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

Hype – Buy

Happy

Heartbeats - José González
Comfort - Carbon Leaf
Hold You In My Arms – Ray LaMontagne
Her Morning Elegance - Oren Lavie
Re: Stacks – Bon Iver
Heart Made of Sound - Softlights
Orange Sky - Alexi Murdoch
Much Further To Go - Rosie Thomas

Hype – Buy

Concert Review: Twi the Humble Feather and José González

(Picture J.Muntz)

Last night, one of my favorite artists came to town – José González. I’ve been a huge fan of his for nearly three years now, and seeing him in person has been on my MUST DO list for about that entire time. I’ve thought about driving down to Boston several times when he’s been in time, but things like real life have gotten in the way.
Last night, he played a set at the Higher Ground music hall in South Burlington, his first time in Vermont, alongside a Brooklyn called Twi the Humble Feather.

I did a quick listen to these guys on myspace prior to the concert, and I don’t know what it was, but I wasn’t that into them. However, seeing them in person and with my brother (who’s a music major), I loved their performance. They have a unique, complex and layered sound from the trio, who are all playing in the classical style that just blew me away. The vocals were really interesting, and they really varied their sound and pacing throughout their short set.

Space Ships
The Adventures of Castle One
Music for Spaceships and Forests
Higher At the End
Unknown

José González blew me away even more. Completely, and I can say that this was one of the best concerts that I’ve ever been to, despite the fact that I couldn’t see him half the time because of the tall people in front of me.
I’ve long been a fan of his guitarwork but what I’ve never gotten listening to his albums is the physical presence and feel of his playing. The reverb from his guitar along was felt through the entire room, and his voice was clearer than most of the artists that I’ve seen play in that room. Soundwise, this was the clearest, perfect type of sound – it was sublime, and I was getting chills listening to it.
González’s set was fantastic, playing a nice mix of songs from his two albums, hitting the really big songs, such as Heartbeats, Teardrop, Killing for Love, and Crosses, but some of the other ones, such as Fold, The Nest and Abram.
González’s voice was incredible. It was strong, and soft, absolutely perfect for this style of music, and combined with his guitar playing, I can easily say that this was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

How Low
Hints
Fold
Hearbeats (The Knife)
The Nest
All You Deliver
Stay in the Shade
Lovestain
Down the Line
Broken Arrows
Deadweight on Velvetine
Crosses
Cycling Trivialities
Teardrop (Massive Attack)
Encore:
Abram
Killing For Love
Time To Send Someone Away
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)

Higher Than the End - Twi the Humble Feather

Heartbeats (The Knife) - José González
Down the Line - José González

Hype – Buy – Look – Look Again

The Best of May

This past month has been really, really rich with music. There’s been a lot of really good songs that’ve come through this way, and I’m really excited for what the rest of the summer will bring. Bring on the noise:

Ease Back - Amos Lee
Listen - Amos Lee
Amos Lee is one of my favorite musicians, and judging from the tracks that I’ve heard from his upcoming 3rd album (Due out June 24th), I’m betting that this one will be his best yet.

Life in Technicolor - Coldplay
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Coldplay’s changing things up a little with a bit of a newer sound, and like Lee, I’m thinking that this will be one of their better albums. I can’t wait to hear the rest of it.

Cath… - Death Cab for Cutie
Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie’s latest album also changed things up quite a bit, and on the whole, it’s stronger, edgier and it sounds fantastic.

Robots - Flight of the Conchords
I love these guys, they’re absolutely hilarious. Robots is just a geeky song to begin with, and they just make me want to burst out laughing.

Lucky - Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
This is a nice, cute duet from these two.

Killing for Love (Beatfanatic Remix) - José González
I love Gonzalez’s work, and while I’m not a huge fan of remixes, this is a really good one that I’ve been listening to a lot.

Magnetismo (Magnatism) – Landon Pigg
Landon Pigg’s off to a good start with his first EP, and I think this is the strongest song on the album.

Meet Me By The River - Matthew Ryan
This song is raspy, emotional and really, really good. I suspect that Ryan’s album will make it to the end of the year as one of the best.

Dream - Priscilla Ahn
I saw Ahn last year with Cary Brothers, and I really liked her sound, it’s sweet and calm. I picked up her EP, and have been waiting eagerly for more news about her next album, due to be released this June. I can’t wait.

The World, The People Together - The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are back, and they’ve got energy. This reminds me a lot of Bohemian Like You, which is a fantastic song.

Orbiting - The Weepies
I really dug these guys 2nd album, and this is one of the best songs on there. Very sweet, easy on the ears.

Hype – Buy

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

Cover and Original: Down the Line

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

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

Hype – Buy – Look

José González Coming to Vermont!

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

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

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

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

Hype – Buy – Look

Mountain Tops are Nice from the Distance – José González B-Sides

One of my absolute favorite artists that I’ve come across in recent years is José González, who plays the guitar with such an incredible style. He’s since produced two records, Veneer and In Our Nature, two absolutely incredible records that are well worth checking out if you haven’t already. In addition to his two main records, Gonzalez has put out several EPs, each consisting of a couple of songs. Here’s my selection of Jose Gonzalez B-Sides that are just fantastic.

This is my first attempt at a B-Sides compilation, hope that you enjoy.

Born in the US (Bruce Springsteen) – José González
Hand On Your Heart (Kiley Minogue) – José González
Hints - José González
Last Snowstorm of the Year – José González
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division) – José González
Neon Lights - José González
Sensing Owls - José González
Smalltown Boy - José González
Storm - José González
Suggestions - José González

Mountaintops are Nice From The Distance – Zipped

Hype – Buy – Look

C&O

This week’s cover and original is a familiar pairing – José González and an electronica type band, this time, Massive Attack, and their song, Teardrop. This song entered into my consiousness via the show House MD, where it’s used as the theme song. A year ago, before In Our Nature was even announced, González had been touring with the song, and it was fantastic to see it end up on his record.
Teardrop is a fantastic song – it’s got a great rhythm here, and González had really made the song Heartbeats by The Knife, his own, he really keeps with the same sound and feel of the original Teardrop here in this cover version.

Teardrop – José González

Teardrop – Massive Attack

Hype – Buy

Recent Concerts – Live in Washington DC

I’m a big fan of National Public Radio and the program All Songs Considered. Vermont Public Radio has it’s own version called My Place, hosted by Joel Nashman, and is an incredibly detailed look at music history and musicians, which is always fun to listen to.

In recent weeks, NPR has put up a couple of really good concerts online:

Josh Ritter – Listen
José González – Listen
Iron & Wine – Listen
Rilo Kiley – Listen

Hype – Look