Best of July

This past month has been a fantastic one for new music. I’ve come across some fantastic new artists, as well as some older ones who’re back for more. Here’s what I liked:

Broken - Tift Mirritt
I heard this track on the radio (Point FM 104.7), and fell for Mirritt’s voice and lyrics. Her rhythm and sound mesh perfectly with one another with a great country-folk-rock feel.

Tu Es Ma Came - Carla Bruni
Another radio discovery, this time via NPR, Carla Bruni is probably also the most important person that I’ve reviewed thus far – she’s the first lady (or the equivalent) of France – she’s married to Nicolas Sarkozy, and has just released her second album, Comme Si De Rein N’etait, which has a great acoustic feel.

Freeze Ray - Neil Patrick Harris
The first song off of Joss Whedon’s brilliant internet geek musical, Freeze Ray is a fun little romance that bubbles with optimism and shyness.

Flame - Bell X1
Bell X1 is an interesting Irish group that has a lot in common with Snow Patrol. Flame is a really fun introduction to them.

Jacqueline - James Hunter
James Hunter is back with his fantastic 50s/60s retro sound with this track, Jacqueline.

Back in Black (AC/DC) > Indecision - Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf is one of my favorite bands of all time, and they’ve been working on new material. This is one of their latest songs, and a good cover to boot.

Crossroads (Robert Johnson) - John Mayer
I came across this track via Archive.org from one of Mayer’s latest concerts, which really fits with his blues style. It’s a fantastic cover of Robert Johnson’s song, with a good dose of Eric Clapton’s version thrown in for good measure.

Arms of a Thief - Iron & Wine
Serpent Charmer - Iron & Wine
Iron and Wine’s latest single, Love Song for a Buzzard, which has these two songs as B-Sides, are perfect additions to one of my favorite albums from last year, The Shepherd’s Dog. These two songs are two additions to an already perfect album.

Something Is Not Right With Me - Cold War Kids
The Cold War Kids are back with their second album, Loyalty to Loyalty. This track captures their sound once again nicely, with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

Many Lessons - Bantu Feat Ayuba
Mighty Intelligence - Dread Skeezo feat Dream Maximum
These two songs are from an album who’s review is forthcoming – African/Islamic hiphop/rap, which is utterly fantastic. These two songs are two of the best tracks of a stellar album.

Slipping Away - Cory Woodward
I’m not entirely sure how I came across Cory Woodward, but I’m really enjoying his laid back and interesting sound with this song, Slipping Away. I particularly like the guitarwork here – it’s simple and elegant and flows nicely.

Evil is Alive and Well - Jakob Dylan
Something Good This Way Comes - Jakob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s son Jakob has become a musician in his own right, first with the band The Wallflowers, whom I fondly remember from my high school years with hits such as One Headlight and 6th Ave Heartbeak. These two songs are reminiscent of some of the elder Dylan’s music, but different. Both of these are fantastic. My review for this is also forthcoming.

Measure of a Man - We’ll Write
We’ll Write is one of my favorite ‘Geek Bands’. This one’s about the end of humanity by robotic enslavement. It doesn’t get better than that.

On My Way - Kara Grainger & Amos Lee
Amos Lee has had a good year this year, with the release of his latest album. I came across this girl, Kara Grainger, and was surprised to find that the two collaborated on this song. She’s got a fantastic new album out now, with a nice country-folk feel to it, and this song is a good representation of that.

Put On Your Sunday Clothes - Michael Crawford
This track was from the Wall-E soundtrack, one of my favorite movies of the year. It’s old school, quaint and perfect for the movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d highly recommend it.

Hype – Buy – Support

House Season Finale

I’ve often said that I’ve loved the show House MD, and particularly, their tastes in music when picking the soundtrack. Last night was the Season finale, which I think was one of the best episodes in the entire show yet. (There are some spoilers here)
From the beginning, when House replaced his entire team, I didn’t really like Amber, and was happy that she wasn’t picked for the team. But since she’s started going out with Wilson, she’s become more than tolerable, and her sparring with House was something that was really interesting. This little story arc was far more powerful and different than some of the other ones.
Last night’s episode, when we found that she was in the accident, and that there was nothing that they could do, the last act of the show was possibly the most emotional one on there, especially when Wilson turned off the bypass. Bon Iver’s Re: Stacks was the absolute perfect song that they could work in there, and hearing Jose Gonzalez’s cover of the theme song, Teardrop, was fantastic as well. And, to cap it off, with Iron and Wine’s Passing Afternoon, I think we hit the jackpot with songs.
After that last scene, I’ll be interested to see what happens next season between House and Wilson.

Passing Afternoon - Iron & Wine
Re: Stacks – Bon Iver
Teardrop – José González

Hype – Buy – Look

The Ultimate, Final Primary Battle (Unless Hillary and Obama tie)

To adapt from last night’s Daily Show – today’s what could be the last major contest in voting for
who to vote for. Hm… If you’re in Ohio, Texas, my fair state of Vermont and Rhode Island, get out and vote!

Here’s a couple songs for the day:

Obama - Extra Golden
Woman King – Iron & Wine
Freedom - Sara Wheeler
Freedom - Amos Lee

Hype – Buy – Look

My Mix

I can’t think of a good title for this mix of songs. I was fooling around with play lists on iTunes – I swear, it’s a compulsion sometimes, when I came up with the first five songs, when I realized that I had something good here. When I got home from work, I pulled another dozen songs together to come up with this final list. I think that it’s the best play list that I’ve come up with in a while. Let me know what you think:

Everybody Knows - Ryan Adams
Hang Around - Gregory Douglass
When The Pain Dies Down – Chris Stills
Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine
Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder
Good Man - Josh Ritter
Who You Are - Cary Brothers
Pressure Suit - Aqualung
Time Is A Runaway – The Alternate Routes
Toy Soldiers - Carbon Leaf
See The World - Gomez
Trouble - Ray LaMontagne
Place To Be - Nick Drake

Have a good weekend! Next week, regular features & an announcement for a new feature.

Hype – Buy

Carry You Away’s Best Songs of 2007

It was difficult to narrow down just ten songs out of everything that I’ve heard this year. But, here are the songs that I feel are the best that I’ve heard or enjoyed.

10 – Rangers, A Fine Frenzy

From A Fine Fenzy’s debut album One Cell in the Sea, this song has a really good sound to it, with a pace and energy that really matches her tone. The chorus is a really good one, followed up with some fantastic lyrics. Everything really comes together nicely here for this tune. This song really turned me onto A Fine Frenzy, and will keep me listening for years to come.

9 – Heart Made of Sound, The Softlightes

The video for this song really got me hooked here, and brought me back time and time again for listen after listen. This song gives me the same feeling that I had on my best summers here in Vermont – sounds weird, but for some reason, I connect this song to walking around Burlington Vermont on a sunny summer afternoon. The sound here is bright, energetic and just fantastic. Even when I’m in a horrible mood, I’ll listen to this and it’ll bring me right back up.

8 – Seed of Wonder, Jesca Hoop

This song sounds really different, with some absolutely fantastic guitar work and vocals from Hoop. It’s unconventional, with influences from Hip-Hop and alternative rock. It’s got a lazy beat that’s incredibly catchy.

7 – Hard Sun, Eddie Vedder and Everybody Knows, Ryan Adams (Tie)

This is a tie for me, because both songs remind me of the other. Hard Sun is a good, solid rock song, one that reminds me of driving on a highway, while Everybody Knows brings out the same feeling – both have a good beat behind it backed by lyrics and a sound that just works, really well.

6 – Vermont Avenue, Ferraby Lionheart

I didn’t take to this song at first, but it grew on me quite a bit as time went on. Lionheart’s voice is like gold here, lazy and seductive, with lyrics that match that. The guitar and drum work is wonderful, and I like this song more and more as time goes on.

5 – In the Mausoleum, Beirut

Beruit’s back with more of a fantastic Balkan sound. This song starts off with a fantastic beat and sinks in with some fantastic vocals and lyrics. What’s really catchy is the use of other instruments, such as their distinctive use of a trumpet and stringed instruments. This song floats along wonderfully through the entire three minutes.

4 – Time Is A Runaway, The Alternate Routes and Who You Are, Cary Brothers (Tie)

This was another tie for me, between Time is a Runaway and Who You Are. Neither song really stands out on a technical level, but both songs really grabbed me for their sound and lyrics. Who You Are has a wonderful LA sound to it with a fantastic beat and energy, while Time is a Runaway has some fantastic lyrics coupled with their vocals and background instrumentation. Both are songs to relax to.

3 – Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!, Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans

Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albanians come forth with this fantastic ballad-like song that exhols the wonders of mounted cavelry, looking at their use through history. As a history person, this is just a wonderful song to pull apart line by line, and it’s got such a fantastic song to go along with it.

2 – Ah, Mary, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

I knew that my #2 song would be a Grace Potter song, but it took me a little while to figure out which one. I went with the first one that I heard, Ah Mary, a sort of protest song that pulls you in nicely with Grace’s fantastic voice before cranking it up a notch exactly a minute in as it turns to something you’d expect from some of their idols, like Neil Young. Their studio version seems to be a little subdued – go see this live for the full effect.

1 – Boy With A Coin, Iron & Wine

And my number one song of the year – Iron & Wine’s Boy With A Coin. Like Grace Potter’s album, there were a bunch here that could take the #1 spot, but there’s something here. Maybe because this song stands out so much from Sam Beam’s other songs and typical sound, or maybe because it falls into a fantastic beat and rhythm, this song just completely blew me away when I first heard it.

There you have it, the top 10… er… 12 songs of the year. Here are the ones that didn’t quite make it:

Dreamworld, Rilo Kiley
Sea Legs, The Shins
Down The Line, Jose Gonzalez
Rumors, Josh Ritter
The Pretender, Foo Fighters
Dashboard, Modest Mouse
Keep The Car Running, Arcade Fire
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Pressure Suit, Aqualung
Sci-Fi Kid, Blitzen Trapper
Eh Hee, Dave Matthews

There were others, but overall, fantastic year for music. Let’s see what’s next.

Hype – Buy

The Top Ten Albums of 2007

The following list was at times very, very hard to come up with, while at other times was very easy. Early on, I knew what my top album of the year was from when I heard the first song on it, as was the second and third picks. The rest required quite a bit of deliberation.
There was a lot of good music this year. I added 2257 new songs to my music library this year, 6.3 days and 12.63 gigabites. That’s a lot of music. I found a lot of new albums that I’d never heard, rediscovered some old music and generally immersed myself in everything. Along the way, I came across a lot of good music, and some bad music.

Here’s ten albums that I really liked, but they just didn’t crack the top ten:

20 – Say No To Being Cool, Yes To Being Happy, The Softlightes
- I loved these guys sound all the way through, great first album.

19 – The Flying Cup Club, Beirut
- They’ve followed up their first with more Balkan-flavored sounds.

18 – The Reminder, Feist
-1,2,3,4 was stuck in my head for much of the summer and fall. There are plenty of worse songs out there, so I’m fortunate for that.

17 – In Our Nature, Jose Gonzalez
-Jose Gonzales followed up his fantastic first album with a fantastic second album – another cool cover and more acoustic rock goodness.

16 – Good and Reckless and True, The Alternate Routes
- Ryan Adams fans might like this one. It’s an all around solid rock album.

15 – Kismet,Jesca Hoop
- Hoop brought a fanastic, unique sound that really was pretty cool.

14 – Dylan, Bob Dylan
- This compilation of Dylan’s music pulled together a fantastic set of his entire career. A must.

13 – Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
- These guys had some really good cuts off of this album – it’s tight, together and really well done all around. Canadians were on fire this year.

12 – Little Voice, Sara Bareilles
- This first album really impressed me from her first song Love Song, but overall, the entire thing did really well, and was really solid.

11 – Who You Are, Cary Brothers
- Cary Brother’s first album was a long anticipated one from me – I don’t think that there was a track on here that I didn’t like. From the fantastic Who You Are to Blue Eyes, this is another guy who’s going to have a good career ahead of him.

Here are the albums that I loved:

This was an earlier album in the year that’s come up and down on my list before settling here at number ten. I’ve been a fan of The Shins for a while now (Yes, I found them when the rest of the world did with Garden State), but I loved both of their earlier albums. This one didn’t disappoint, with the fantastic Phantom Limb, Sea Legs, Australia and Girl Sailor. They brought along their fantastic sound and even better songwriting skills for a third fantastic time.

This album showed me that not all country is bad, and more importantly, reinforced that country songs are really storytelling songs, and that they can be really good at it. Here is a fantastic concept album of the use of horses in warfare throughout history. The title track blew me away, and as a historian, really impressed me with some of the songs.

Spoon was a band that took a bit of time to grow on me, but I was incredibly impressed with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, their latest independent album, which is at best described as minimalist, with some fantastic new songs from them, such as Underdog, Don’t Make Me A Target, and Rhythm and Soul. It’s a great addition to their already really good repertoire.

Brandi Carlile’s follow up to her first album really surprised me this time around – my first impressions of her was lukewarm, but right from the start, this album really impressed me, and after seeing her live in concert, her energy and sound completely blew me away.

One In the Sea impressed me from the start A Fine Frenzy’s voice. It’s delicate and powerful at the same time, and coupled with her songwriting, was an incredible first effort. Her songs are both light and somber, especially with Ashes & Wine, Rangers, Hope For The Hopeless and most of the others on there. Seeing her perform with Brandi Carlile this year was a big highlight here.

This was apparently one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and for good reason. Rilo Kiley pulled out a fantastic effort here, bringing a sound that reminded me a bit of Fleetwood Mac, but with an angry indie-rock singer edge to it.

Dreamworld – Rilo Kiley

I caught Josh Ritter opening for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals earlier this summer, and really had a fun time – their latest album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is a marvel of storytelling and a nice bridge of country-folk and rock music. There’s some really cool stuff here musically, and their song writing skills are certainly sharp from some of the songs here.

Rumors – Josh Ritter

I first was introduced to Ferraby Lionheart with Vermont Avenue, which sort of lurked at the back of my head for a couple of months while I heard more and more from him over the summer. Quickly, his unique sound won me over with some really great songs from this album. Like A Fine Frenzy, this is a fantastic debut album from a newcomer that I’ll be looking forward to hearing more about.

Before We’re Dead – Ferraby Lionheart

This was almost #1. It’s really, really close, because I love Sam Beam’s sound, and to hear this album compared to his other ones is a huge jump. The sound became rich, with lots of peripheral instruments, while not loosing one bit of the fantastic sound and style that he employed for his first two albums. He’s no longer a guy playing acoustic guitar in a closet, he’s out there and brought a wonderful album with him. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Innocent Bones – Iron & Wine

This is Somewhere was easily my most anticipated album of 2007, from the beginning of the year when I first learned that the Nocturnals were putting out their first studio album. I loved it from the beginning, and not because they’re from Vermont. It’s because they’ve got an incredible sound, and have moved to a somewhat more mainstream rock sounds that really works with Grace’s vocals and the band’s talents. Their first two albums were fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but this album just plain rocked. And in person, these guys were like nothing else I’ve really seen, with an incredible amount of energy. Easily my favorite album of the year.

Mastermind - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Tomorrow, the best songs of 2007.

Boo!

Happy Halloween! For a bit of background, the holiday originates from the pagen holiday Samhain, from the Celts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The name Halloween actually comes from All-Hallow-Even, which really means that it’s the night before All Hallow’s Day, aka All Saint’s Day. In Mexico, the next couple of days are called Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Lots of people know the day when free candy is given out.
So, to celebrate:

Devils

The Devil Never Sleeps – Iron & Wine
Sympathy for the Devil – Rolling Stones
Devil Went Down to Georgia – Charlie Daniels Band
Saint Augustine in Hell – Sting

Ghosts

The Ghost of You Lingers – Spoon
Ghost Story – Sting
Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr.
Is There A Ghost – Band of Horses

And the rest…

Skeleton Man Dance – Carbon Leaf
Highway to Hell – AC DC
Halloween - Dave Matthews Band

Hype – Buy

Weekend Mix

I didn’t have anything planned to throw up here today, so here’s a random smattering of songs that I really enjoy. So, some good stuff for listening this weekend:

Apologies – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Fa Fa – Guster
Fall Apart Again – Brandi Carlile
Freedom – Sara Wheeler
Lovesong of the Buzzard – Iron & Wine
On The Radio – Regina Spektor
Sister Jack – Spoon
Small Planet – Ferraby Lionheart
Torn To Tattered – Carbon Leaf
Who You Are – Cary Brothers

Hype – Buy

The Best of September

This has been a really good month for music, with a ton of albums being released and with some good stuff floating around out there. Here’s the best of what I found this month –

You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Band from TV

The Band from TV is just as it sounds, a band from TV. It’s a collection of actors from various TV shows who’ve come together, including Hugh Laurie (House MD) and Greg Grunsberg (Heroes, Alias), among others. One of their first tracks released was for the House, MD Soundtrack, a cover of the Rolling Stones song, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, one of the trademark songs from House, MD. It’s a fun cover, with a bit of a different take than the original.

Eh Hee – Dave Matthews

This song is weird. Just plain weird, and really different from everything that Dave Matthews has done thus far. It’s got a weird beat, lyrics and video. And it’s pretty cool, once you get over how odd it is.

State of Massachusetts – Dropkick Murphys

This is the latest from the Dropkick Murphys, which sounds like one of their Irish rock songs, with a kickass beat and an interesting story with their lyrics.

Hard Sun – Eddie Vedder

One of the main tracks from the soundtrack Into the Wild, this is a cover of somebody’s (I can’t remember what the original artist was), and it’s one of those songs that just struck me while I was driving. Good lyrics, and when the chorus kicks in, I’m good.

Beautiful – Elvis Costello

I’ve been trying to find this for a while, ever since it was used in a House, MD episode, Elvis Costello’s cover of Christina Agulara’s Beautiful. It’s got a good beat and overall, a much better cover than the original.

Let It Die – Foo Fighters

Just off of Echoes, Silence and Grace, the Foo Fighters are back (review coming soon) and this is one of the cooler songs off the album, starting off really slowly, but building over the whole song.

Home – Foo Fighters

This is one of the softer Foo Fighters songs off the album, and it really goes to show that these guys can do more than just fast rock. Dave Gohl’s voice with the piano is just fantastic here.

Pagen Angel and a Borrowed Car – Iron & Wine

This is one of my favorite favorites of the month. It starts off stripped of sound before opening up about 20 seconds into the song, with amazing drum and guitar work, as well as Sam Beam’s fantastic voice. I love this song.

Carousel – Iron & Wine

I also love this one. It’s got some amazing guitar work and vocals and has a delicate and relaxed sound to it. One of the best off of the album The Shepherd’s Dog.

In Our Nature – José González

José González is back with In Our Nature, and the title track has a fantastic sound and off beat tone to his acoustic guitar and drum work.

Teardrop – José González

This is a cover of Massive Attack’s song, and like Heartbeats before in Veneer, González shows what he can do with an electronic song, although the result isn’t as dramatic as it was with Heartbeats. No matter, this song is just amazing as is.

White Bird – KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall is back with Drastic Fantastic. While not as good as her earlier album, White Bird is one of the stronger songs on the album, with a nice laid back sound and really good vocal work on her part.

Hopeless – KT Tunstall

This is another one of the stronger songs off of Drastic Fantastic, with a nice beat and good KT Tunstall sound. The vocals and drumwork are flawless here.

Love Song – Sara Bareilles

This is the lead single off of newcomer Sara Bareille’s album Little Voice. She’s got a good sound with the piano and a strong voice here, and some fantastic lyrics.

Many The Miles – Sara Bareilles

This is another fantastic song off of Little Voice, with fantastic piano and vocals, with a good opener that eases nicely into the chorus here, with a nice blend of soul, R&B and rock.

Buttons – Sia

Sia’s best known (at least to me) for her collaborations with Zero 7. I like her work with them just fine, but it wasn’t until this song that I really listened to her. This song’s quirky pop sound is really cool, and distinctive.

Hype – Buy

Duet – Shins / Iron & Wine

This week’s duet is of two Subpop artists who I paticularly like, covering a song from an album that really helped them break into the larger public consiousness, New Slang. It’s originally by the Shins, and Sam Beam (I&W), joined them for this concert, I believe in Australia. It’s a fantastic duet between the two of them, with their sounds really complementing one another’s.

New Slang – The Shins and Iron & Wine

Hype – Buy – Look