Tuesday, September 30, 2008

New We'll Write



We'll Write, the geeky, end-of-the-world-predicting acoustic duo is back this month with another installment of their serialized album,
Songs for the End of the World, with Trampoline Song, the fourth installment of the album. Like the prior two installments, they have two additional B-Sides, Scars and Winter's Dawn, which you can get by signing up for their mailing list.

This song is a lot more optimistic than some of their prior songs. It's not my favorite of all the songs that I've heard from them, but it's not a bad one. Scars is a much better installment, in my opinion. In any case, I can't wait to hear what they have next.

Trampoline Song - We'll Write




Monday, September 29, 2008

New Video: You Are the Best Thing

With Ray LaMontagne's upcoming release just next month, a new video of the first song on the album has surfaced:


It's a really great song, and I'm already anticipating listening to this album. From this, and the other two songs that I've heard, I can't wait.

You Are the Best Thing - Ray Lamontagne





Friday, September 26, 2008

How to Bluff a Music Geek



Wired just posted up this hilarious article:

Bluff a Music Geek

Ever been smacked down by a friend with an encyclopedic knowledge of music? You can fight back without really having a clue.


Adopt obscure tastes. So obscure they're nonexistent. Tell your friend you're a big fan of the Egyptologists or some other made-up group. (What's he gonna say — "I've heard of every band, and that's not one of them"?) If he can't get a handle on your palate, your opinions are unimpeachable.

Answer questions with questions. "I think I've heard of Flop. Who was their manager?" Checkmate. It's surely not your fault this so-called fan can't provide enough background info to help you pluck Flop from your mental jukebox.

Use the magic words. To paint bands you know nothing about with broad, meaningless strokes, you need only two adjectives: overrated and underrated. With careful use, you can position yourself as a sophisticated critic of criticism, a qualified judge of not just music but the canon itself. Leg-sweep your foes with baffling pronouncements. The Beatles? Underrated.



I Know You Are But What Am I - Mogwai


Hype - Buy - Look


Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Cover & Original : Jason Mraz




I came across some interesting Jason Mraz covers earlier today, which helped clinch what I was going to do for the feature today.

The first set up is a cover of one of Mraz's songs, I'm Yours, off of his latest album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, by Shael Riley, a nerd-core artist out of New York City. This is an interesting cover, a little angsty sounding. It strays more into the pop-realm than I really like when it comes to songs, but it's not enough to dismiss out of hand.

Next up are two covers that Mraz has performed live at concerts, No Woman No Cry, originally by Bob Marley, and Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns n' Roses. Both fall with the originals pretty faithfully - this is a concert, after all, and people like hearing what's familiar. Of the two, I prefer No Woman No Cry.

I'm Yours (Jason Mraz) - Shael Riley








I'm Yours - Jason Mraz








No Woman No Cry (Bob Marley)
- Jason Mraz








No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley








Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns n' Roses) - Jason Mraz








Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns n' Roses










You Might Die Trying



I've praised the show House, MD numerous times for their music selections during the past four years. We've had fantastic artists such as Josh Ritter, Bon Iver, Amos Lee, the Rolling Stones, A Fine Frenzy, Damien Rice, Civil Twilight, and many, many others. Really, whoever picks the music generally picks a lot of good stuff.

Last night's episode added the Dave Matthew's Band to the list (Dave Matthews has actually guest starred on the show as a musical savant) with their song You Might Die Trying, which really fits with the episode pretty damn well. Nice pick once again.

You Might Die Trying - Dave Matthew's Band








Tuesday, September 23, 2008

New Artist: Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers



On Saturday, when I went to Carbon Leaf, another band was playing up here in Vermont, who I got to read about afterward - Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers. It's a mouthful of a name, but a worthwhile one. The group is a project from noted musician, Findlay Napier, and it seems that they'll be having an album, Out All Night, to be released October 27th of this year.

These guys are a Scottish ensemble, which is very telling with these guys lyrics and sound, and there's something that really reminds me of autumn here in Vermont with Irish and Scottish music.

I'm not sure that I'd call these guys a folk band. Certainly, they have a sort of traditional sound, but lyrically, they seem far more updated, which is a nice twist. There's energy and life in the songs that I've been able to listen to, especially George, which is an invigorating and exciting listen.

The album isn't out yet, but you can purchase it at their shows, or online via their myspace page before it's released hardcopy.


Out All Night
- Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers








George - Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers









Monday, September 22, 2008

Review - From Here to There




Dyan Champagne is a new artist to me, with all of the trademarks of an artist that I typically listen to - acoustic folk / singer-songwriter. This album proves to be a thoughtful, quiet and interesting listen. The lyrics are certainly something to read and listen to, which is interesting. There is a good attempt at a sort of story in each, but I got the feeling of a certain smugness with the words here; that the lyrics are different and abstract simply for the sake of being different and abstract. It sounds very good in this case, but it makes the album somewhat aloof, which might make some Pitchfork listeners and reviewers happy, but there are other artists that have done this and who have done it better.

This is a far different sound from other acoustic artists, such as Alexi Murdoch or Nick Drake, which is nice, to some degree, although his sound isn't as good as either artist. The change in pace is different and somewhat unique, which is nice. Too often it seems, I've been finding a lot of artists that are fairly good, but very similar. Here, we have a promising start, but a fairly different sounding one.

Overall, this isn't a bad album, but while it provides a fairly interesting listen, it's mired in a sense of self-importance that it hasn't earned yet.

From Here To There - Dylan Champagne









Junk Parts - Dylan Champagne









Fall!





This weekend, I turned my apartment's heater on for the first time in four or five months. Fall's officially on in Vermont, which now means long sleeves, hats, a spectacular array of colors in the hills and leaf-peepers coming to gawk.

Growing up in rural country and dirt roads, I have a special appreciation for the changing of the seasons. It's a beautiful sight.

Is This the Fall? - Carbon Leaf









Autumn - Wood's Tea Co.









Summer's End - Foo Fighters









Summer's Gone - Gaelic Storm









Carbon Leaf - Higher Ground 9/20




Over the weekend, I went to see Carbon Leaf for probably the 6th or so time up in Burlington. There's really not any point in reviewing these guy's live shows any more, because I generally gush about them, and everything that I've said has been said before already.

Their opening act, the Clayton Sabine Band, wasn't too bad - They sounded a lot like a Pearl Jam band, but had some decent lyrics to back up their sound. I don't think that they're a group that I'll follow, such as Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, Matt Nathanson or the Adam Ezra Group.

Here's the set list:

Indecision
Let Your Troubles Roll By
What About Everything?
One Prairie Outpost
Love Loss Hope Repeat
Life Less Ordinary
Torn To Tattered
Another Man's Woman
Learn To Fly
Desperation Song
Changeless
Blue Ridge Laughing / Freebird jam
Texas Stars
Meltdown
The Boxer

Raise The Roof
Mary Mac

Audio tracks are from the
Neptune's Park at 31 Ocean on 2008-07-17 show.

This was a fantastic set, a lot of their really good songs, and a couple that sound like they might make it onto the new record when it comes out (Terry told me next February, 2009. Apparently, they're about 5 days away from wrapping up the album completely. Stay tuned, you'll hear about it here)

Friday, September 19, 2008

New Artist - Dan Kaplan

I posted my review of the Dan Kaplan concert earlier today, but I wanted to introduce him separately. I came across Kaplan on yesterday when I checked up on the Langdon Street Cafe's webpage. Following the links, I came across his website and myspace page and gave him a listen.

Dan Kaplan is a singer-song writer out of Massachusetts. He used to be part of a group called The Still, which I haven't been able to find anything about - I'm guessing its a group that broke up, and Kaplan has been working a solo act since then. In 2006, he released an EP, now out of print, called
Lost in the Numbers, and followed it up in 2007 with Stranger Land. At the performance last night, he mentioned that he was working on a new album, and played several songs from it, all of which sounded quite good.

His style is best described as acoustic/folk, similar to Jonathan Clay, Matt Nathanson or Stephen Kellogg. It's calm, thoughtful and relaxing, which works very well with his sound. This first EP isn't much to go on, given its length, but from where I stand, it's a very, very promising start, and I look forward to his upcoming album.

Before I Go - Dan Kaplan








New Gregory Douglass



One of my favorite discoveries of this past year is Gregory Douglass, a local singer-song writer out of Burlington who has a smooth and lyrical sound - evocative pop, as I've heard it described. His 2006 album Up and Away was a real pleasure to listen to and review.

The other day, I received some information about his upcoming album, to be entitled Battler, which is due out to be released in February of 2009. However, he has a pretty cool pre-order plan that ranges from $10 to $1000, which will put the album in your hands prior to that release date.

$10 - Digital copy prior to the holidays.
$25 - Bonus Disc of B-sides, advance, signed copy prior to the holidays
$50 - Personalized copy of Battler & an additional studio album & free admission to an upcoming show
$100 - Two personalized copies of any studio album, two passes to a show and a mention in the liner notes.
$500 - Four personalized copies of any studio album, four passes to upcoming show
$1000 - House concert, five personalized copies, unlimited admission to any show 2008-2009.


It's an interesting tactic, and I've already pre-ordered with option #2. In this day and age with music and the increasing influence of the internet on music sales, it's no wonder that we're seeing more things like this, from pay what you want, to free albums, donations, advance downloads and pre-orders, not to mention the weath of songs that would never otherwise get released on a regular album. Hopefully, this'll work well for Mr. Douglass.

No doubt, there will be a good review here for this album. The first track has already been posted to myspace and on his website, and I have to say, it's absolutely fantastic. Up there with his best work already, with some very thoughtful lyrics that work very well with the accompanying piano and drums. Grace Potter did some recording with Douglass earlier this year, so I'm already awaiting this release.


Hang Around
- Gregory Douglass









Dan Kaplan & Leeland Sundries @ The Langdon St. Cafe



Last night, I needed to get out of the house and focus on my homework for a while, so with a little looking around, I found that the Langdon Street Cafe in Montpelier was hosting Dan Kaplan and Leland Sundries for a performance last night. Giving Kaplan a listen via his myspace page, I decided it would be a good way to get out of the house for a couple hours while I caught up on my readings.

Dan was up first, and unfortunately, his was the only set list that I was able to get for the night. No pictures either, because I left my camera at home. Here's what he played:

Set List (Partial)
1 - Balancing Act
2 - To Stay With You Again Tonight
3 - Louisiana
4 - Tell Me Why
5 - The City's still sleeping... (lyric) Feels Like Home?
6 - Thick as Thieves
7 - Who We Are
8 - Goodbye Blue Monday

Dan's performance was the stronger of the two. Leland Sundries (monkier of Nick Loss-Eaton) has an interesting sound along the lines of Bright Eyes, but it's not entirely what I prefer. However, his guitarwork really stands out, with a sound out of the rock & roll era of teh 1950s and 60s, which was a really cool thing to hear.

Of the two, Nick was the stronger guitar player, and when the two of them played together, they worked very well, with Dan's vocals and Nick's guitarwork. The two are a good pairing for their short northeast tour around New England, and hopefully they can work together again, because I think that with some time, they could have some real promise.

I'll be talking more about Dan later on today with a review of his latest EP, Stranger Lands. He plays with an acoustic/indie rock/folk style, somewhat reminiscent of Matt Nathanson's or Chris Still's sound, which is a positive note in my book. He mentioned a couple of times that he was working on a new album, although didn't say when. He'll certainly be someone to keep an eye on in the near future.

Overall, the performance was a pretty good one. I got my homework done, took in some good music, got out of the house and enjoyed myself.

New Bon Iver EP



Alas, there's no new music on here, but what it does have is four of his best tracks: For Emma, Flume, Lump Sum and Blindsided, all reworked in a session for myspace. This EP sounds fantastic, and it gives his music a subtle new sound that is just as good. They're not unrecognizable, but ... different.

Best of all, the entire EP is up for a free download, here.

Blindsided (Myspace Transmissions) - Bon Iver








Thursday, September 18, 2008

New Artist & Review: Crossing the Bridge EP




Helen Lawson's debut EP Crossing the Bridge is a pleasant and charming listen, with a fantastic, easygoing sound that sounds somewhat like a cross between Enya and Kat Flint and something of the down-tempo genre, and to me, very English. There is a certain richness to the sound between the vocals and supporting instrumentation of the cello, bass and piano. The four tracks here are all really good - Silver Purse and Something in the Wine being particular favorites of mine.

While I've come across and reviewed a number of female artists over the past year, Lawson really stands out here. Her voice is a bit lower, more tempered and calming. There is a bit of energy to the tracks here, which makes this a really refreshing listen. This is a fairly short listen, which is the primary shortcoming of any good EP, but this one here is particularly hampered here with a 15 minute listen - it's far too short, and is really deserving of a longer release. Hopefully, a regular LP will be coming soon as promised on the publicity sheet that I got, because this is a real gem and someone to keep an eye on.

Something in The Wine - Helen Lawson








Review: Red Letter Year



Ani DiFranco is an artist that I've recently covered with the release of her latest single, Emancipated Minor, which I really enjoyed as a teaser for her latest album, Red Letter Year. Giving the entire album a full listen, I found it to be a mixed album, with some fairly good songs, and some that I was indifferent to.

There are a handful of tracks here that really shine from this album - Emancipated Minor, Landing Gear, Smiling Underneath and the title track, Red Letter Year. The rest of the album, while it sounds fair, just doesn't stand out to the level of these songs. While this doesn't make this a bad album, it's not up to the level of some of her earlier works.

This album should be a good listen to those who are more familiar and receptive to DiFranco's other works. This album seems to share a lot in common soundwise with the songs that I do have, and have listened to, while adding a bit more flair and texture. This is especially noticeable in the opening and closing tracks, Red Letter Year and the reprise of that, which uses a horn section that really sounds pretty good. Emancipated Minor, the big track from this album, is by far the most mainstream sounding song on the album, but still maintaining a folk-funk type of sound that she is known for.

Emancipated Minor - Ani DiFranco







Monday, September 15, 2008

RIP: Richard Wright

One of the founding member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, died at the age of 65 at his home in England.

His obituary from the Associated Press:

Pink Floyd member Richard Wright dies age 65
By MEERA SELVA –
14 minutes ago

LONDON (AP) — Richard Wright, a founding member of the rock group Pink Floyd, died Monday. He was 65.

Pink Floyd's spokesman Doug Wright, who is not related to the artist, said Wright died after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. He says the band member's family did not want to give more details about his death.

Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college and joined their early band, Sigma 6. Along with the late Syd Barrett, the four formed Pink Floyd in 1965.

The group's jazz-infused rock and drug-laced multimedia "happenings" made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene, and their 1967 album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," was a hit.

In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright, along with Barrett, was seen as the group's dominant musical force. The London-born musician and son of a biochemist wrote songs and sang.

The band released a series of commercially and critically successful albums including 1973's "Dark Side of the Moon," which has sold more than 40 million copies. Wright wrote "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "Us And Them" for that album, and later worked on the group's epic compositions such as "Atom Heart Mother," "Echoes" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond."

But tensions grew between Waters, Wright and fellow band member David Gilmour. The tensions came to a head during the making of "The Wall" when Waters insisted Wright be fired. As a result, Wright was relegated to the status of session musician on the tour of "The Wall," and did not perform on Pink Floyd's 1983 album "The Final Cut."

Wright formed a new band Zee with Dave Harris, from the band Fashion, and released one album, "Identity," with Atlantic Records.

Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and Wright began recording with Mason and Gilmour again, releasing the albums "The Division Bell" and "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" as Pink Floyd. Wright also released the solo albums "Wet Dream" (1978) and "Broken China" (1996).

In July 2005, Wright, Waters, Mason and Gilmour reunited to perform at the "Live 8" charity concert in London — the first time in 25 years they had been onstage together.

Wright also worked on Gilmour's solo projects, most recently playing on the 2006 album "On An Island" and the accompanying world tour.

Source

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Hype -Mog - Look - Support

Friday, September 12, 2008

Friday Mix



It's been a very slow day, and I'm taking a break from homework. Here's five songs, picked at random for the weekend.

Grounds for Divorce - Elbow
Kids - Goodtimes Goodtimes
Feel So Free - Ivy
You In A Song - Jason Reeves
Kathleen - Josh Ritter

Hype - Buy


Thursday, September 11, 2008

Remember



I hate what this day has done to the US - I'm disturbed by the attitude of my country and my classmates, and I wonder what life would have been like if things were different.
The world has plunged into madness. I hope that it will someday be righted.

Freedom - Amos Lee
For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
There Were Roses - Cara Dillon
16 Military Wives - The Decemberists
Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Eric Clapton
Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Fringe: Where Science Meets JJ Abrams



Fox’s much-hyped show Fringe hit the airwaves last night, a multi-million dollar pilot episode that combines some of the more interesting elements of CSI, Alias and the X-Files. The show is to be about an FBI team (and consultants) who investigate odd happenings around the world, fringe science.

The pilot is certainly one to catch attention - on a flight to Logan International, a man is panicky, injects himself with something and within moments, the passengers have been killed, their connective tissue and muscles turning to gel and oozing off, leaving skin and skeletons. Thus, the some of the key characters are brought in to investigate - Agent Olivia Dunham, who tracks down a warehouse with her partner and lover, John Scott. They come across the man responsible, but Scott is infected in the process. Dunham pulls in Peter Bishop to get his father, Walter Bishop, to help, as he seems to have been an expert in the field of fringe science. There’s some shooting, some weird techno babble talk and a car chase later, and we find the truth - someone is a double agent, and that there are things in this world that you’re better off not knowing, but while the band’s together, we might as well investigate.

This was a good pilot - not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but interesting, intriguing, entertaining and fun. I’m a bit of a JJ Abrams fanboy with his work in the creation of Alias, Lost, Cloverfield and even Mission Impossible III. As a creator, he has a knack for putting things together from really well known elements. Alias is a spy show, Mission Impossible is more spies in an established franchise, Cloverfield is a fantastic take on the Godzilla/monster-trashes-city genre and LOSTLOST is a bad example there, but you know what I mean. One of the things that I like about Abrams is the way that his shows and films are quirky, with odd dialogue, characters that are somewhat offbeat. In LOST, one of my favorite moments is right in the beginning, when we first see Jack - he’s a man in a suit in the middle of a jungle. It has a certain offbeat flavor that is very appealing. Fringe does this pretty well - throughout the pilot, we are teased with little elements and mentions of things that are sure to really make up much of the mythology later on. There’s conspiracy theories, especially around a major corporation, the improbably named Massive Dynamics, which shares connections to the elder Bishop, one of the guys behind the attack on the airplane, and some of the main characters. Scott turns out to have been threatening the terrorist already, and seems to have been in league with the company, if the order to question him five hours after his death turns out to mean anything.

Fringe science fits perfectly with this type of show, and has been touched upon a little in various other Abrams shows - Alias had its share of paranormal elements with Rambaldi and random doomsday scientists trying to do something. LOST is all crazy science stuff at most points, Cloverfield has its monster, and MI3 has the Rabbit’s Foot, an unknown pathogen or something. With things like mind-control, sheep circles, earthquakes, people waking up from a coma and writing nothing but numbers and children vanishing then reappearing later on, un-aged, fit right in with Abrams and his style, and the way that the pilot works, and presumably, the rest of the show, it should be a fascinating and interesting ride.

Most of all, I’m interested to see what will happen with Massive Dynamics - one of their employees is a cyborg (robotic arm), and they seem to have a lot of knowledge of the Fringe science area, as questioning someone who has been dead for 5 hours seems to be a pretty easy thing to do. The name drop of the Pattern is very typical of Abrams, and I suspect that they’ll have something to do with it.

There are some flaws here. A couple of the characters are pretty flat, most notably Peter Bishop, who has ‘daddy problems’ and is a little too typical of some of the aforementioned projects. He’s brilliant, attractive and annoying, but comes around in the end and agrees to help Agent Dunham. Dunham herself is almost a background character, but far from a bad one - she’s just overshadowed by some of the others in the show. Duhnam’s boss, Phillip Broyles comes on very strong and flat, but evens out a little towards the end. The best character is easily Walter Bishop, the mad scientist, with a bunch of fun quotes and a crazy drive.

One of my main complaints with the show is that some of this stuff isn’t new or breaking the mold with the other shows. Alias and LOST both have characters that are similar with ones here in this show. They’re brilliant, attractive, have problems with their parents, etc. A little variation here would be nice, and I’ll be annoyed if we’re back to square one with Walter and his son every episode. Similarly, the show begins with problems on an airplane. Where have we seen that before?

This show isn’t any of the other ones already mentioned – there’s certainly enough between them that they aren’t copies, and although there are influences, Fringe stands well on its own two feet with the setup of this pilot. We have the beginnings of a large, overarching mythology that involves weird things and corporations, and a set of characters that shows some real promise. This also isn’t X-Files, despite the numerous comparisons, and I think that a huge amount of credit goes to the writers for making this show its own thing, not an X-Files copy.

All in all, it’s a solid start to what is one of the more promising shows of this season. I can’t wait to see the next episode. One word of warning, - don’t eat before watching. Next week’s episode is apparently about a woman who gets pregnant and gives birth in a matter of hours, and the child ages very quickly – 80 years in minutes. Sounds very, very interesting. If anything, it looks like it’s going to be far better than CBS’s own Science show, the Eleventh Hour, based off of a UK drama by the same name.



Fringe Main Titles - J.J. Abrams

Monday, September 8, 2008

Geek Stuff



Big milestone in geek-genre history today. Today is the 42nd anniversary of the first release of Star Trek, back in 1966. 42 is a fun number for anyone who's a geek and read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is why I find this amusing.
I'm not a Trekkie - regular readers will remember that I'm a Star Wars nerd, but Star Trek is one of, if not the most influential Science Fiction TV show out there, despite the fact that it only ran for 3 seasons before being canceled.
Here's a couple songs to celebrate:

Another Girl, Another Planet - Bell X1
Starfighter Pilot - Snow Patrol

Congratulations



I don't normally delve into family things at all with my online writings. However, I do want to throw out a congratulations to my brother and future sister-in-law for their engagement over the weekend. They've been going out for a very long time, and there has been a general feeling of 'it's about time', at least from me - I know it's something that had been discussed over the past couple years, and it's thrilling to see them finally together for this.
Both are musicians, and for some reason, I always equate this song with my brother, as he played Clarinet (brilliantly), and he's played this song before.

Adagio from Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A Major, K. 622 - USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra









Thursday, September 4, 2008

New Music - Emancipated Minor



Ani DiFranco
is an artist that I've followed off and on over the years, and I've always enjoyed her style of music. Later this month, on the 30th, she'll be releasing her latest studio album called Red Letter Year. The first track has been released, Emancipated Minor, which is a fun listen that sounds very much like DiFranco, but with some evolution here. This album sounds like it will be a fun one.


Here's the track list:

Red Letter Year
Alla This
Present/Infant
Smiling Underneath
Way Tight
Emancipated Minor
Good Luck
The Atom
Round A Pole
Landing Gear
Star Matter
Red Letter Year Reprise


Emancipated Minor - Ani DiFranco









Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The Best of August






Once again, it's the close of one month, and in with another one. This past month saw the return of a number of favorites of mine with new material, and all around, some fantastic material from a numbe of really good bands.

Shelly - The Alternate Routes








This is a song that I've been hearing live when I've seen the Alternate Routes over the past year. This is an appropriately bitter song, when one of the band members found that an ex was getting married. The song has a good drive to it, and is light enough that you don't catch the edge to it. It's a good sign of things to come with their upcoming album.

You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds & Regina Spektor









I've never been big on Ben Folds, but he does turn out some good pieces every now and then - I mainly just haven't had a chance to really listen to his repetoir. You Don't Know Me is a fun duet between Folds and Regina Spektor with a deep beat that sticks out with Fold's piano work. This song works paticularly well as a duet, given the subject matter.

Silver Lining (Rilo Kiley) - Ben Gibbard









Last year, one of my favorite albums was Rilo Kiley's Under the Black Light. Back in June, Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie covered the song Silver Lining. This is a fun cover - it's very well done, and Gibbard, while he pretty much sticks to the same song, has a good voice to match the original.

Blood Bank (Live) - Bon Iver









Untitled - New Song - Bon Iver









I've raved about Bon Iver quite a bit. There's not a whole lot that I can add to what I've said, except that these two songs are new, live and will hopefully be on the next album. Bloodbank is a fantastic song, a little more structured than some of the songs on For Emma, Forever Ago, which is interesting. The new song is from earlier this year, and is also quite good and has a fanastic beat to it.

Indecision - Carbon Leaf









This song starts with a wonderful Rock & Roll feel to it with great guitar work from Carter, and some even better vocals and lyrics with Barry, before transitioning into a very familiar feel that is typical of Carbon Leaf. I'll be seeing these guys in September, and I can't wait to hear this one live.

Love Song - The Dandy Warhols








The Dandy Warhols have been on my radar after Veronica Mars and the earlier release of this album, and the funky folk-electric/a sound really catches one's ear here. This is a really neat song with a truely unique sound.

Strange Overtones - David Byrne and Brian Eno








NPR turned me to this song. Starting off with a wonderful, laid back beat, the vocals kick in about 30 seconds in for another really unique song. Very catchy.

Running Down A Dream (Tom Petty)- Grace Potter & The Nocturnals









Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones) - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals









Grace Potter & Co did a fantastic concert in Burlington, again. Listen to the entire thing here, while you take in a couple new songs and a couple new covers that just plain rock.

Bird Of Prey - Jentri Colello








This is an up and coming indie singer who's got a promising voice and some fun lyrics. Bird of Prey has a great, laid back beat reminiscent of Rilo Kiley.

Let It Be Me - Ray Lamontagne








You Are The Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne








Ray LaMontagne is back with a new album, soon. These two albums take cues from his first two big releases, Trouble and Till the Sun Turns Black. These two tracks are tantalizingly hopeful and optimistic, and make this one of my most anticipated records left this year. If these two tracks are anything to go by, the next one is going to be absolutely fantastic.

Falling Stars - Sarah Siskind








Lone Tree - Sarah Siskind








Sarah Siskind is a country/folk/rock singer out of Memphis, and man, she has a wonderful voice and sound. She reminds me a lot of Nanci Griffith and Alison Krauss, with a great background beat and sound, and she has a fantastic, soothing way with words.

Every Drop - Sonya Kitchell








Sonya Kitchell is another fantastic singer/songwriter who's up and coming, and this track from her latest release has a great energy and feel to it, with a beat that makes you move, and builds and builds over the song. I'm wishing that I didn't miss her when she came up to the area.



That's all for this month. Let's see what next month brings to the table.

Dr. Horrible - Now on iTunes!



A while ago, I posted up a couple of ripped MP3s of the songs from the webseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog. It was a fantastic series, and now, the soundtrack is now up on iTunes! It's a short album, but without the background noise, it's fantastic!

Here's the tracklist:
  • Horrible Theme
  • My Freeze Ray
  • Bad Horse Chorus
  • Caring Hands
  • A Man’s Gotta Do
  • My Eyes
  • Bad Horse Chorus (Reprise)
  • Penny’s Song
  • Brand New Day
  • So They Say
  • Everyone’s a Hero
  • Slipping
  • Everything You Ever
  • Horrible Credits


Freeze Ray - Neil Patrick Harris










Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Coldplay Announces New EP & Album



Over the Weekend, Chris Martin, the front man for Coldplay, announced that in December, they would be releasing a 5-track EP entitled Prospects March. There's no word on an exact date. There was some word about this a while ago, when the band mentioned that they had another track, titled Luna, which featured Kiley Minogue, and that they had a lot more material. No surprise, given how short Viva La Vida was.

In addition to that news, the band also announced that they would be recording another album due to be released next winter. I have to say, after Viva La Vida, I can't wait.

Violet Hill - Coldplay

Cover and Original : Such Great Heights


It seems like the Postal Service are the people to cover. There's a lot out there, and a number of well known and excellent musicians have gone and covered what is arguably their best known song, Such Great Heights.

Iron & Wine's fantastic cover, which was featured on the Garden State Soundtrack, is, in my opinion, the best version, one that surpasses the original (but not by much.) Thus we fall into two camps - there's the acoustic-indie version of the song, and the pop-electronic versions, or ones that emulate either Iron & Wine or the Postal Service. Benjamin Costello falls within the first camp, as does the Dresden Dolls and Amanda Palmer, while The Wrong Trousers, Rilo Kiley, Matt Nathanson, MIT Logarhythms. Ben Folds sort of falls into his own category.

Why is this song covered so much, with such a limited number of versions? I chalk this up to the original, which is a very sweet and romantic song, which has gotten a lot of exposure through things like its use in Garden State and numerous television shows.

Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Amanda Palmer
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Ben Folds
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Benjamin Costello
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - The Dresden Dolls

Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Iron & Wine
Bent/Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Matt Nathanson

Such Great Heights (The Postal Service)
- MIT Logarhythms
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Rilo Kiley
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Umass Dynamics
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - The Wrong Trousers
Such Great Heights
- The Postal Service