won't live up to expectations. There was a scrapped pilot that has since been re-shot, and it looks like it could be a good one.

Life on Mars (David Bowie) - Michelle Branch
Life on Mars (David Bowie) - Phish
Life on Mars (David Bowie) - Seal
Life on Mars (David Bowie) - Seu Jorge
Life on Mars - David Bowie

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Artist Evolution: Nick Drake

I'm going to do something that I haven't done in a long time - an Artist Evolution Feature. The artist that I'm choosing for this is the late Nick Drake, one of my absolute favorite musicians of all time, and one whom I hold in especially high regard. Drake first captured my attention when I listened to the Garden State soundtrack when that was released. At first, I didn't really pay much attention to th song, and it wasn't until a couple years later, when I came across a couple other songs that I really began to listen to his works.

Drake was born on June 18th, 1948 in Burma, where he lived until the age of two, when his family moved to England - Tanworth-In-Arden. He played music from a fairly young age, but it was when he turned 16 that he turned to the guitar and began writing his own music shortly there after. He attended college in Cambridge where he was noticed and encouraged to sign to Island records, where he began to tour and record music. During this time, he was reclusive, and stopped performing in public in 1970. His first record was Five Leaves Left, released in 1969, which was followed up by Bryter Layter in 1970.

Drake was a troubled young man, and after submitting Pink Moon in 1972, he claimed that he was done with music. A year later, however, he began writing again, but a year later, in 1974, he was found dead in his bed, apparently of an overdose of anti-depressants. A collection of his music was released in 1979, Fruit Tree, and in 1994, Way to Blue, a best-of collection was released. Finally, in 2007, a collection of rarities and masters was collected and released in a two disc set called Family Tree.

Drake's music has been extremely influential to a number of artists, and has found a resurgence in the past couple years, thanks to the use of his music in commercials and the aforementioned Garden State Soundtrack. One of my earlier features, Artist Comparison, featured Nick Drake against newcomer Alexi Murdoch, and I suspect that Jose Gonzalez and numerous others have been influenced, while artists such as Tim Reynolds, My Morning Jacket, Denison Witmer and Norah Jones have all covered his songs.

Five Leaves Left contains some of my favorite Drake songs - Time Has Told Me, River Man, Day Is Done and Way to Blue. This introduction features somber vocals and lyrics, and the delicate work with his guitar. I'm really reminded of a rainy day when I listen to this, but I'm never put in a depressed mood while listening to it. This album seems down, but it always keeps me positive.

Bryter Layter has quite a different feel from its predecessor. There's a lot more emphasis on strings right from the get go, with Drake's guitarwork cutting right through in an elegant fashion. There's horns, electric guitar and and overall richer and more energetic sound. There's more life here.

Pink Moon is more of a return to the sound of Five Leaves Left - Drake recorded it solo, and there is an incredibly stark and lone feeling to the entire album. What hasn't changed over all of the albums here have been the level of songwriting - there is an incredible unity between the vocals and guitar work, the culmination of his prior albums and the peak of his career.

The remainder of Drake's music is mixed, with several collections being released after his death. I'm particularly fond of Made to Love Magic, while I'm not terribly thrilled with Family Tree. There are several very, very good songs here, but others, unsurprisingly, aren't finished, and are merely demos that have an incredibly rough feel to them that doesn't nearly match up to his other works. What it does do, however, is give some insight into his personality, when he speaks, or when he sings with his mother.

It's a shame that he died at such a tragic, young age. Drake, in my opinion, was not just one of the world's greatest singer-songwriters, he was a great poet, and with his death, we only saw a glimpse of his potential.

River Man - Nick Drake
Hazy Jane II - Nick Drake
Place To Be - Nick Drake
Three Hours - Nick Drake
Blues Run the Game (Jackson C Frank) - Nick Drake

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Ray LaMontagne!

I got tickets to see Ray LaMontagne later this week! A friend of mine is going down, and picked me up an extra, for the show in Boston's Opera House this Friday. Damn, I'm excited for this show. His new album, Gossip in the Grain, is coming soon, and from all appearances, this album is going to rock. Hard. Stay tuned for a concert review and set list.

DAMN, I can't wait.

Trouble - Ray LaMontagne
Three More Days - Ray LaMontagne

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Basement Song - Adam Ezra Group

CarryYouAway's good friend Adam Ezra has offered up one of his songs from his latest album View from the Root for a free download. It's one of their more political songs, and has the following message:

ok, so here’s the deal. on 11/4/08 you can change the world by voting for the next president of the united states. we’ve posted the song “basement song” from “view from the root” as a free download from adam's facebook page. ( http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=891725392 ) download it, listen to it, pass it along to as many people as you know! pass along this voter registration info as well and make sure you get out and vote on nov. 4. depending on where you live, you might even be able to cast your vote now! if you are not registered, here are a couple of sites you can go to to register:

http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_register.html

http://www.maps.google.com/vote

there is so much at stake; serious issues that affect us all: war, the economy, education, energy, the environment…

thanks for making a difference!

aeg

I'm right there with him. If you haven't - go vote. Use wikipedia, the New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, candidate webpages, watch the West Wing, do something, get involved, learn about what's going on in the world and vote.

Basement Song - Adam Ezra Group

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The Best of September

My, that month went by quickly. September had some very good music here - a couple new artists, but a lot of old favorites, such as Bon Iver, The Decemberists and Snow Patrol releasing some fantastic new material.

With the fall about to blow past just as fast as September, I'm starting to think about what the best songs of 2008 were, and most certainly, will be looking over these lists and doing a recap at some point, as well as looking back over last year's favorites.

For Emma (Myspace Edition) - Bon Iver


Flume (Myspace Edition) - Bon Iver


Bon Iver released a free EP via myspace, which featured four re-worked songs from his first wondeful album, For Emma, Forever Ago. These songs have a more expanded and richer sound behind them and sound beautiful. If only they had also recorded Re: Stacks...

Make You Crazy (feat. Femi Kuti) - Brett Dennen


Brett Dennen is back after a short hiatus with his new album Hope for the Hopeless, being released on October 21st. I'm not the biggest fan of Dennen, even after seeing him in concert last year, but this song is catchy, and really seems to fit with the current state of American politics, with a lot of awareness to outside issues to a level that we haven't seen until recently. What's going on in the world can certainly make me go crazy and mad.

Blow Away - Chris Blake


I came across Chris Blake randomly earlier this month with the track Blow Away, which really captured my attention with a good beat and energy. Wave is his first album, and while I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the entire thing, it's gone onto my to-get list, because this sounds like a promising new musician.

Valarie Plame - The Decemberists


The first track off of the Always the Bridesmaid series, Valarie Plame follows with Decemberists tradition of singing about some really random things - this time, about the CIA agent who was outed by the Bush Administration that's caused them a lot of problems. You can read the initial article that started it all here.

Grounds for Divorce - Elbow


This song was featured on the trailer for a movie called Burn After Reading, the latest from the Coen Brothers. I have yet to see the movie, but this song really got my attention with its heavy beat and interesting, haunting sound. It sounds like a cool song that just begs for things to happen in slow motion.

Silver Purse - Helen Lawson


I was very impressed with Helen Lawson earlier when I reviewed her initial EP, Crossing the Bridge. Her music is lyrical, smooth and very beautiful. Her lyrics and voice here match really well, and I'll be awaiting her first LP whenever that is released.

You've Changed (Original Mix) - Lauren Flax feat. Sia


I love Sia's voice and alt-pop sound. Mixed with an electronic/techno type song, it really fits well, and this song works very well with Sia's voice and style. It's interesting to see her in a different electronica song than her other work, with Zero 7.

Shattered (Turn the Car Around) - O.A.R.


I've enjoyed listening to O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) since college. They're not a favorite, but I've loved That was a Crazy Game of Poker, Hey Girl and Mr. Moon. They're a good band for the Adult Alternative listeners, with a nice blend of rock/alt-country/folk-rock and a little reggae thrown in for good measure. Shattered is a very typical sounding song from them, but it's a solid one, with a good beat and feel.

Take Back the City - Snow Patrol


Snow Patrol is back with a follow up for Eyes Open. This song sounds like it could have made the album, but for a bit more energy attached to it. This song, along with Shattered, feel comfortable, and have a good alternative/rock sound to it that makes me think that this will be a popular radio hit when their upcoming album, A Hundred Million Suns is released. I like this sound - it's solid and sounds pretty good.

Ottoman - Vampire Weekend


Vampire Weekend is back with a new song that's sure to be very popular with the indie-hipsters. It's a pretty typical song from the group, with a quirky sound and interesting guitar work, these guys are sure to be somewhat popular until they release their next album. While I enjoy this song, I'm not sure how much longer I'll enjoy listening to it. Time will tell.

That's all for this month - October is sure to bring some very good music.

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Phish Announces Reunion Tour

The jam-band Phish announced earlier today that they would be reuniting for a 3 night concert stand March 6th, 7th and 8th, 2009 in Hampton, Virginia, with a 2009 tour to be announced later on. Tickets go on sale 10/18.

I'm not surprised by this news - members of the group have dropped hints over the past year that this would be happening, and reunions seem to be all the rage now. I'm wondering if they'll come back up to Vermont, where they played their last concert, and because this is their home turf. No doubt, this will be big news here.

I'm a casual fan of Phish - I think their album A Live One, is one of their best works, and they're one of the few bands whom I actually like better live than studio. It'll be interesting to see how well they do this time around - their last concert was horrible.

Slave to the Traffic Light (Live) - Phish


Sample in a Jar - Phish

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Goodtimes are Coming Back

A little while ago, I posted up that one of my favorite discoveries of this year, Goodtimes Goodtimes, out of London, will be releasing a new album sometime soon. There's no title, release date or track list for this album yet, but there are a couple of demos that I've just come across and received permission to pass along.

Listening to the tracks that I got, I'm more excited than ever. Goodtimes Goodtimes' first album, Glue, was a fantastic listen with a great sound, beat and lyrics. Here, it sounds like his sound has matured - it's more rich, but keeps the same basics that made the first album a brilliant one. These tracks rocks - Get Ready builds and builds to an exciting chorus that just explodes with energy about halfway through, while Let It Begin and For All My Kingdom keeps the energy going with a great beat and sound.

I'll certainly be posting more information up about this, but already, this is going to be one of my more anticipated albums, whenever it comes out.

Let It Begin - Goodtimes Goodtimes


For All My Kingdom - Goodtimes Goodtimes


Get Ready - Goodtimes Goodtimes

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