Wednesday, July 30, 2008

In Motion: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago





I'm going to try this out - an album in motion. Each song from a particular album, from what I can find on youtube:


Bon Iver - Skinny Love (Live at Later... with Jools Holland
..

Bon Iver -- Re: Stacks @ The Canopy Club
..

Bon Iver - Flume
..

Bon Iver - For Emma (live at Lee's Palace)
..

Bon Iver - Team
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Back On Stages #2 Bon Iver - BlindSided - Live in SF
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Bon Iver -- Lump Sum
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Better Version of "Wolves (Act I & II)" by Bon Iver
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Bon Iver "Creature Fear" Chicago 4.10.08
..

Re: Stacks - Bon Iver

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Cover & Original: John Mayer Covers


While looking through Archive.org earlier today, I found that John Mayer has quite a few concerts up online, which I didn't expect, given how prominent of a musician he is. There's not a whole lot of recent ones, but there is a bunch of ones that date back to 2002 and a little earlier, and from those, I found a couple of cool covers.

All of these covers are pretty faithful to the original, except Crossroads, which seems to lend itself more towards Eric Clapton's fantastic cover of it. Never Tear Us Apart is a decent cover with a Mayer flair , Free Fallin' is a nice rendition, very easy going to the point where I think I like it more than the original. Crossroads pulls out some of Mayer's fantastic guitarwork, although this version seems to have been recorded before he really started trending that way in his major records.

Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
Never Tear Us Apart (INXS) - John Mayer

Free Fallin' - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Free Fallin' (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) - John Mayer

Crossroads, Live 1968
..
Crossroads (Robert Johnson) - John Mayer

I'm On Fire - Bruce Springsteen
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I'm On Fire/No Such Thing - John Mayer

Monday, July 28, 2008

New Carbon Leaf!



Carbon Leaf is getting back on the road a bit more, so it's time for one of my usual updates with how they're doing. As I've said before - these guys are one of my all time favorite bands. I can't get enough of them. I've spoken with one of the band members, who's told me that they're shooting for a new release sometime next February, although the details are a little sketchy, and they don't have a title yet. Hopefully sooner, but you know how these things are.

Second, they're coming back up to Vermont! I don't think that I'm going to review this show, because I've done it a number of times, and there's only so much I can gush at this point, retreading over old ground. But, September 20th, Higher Ground, they'll be back. Woot.

Finally, a new show's hit up on Archive.org, with one of their newer songs, with a tease of AC/DC's Back in Black, which is quite fun. I really like this new song - it's not as heavy as some of their other newer stuff, and it retains a lot of their great lyrics that I've come to expect from these guys.

Back in Black (AC/DC) > Indecision - Carbon Leaf

Cover and Original: Ebony & Ivory

I haven't really checked out the show Psych on USA at all, but I see their commercials all the time when I'm zoning out to the endless Law and Order marathons that that station has. One of the commercials that caught my eye recently was a cover of Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder's Ebony & Ivory, with all sorts of color cues, where the two main characters sing the same song.

..

..

Clearly, this isn't a serious cover - I crack up every time they reach the words Side by side on my piano. It's a fun commercial, that's for sure.

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth


Because I've had a crappy week. End of the world songs.

It's the End of the World - REM
Measure of a Man - We'll Write
The Geeks Were Right - The Faint

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

One


A year ago today, after some contemplation, I started off on this little experiment of a music blog. One year later, 425 posts and a total of 121,433 and 143,160 page visits (somewhat less unique visitors - this number is low, because I added on tracking a couple months after I started.) I'd say this is a success. The site has really grown over the past couple of months, and I've tried a number of features, such as the Cover and Original, Acoustic and Original, Live and Original, Artist Evolution, 80 Bands Around the World, Artist Comparison and a couple others. Some of those I haven't kept up with, but it's been a fun ride thus far.

The name Carry You Away came from a couple of songs, most notably Cary Brother's song Who You Are and Rilo Kiley's The Angels Hung Around. The idea was that music carries one away while listening. I liked the idea when I heard Who You Are, and it stuck.

From The Angels Hung Around:

"...'Till the angels hung around
as they carried me away."

From Who You Are:

"...You try to, but you can't move
As the windows crash around you
No one there to carry you away"


My main mission here is to highlight music that I like. Over the past year or so, my tastes have grown considerably, and I've found that there's a lot of stuff out there that I like. I've become a more competent reviewer and writer, partially because of the amount of writing that I've had to do for this site, and my tastes in music is more refined. I've met artists, taken tons of pictures, and found hundreds of new artists and songs that I never would have come across otherwise.

So, thank you to everyone for making the site a success, and for hearing what I've got to say about things.

Beginnings - Chicago
Thirty One Today - Aimee Man
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
One (Blake's Got a New Face) - Vampire Weekend
One Good Year - Slaid Cleaves

Who You Are - Cary Brothers
The Angels Hung Around - Rilo Kiley

Hype - Buy - Look


Monday, July 21, 2008

New Cold War Kids Album



The Cold War Kids, who rocked with their first album, Robbers and Cowards, will be back this year with a followup, called
Loyalty to Loyalty, due out on September 23rd of this year. Tomorrow, on their myspace page, the crew will release their first single, Something Is Not Right With Me.

Here's the track listing:

1. Against Privacy
2. Mexican Dogs
3. Every Valley Is Not A Lake
4. Something Is Not Right With Me
5. Welcome To The Occupation
6. Golden Gate Jumpers
7. Avalanche in B
8. I've Seen Enough
9. Every Man I Fall For
10. Dreams Old Men Dream
11. On The Night My Love Broke Through
12. Relief
13. Cryptomnesia

I can't wait to hear this one!

We Used to Vacation - Cold War Kids
Red Wine, Success! - Cold War Kids

Alone Again...



I think I messed that up. I only hope that things can be fixed, given time. I really, really do.

Blues Run the Game (Jackson C. Frank) - Colin Meloy
Come Around - Rhett Miller
Crying. Waiting. Hoping- Buddy Holly
Fall Apart Again - Brandi Carlile
Hand On Your Heart (Kiley Minogue) - José González
Happiness - Alison Kruass & Union Station
Hello - Schuyler Fisk
I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You - Colin Hay
In The Sun - Joseph Arthur
Last of Days - A Fine Frenzy
Life Less Ordinary - Carbon Leaf
The Long Goodbye - A Girl Called Eddy
Low Millions - Low Millions
Photographs of You - Jon Regen
Please Forgive Me - David Gray
Re: Stacks - Bon Iver
So Sorry - Feist
Stay or Leave - Dave Matthews

Friday, July 18, 2008

Watchmen Trailer, Or, 2009 Can't Come Soon Enough



I seem to be on a very geeky tract lately. First Weird Al, then Dr. Horrible, Dark Knight and now, Watchmen. This is one of the greatest graphic novels ever created. Period. And the guys who did 300 are making it into a film. I've sort of been withholding judgment on it for a little while, but now that I've seen footage and pictures, man, I can't wait.

..

From amazon.com:

The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite


The Beginning is the End Is the Beginning - Smashing Pumpkins

The Dark Knight



This is easily my most anticipated film of the year - The Dark Knight. There's been way too much hype and media coverage, especially after the death of star Heath Ledger earlier this year. From all appearances, advance reviews and talk from friends, this movie is going to be simply amazing. I'm hoping to see it tonight or tomorrow, hopefully in IMAX, if I can find tickets.

One thing that I found really cool is that my state's senator, Sen. Patrick Leahy, a huge Batman fan and ironically, the head of the Judiciary committee, has a short cameo in the film. I'm looking forwards to seeing that.

What people have made a lot of is how dark this movie is, and I think it goes to show that comic books, while seen as a really childish thing, really aren't. Graphic novels are dark, and this film is supposed to highlight that.

Having just watched part of Batman and Robin, and the original 1966 film, I'm happy to see some serious and dark storytelling, rather than campy silliness. In the meantime, rewatching Batman Begins and reading The Dark Knight Returns is a good idea as well.

I'm sure the Joker would ask:

Why so serious?

I'm Not A Hero - Hans Zimmer
Agent of Chaos - Hans Zimmer
Batman (1966) - TV Theme

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog



Joss Whedon's done it again - created something geeky, cool and downright addicting, and which has completely sucked me into. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

The premise is fun - a up and coming super villain in LA has a blog, where he answers reader mail, talks about his plots of world domination and the girl that he's too shy to talk to, Penny, whom he sees at the laundry. Intermixed with the dialogue is some catchy songs, turning this short miniseries into a sort of geek musical.

It's stripped down, simple, but very fun and interesting to watch. I predict that in the very near future, we'll see people put together the costumes and perform this as a fan musical at a convention somewhere. It's short and easy enough to do that it wouldn't be difficult. Whedon's not a stranger to musicals either, nor are some of the cast - Neil Patrick Harris is a Broadway alum, and Whedon's done at least one musical episode. The songs are light and catchy. I've had a bunch of them floating around in my head for the past couple of days now. Whedon's assembled a nice cast of albums from his shows, which is all the more entertaining to see fan favorites.

"With my freeze ray I will stop... the world."

Like many of Whedon's creations, there's a good mixture of well crafted characters. We've got the archetype good and bad guys, but the good guy has his darker sides and the bad guy has his good sides. Along the way we meet Moist, who can make things slightly damp, and Bad Horse, "Who rules the league with an Iron hoove." It's another fun foray into the superhero genre, which seems to be getting more and more popular outside of comics. I've been getting more and more interested in this sort of thing, and this really reminds me of Soon, I Will Be Invincible and to some extent, Heroes.

This comes at an interesting time, because NBC just released the first of a series of minisodes for the show Heroes, called Postal, following a mail man with a very loud voice. The first episode features him escaping from a doberman and a couple of company agents. Minisodes are an interesting thing that really doesn't seem to have caught on to a wider audience. Battlestar Galactica, Eureka and a couple of other shows have released these, and Heroes marks the latest in the intigration of mainstream media to user-generated content and viral marketing.

Thus far, Dr. Horrible is a success. The site crashed on the first day of the miniseries release, and has been brought back up again, and the second episode hasn't given me any issues. The first episode hit the #1 spot on iTunes as well, and I'm reasonably sure that the 2nd episode, whenever that it released via iTunes, will do the same thing. Then, on the 20th, the free content will be pulled, and a DVD release will follow. Will this experiment work? It seems to be. Hopefully it'll be successful enough for Whedon to continue to do this sort of thing, and according to at least one source, they've considered a sequel series.

This comes at an interesting time - the release of the Heroes minisode, and of course, this week is the one that marks the release of The Dark Knight, easily my most anticiapted film of 2008. I declare this week to be Superhero week. Next episode will be released on the 19th, this Saturday. I absolutely can't wait to see how they wrap this up. Will Dr. Horrible take over the world and get the girl? Or at least join the League? Will Captain Hammer have his way with Penny? Will there be more catchy songs and witty dialogue? Undoubtably.

Watch the episodes here.

Memorable quotes:

Part 1

- Captain Hammer, corporate tool. He dislocated my shoulder...again... last week. (Billy/Horrible)

- I received a letter of condemnation from the deputy mayor. That's gotta have some weight. (Billy/Horrible)

- I love your hair (Billy/Horrible)
What? (Penny)
No, I love the...air...(Billy/Horrible)

- Just a few weeks away from real, audible connection. (Billy/Horrible)

- Armored car? (Moist)
Courier van. Candy from a baby. (Billy/Horrible)

- Need anything dampened, made soggy?

- Why not cut off the head? (Billy/Horrible)
Of the human race? (Penny)
It's not a perfect metaphor. (Billy/Horrible)

It's curtains for you. Lacy, wafting curtains. (Captain Hammer)

Part 2

- You're kidding, what a crazy, random happenstance. (Billy/Horrible)

- Billy? You're driving the spork into your leg. (Penny)

- I say successful that I archived my objective. It was less successful as I inadvertently introduced my arch nemesis to the girl of my dreams. (Billy/Horrible)

- Which it will, because I hold a PhD in horribleness. Peace. But not literally...(Billy/Horrible)

- I also need to be careful about what I say on this blog, because the LAPD and Captain America are among it's viewers. (Billy/Horrible)

- Captain Hammer threw a car at my head. (Billy/Horrible)

- At my most badass, I make people want to take a shower. (Moist)

- The only signature he needed was my fist. But with a pen in... that I was signing with... (Captain Hammer)




Freeze Ray (Audio Rip)- Neil Patrick Harris
Man's Gotta Do (Audio Rip)- Neil Patrick Harris & Nathan Fillion
Keep Your Head Up (Audio Rip)- Felicia Day


Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Weird Al!



Last night (July 15), the New England Garrison was invited to troop in Gilford NH for Weird Al's stop along his national tour. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and I was so excited to be part of the group. I tried to get in on things last time around, but missed the cutoff. This time, I made sure I was on the list. The group included myself, Dave (a fellow VT guy who drove with me), TK, Chris, Derek, Elly, Greg, Jennifer, Adam Joyce, Dion, Carlos, Adam Scott, with Jamie as our wrangler, and Cy, one of our TKs, helping out with an R2-D2 someone had.



Dave and I arrived at the place early, around five, before anyone else. While hanging out and talking, I realized that I forgot my jumpsuit and underarmor, so we had to make a quick run to a local Walmart to find something to wear - I found a pair of sweatpants and a sort of underarmor top that worked fine - not the best, but it worked. We got back and found that we were still the only ones there. People trickled in over the next hour, and there was lots of greetings and chitchat while we waited for the rest of our group. Oddly, one guy didn't show up. I'm not sure what's going on with that. Around 7 or so, we got together, put our gear in the changing area and practiced what we were supposed to do during the performance, then were given tickets and we walked around the concert venue a bit. We got dinner (which was really good), then started getting our gear on. We didn't get to see the first half of the performance, but I did hear Bob, Weasel Stomping Day, and a couple others while we waited for our time.



That came up quickly, and soon, we were in line and marching up to the stage, where he played I'll Sue Ya. Buckets on, and we marched on stage.



The crowd went wild when we went on stage. There was a lot of cheering and screaming, and one of our photographers said that every cell phone in the place went up. It was a very surreal moment. Lights came up and Al started singing, and what we practiced started to kick in, and we were bobbing our heads and moving around for the first part of the song, then started dancing shortly there after. Then it was over. Man, it was such a fun experience.

After we got off stage, they played Yoda and Smells Like Teen Spirit, when we got out of our armor and went up to watch the rest of the show. He played Amish Paradise, Fat, White & Nerdy, before ending with We All Have Cellphones and Albuquerque. We went back stage, hung out for a little while and then got to meet him, and get some things signed. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get a group picture with him. He signed my bucket, and I need to remember to get some clear tape over it so it doesn't wash away.



Overall, one of the best troops that I've done thus far. Very memorable, if exhausting - I didn't get home until around 2 am!

Set:

Bob
Polka
Ode to a Superhero?
Weasel Stomping Day
All About the Pentiums

I'll Sue Ya
The Saga Begins (With us!)
Yoda
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Amish Paradise
Fat
White & Nerdy
We All Have Cell Phones
Albuquerque

Monday, July 14, 2008

New Vide: House of Cards


Another one of my more recent favorite songs just was turned into a video. This time, it's House of Cards, from Radiohead's latest, In Rainbows. It's pretty cool, they're using some neat 3-D imagery there.

..

House of Cards - Radiohead

Hype - Buy - Look

Weird Al!


(501st Empire City Garrison, from 2007)

This has me beyond excited. I get to see one of my favorite singers, Weird Al. Not only that, but I'll get to meet him and be on stage with him.

Yoda - Weird Al
White & Nerdy - Weird Al
The Saga Begins (Video) - Weird Al

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Garmin Napoleon



This commercial has been amusing me ever since I first saw it. It's quirky and interesting, with a fun song to go along with it. With a little bit of searching, I was able to find that the song was a jingle that was written for the song, which surprised me.

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Here are the translated lyrics from their website:

Under the sun, it's perfect, with my friends we drive, on the highway to paradise - alright - let's go in my car - the life before us is a beautiful sight, oh baby, here we go, let's go to paradise - alright - Garmin-Garmin-Garmin!"
I don't hold anything against songs that go up on commercials - recently, it seems, there's a lot of fantastic music getting a lot of really good exposure that way. Even jingles like this - pretty fun to listen to.

Napoleon Song - Garmin

Hype - Buy

Happy Birthday Adam Ezra!

Today is CarryYouAway favorite Adam Ezra's birthday. Hope that he's having a good one.

In recent AEG news, were recently selected to perform at the Rothbury Festival in Michigan, alongside Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Phil Lesh, Widespread Panic, Snoop Dog, Primus, Medeski Martin & Wood, Modest Mouse, Taj Mahal, among others. Way to go!

Hopefully, I'll be seeing these guys on Saturday.

Flyin' - Adam Ezra Group

Bombadil @ Langdon St. Cafe


Last night, one of the bands that I've gotten hooked on came to my hometown last night here in Vermont, and played a fantastic set of music. Back in April, I did a review of A Buzz, A Buzz, by the band Bombadil. It's a fantastic album and you should check it out, especially if you like quirky bands like the Decemberists or Bright Eyes.
The concert was at the Langdon St. Cafe, which is a small, hippyish community cafe, where they tend to pull in smaller, local bands or people on their way through.

Bombadil is composed of four guys, Stuart, Bryan, Daniel & James, out of North Carolina. I talked to them before and after the show - extremely nice guys - they really seemed to enjoy what they were doing, and were a pleasure to talk with. These guys had energy - on stage, they really brought the level up and had fun while doing so. Their performance and stage presence was lively and dynamic. There was a little coordinated dancing and movement that was pretty fun to watch as well.

What impressed me the most was how interchangeable each member is. I think that they all switched instruments at least twice, sang, or hit something with a stick. They brought out Trumpets, tambourines, xylophones, flutes, all to create a very rich and textured sound. Overall, I was very happy that I saw them - a very fun performance for a Wednesday night!

Set List:

1 - Jellybean Wine
2 - 25 Daniels
3 - Robore
4 - Julian of Norwich
5 - Three Saddest Words
6 - Venezualen Hymn (The Waltz)
7 - Johnny
8 - Suzy Marie
9 - Laurita
10 - Kuala lupur!Malasia

Break

11 -
12 - Smile When You Kiss
13 - Trip Out West
14 - She Said?
15 - What Would You Say? Marriage
16 - A Buzz, A Buzz
17 - (Bear Song)
18 - (Old Roommate Song)
19 - Tall Grass
20 - (New Song - Take the Chance / Wedding Song?)
21 - (Cavaliers)

(Songs I'm not totally sure about, titlewise)

Julian of Norwich - Bombadil
Smile When You Kiss - Bombadil


Tuesday, July 8, 2008

New Video - Cath...

Death Cab for Cutie has shot a video of one of my favorite songs off of their latest album, Narrow Stairs. Check it out:

.
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Cath... - Death Cab for Cutie



Monday, July 7, 2008

Paradigalla carunculata - Long-tailed Paradigalla

Arfak Mountains, Papua, Indonesia - 2005 © Mehd Halaouate

Arfak Mountains, Papua, Indonesia - 2005

Source:
http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/picpages/pic187-11-1.html

Lesser Bird-of-paradise (Female)



Source:
http://flickr.com

Loboparadisea sericea - Yellow-breasted Bird-of-paradise

The image “http://www.sunature.com/bbs/photos/2006362031420.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

http://www.sunature.com/bbs/list.asp?id=23763&page=1&lei=4

Manucodia atra - Glossy-mantled Manucode


Glossy-mantled Manucode, San Diego, CA



Source:
http://www.ejphoto.com/glossymantled_manucode_page.htm

Cicinnurus magnificus - Magnificent Bird-of-paradise








Source:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Cicinnurus%20magnificus&w=all&s=int

Lesser Bird-of-Paradise

Lesser Bird-of-Paradise. Photo by Rick Taylor. Copyright Borderland Tours. All rights reserved.

Source:
http://www.borderland-tours.com/v2/content/view/53/75/

Crested Bird-of-Paradise

Crested Bird-of-Paradise. Photo by Rick Taylor. Copyright Borderland Tours. All rights reserved.

Crested Bird-of-Paradise. Photo by Rick Taylor. Copyright Borderland Tours. All rights reserved.

Source:

http://www.borderland-tours.com/v2/content/view/53/75/

Astrapia mayeri - Ribbon-tailed Astrapia

Ribbon-tailed Astrapia. Photo by Dave Semler. All rights reserved.

Ribbon-tailed Astrapia. Photo by Dave Semler. All rights reserved.

Ribbon-tailed Astrapia. Photo by Dave Semler. All rights reserved.

Ribbon-tailed Astrapia. Photo by Dave Semler. All rights reserved.



Photo: Ribbon-tailed bird of paradise on a branch
A ribbon-tailed bird of paradise on a branch
Photograph by Robert Sisson


There are more than three-dozen species in the family Paradisaeidae, more commonly known as the birds of paradise. Most are distinguished by striking colors and bright plumage of yellow, blue, scarlet, and green. These colors distinguish them as some of the world's most dramatic and attractive birds. Males often sport vibrant feathered ruffs or amazingly elongated feathers, which are known as wires or streamers. Some species have enormous head plumes or other distinctive ornaments, such as breast shields or head fans.

Males put their bright colors and unusual ornaments to good use when they display for females. Their elaborate dances, poses, and other rituals accentuate their appearance and put on a phenomenal show for both female birds and any humans lucky enough to be in the vicinity. Such displays can last for hours, and in many species they consume a significant part of the male's time.

Birds of paradise are found in New Guinea and surrounding islands. The manucodes and riflebirds species also dwell in Australia. Birds of paradise are so attractive that their appearance once made them the target of skin hunters, who decimated some species.

These birds also lend their name to a colorful flower. South Africa's bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia reginae) is a member of the banana family. It sports a beautiful flower believed to resemble the avian bird of paradise in flight.

Source:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/printable/bird-of-paradise.html

Seleucidis melanoleuca - Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise


















Source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stavenn/sets/72157603574177396/