C&O

This week's Cover & Original features two bands from the United Kingdom, the Arctic Monkeys and Kate Nash. Kate Nash has been popping up a lot lately, while the Monkeys have been as well, with their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare being released earlier this year after their fantastic debut album Who the Fuck Are the Arctic Monkeys? that propelled them into stardom. Nash recently did a cover of their track on the BBC, which is quite a cool cover, she really does an interesting job with it, capturing the original sound quite well, but also adding her own flair to it.

Fluorescent Adolescent (Artic Monkeys) - Kate Nash

Fluorescent Adolescent - The Arctic Monkeys

Hype - Buy

New KT Tunstall Video - Saving My Face

KT Tunstall has been on a roll with her latest album, Drastic Fantastic, and already, we're on video number 3, this time for Saving My Face (Sounds like this song would have been fantastic with the show Nip/Tuck).

It's a cool video - I like the freezes and fades with Tunstall, turning ghost-like. Very appropriate for today...

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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

New Grace Potter

So, over the past couple of weeks, I've discovered that the American release of Grace Potter's latest, This is Somewhere isn't the only release - There's a couple of other ones, with a couple of new B-Sides that I'm desperately trying to get my hands on. One, the Barnes and Noble exclusive has 'Til the Morning Comes, which I got and is a fantastic listen. iTunes has another, If I Was From Paris. However, the Japanese version has two additional songs that I absolutely can't find anywhere, Belladonna and Over Again, at least the studio versions. I'm still trying to find them, and I can't find a place to download them at all.

However, I have come across some fantastic new songs from her:

Every Mile - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Delta - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Sinking Man - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Belladonna - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Margery - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Hype - Buy - Look

iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free stuff from iTunes:

Best Days - Graham Colton
Despabilate - Anita Tijoux

When the Saints - Sara Groves

Not a bad selection - Best Days is the best of the lot, and he's probably an artist that I'll check out in the future.

Acoustic & Original

This is another idea for a feature that I've been wanting to do for a little while, a takeoff from the Cover & Original that I've been doing. A number of artists that I've listened to have done an acoustic or unplugged version of one of their songs, and it's always interesting to see how, if at all, the two differ from each other.
So, to start off, here's two version's of the opening track for Grace Potter's fantastic album, This is Somewhere.

Ah Mary (Acoustic) - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Ah Mary - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

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(The picture's from a random flickr account that I came across that I can't find or remember where it was to ask the person for credit for - if it's you, okay to use?)

Cover & Original - Wonderwall

This is a song from my high school years that I've rediscovered recently for some reason. And along with that, two cover versions that I've come across recently that are both quite good.

The original is a raw version with a good amount of energy and sound that still has a good ring to it, even after all these years.

Cat Power recorded a version in a studio session with the BBC, which slows the song down a little as most of her covers tend to do, and she does a good job handling the lyrics. Between her guitarwork and voice, she really makes the song her own, and it doesn't sound bad.

Ryan Adams has done the better cover here, with some fantastic guitarwork and he changes up some of the pacing. It's similar to Cat Power's cover, but much better.

Wonderwall - Oasis

Wonderwall - Cat Power

Wonderwall - Ryan Adams

Hype - Buy

One Hit Wonders

I was going through my music library for a couple of albums, and noticed that there's a couple of bands that I really, really like. The only problem with them is that thus far, they've only released one album. Either they're a newer band and haven't written anything else yet, they just seem to have vanished from the face of the Earth, or they've broken up after only one album. Here's my favorites with only a single album:

Existing Bands Dragging Their Heels

Ex-Girlfriends - Low Millions



Low Millions came out with a hit single in 2004, called Eleanor, closely followed by a couple of other singles, Statue and Low Millions. The band has a very cool and relaxed sound, and the theme of the album is pretty overt - breaking up and ex-girl friends. I've been listening to it a lot more than I usually do. There's nothing especially different about this band - they've got a fairly mainstream sound, but they maintain a solid beat and some pretty good vocal work here. I really liked this album, save for a couple of tracks, and I had hoped that they would get going on a followup sometime in the near future. I believe that the band is made up of a bunch of members from other bands, which might be part of the reason for no activity on their part. According to a myspace blog entry, they were starting on some new material in 2006. Hopefully, we'll see some more from them.

Mockingbird - Low Millions


Give Up - The Postal Service


This is one of the Indie super groups, made up of members of Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley and a couple of others, under the indie favorite Subpop records. They're the ones responsible for the fantastic song Such Great Heights, as well as We Will Be Sillouettes and a couple of others. Give Up has a fantastic sound and a nice blend of electronic and rock there. Unfortunently, they have also not come up with a followup album, although it seems that one has been in the works for a little while now, with most, if not all of the original members coming back for the album. This'll be a good one to wait for.

Natural Anthem - The Postal Service



A Girl Called Eddy - A Girl Called Eddy

I came across A Girl Called Eddy through Amazon.com when they had a list of free MP3 songs - I downloaded and fell completely in love with Under The Warm Sun, Golden and The Long Goodbye, and went out to get more of her music. She's got a great voice and sound, smokey with some really good guitarwork. Her debut, self titled album followed her first EP, Tears All Over Town. Unfortunently, that seems to be it for now - her webpage has vanished, in place of a myspace account, and while I think that I've read that she's coming up with a followup, I haven't seen or heard anything recently. I hope that she'll be recording again, because her music is fantastic.

The Long Goodbye - A Girl Called Eddy

Bands Gone the Way of the Dinosaur

Buring in the Sun - Blue Merle

Blue Merle is another band that released a single that had some radio play - the title track, Burning In The Sun. The band has a pretty unique sound, with some very good guitar work, as well as employing some cool insturments on various tracks. I just saw one of the former members of the band, Luke, when he played with Brett Dennen's band and with Guster the other night. (I didn't realise that until after the concert). The band sounds something like a mix between Carbon Leaf, Dave Matthew's Band and Coldplay, with some good lyrics and what I thought was a nice, rich sound. Unfortunently, the band didn't really like the direction and sound, and split up a couple of years ago. The band members are now all doing their own thing.

Bittersweet Memory - Blue Merle

New and Upcoming Bands

Good and Reckless and True - The Alternate Routes

I found these guys this summer, and they're a pretty new band, out of Connecticut. I've seen them twice, and they've really good a good sound, a solid rock album, with a good amount of media exposure thus far. Their live shows were a lot of fun to watch, and their first album, Good and Reckless and True was a really good one to listen to. I talked with one of the band members, and he said that after their current tour, they'll be back in the studio.

Ordinary - The Alternate Routes


One Cell in the Sea - A Fine Frenzy

One Cell in the Sea is the first album by A Fine Frenzy, which was released earlier this summer. This is a fantastic first effort from a very promising musician. This has a number of fantastic songs on it, and because it's a first album that's recently been released, I'm confident that we'll see her soon again.

Rangers - A Fine Frenzy

Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy - The Softlightes

This is another first album from a cool sounding band, the Softlightes. Fans of Death Cab for Cutie will like these guys, as they've got a similar sound. Heart Made of Sound is the best track on the album, and it's got a really cool video as well. I'm relatively certain that we will be seeing more of these guys in the near future, and I'm sure that it will be worth waiting for.

Heart Made of Sound - Softlightes


Time Without Consequence - Alexi Murdoch

Alexi Murdoch came out last year with his first full length album, Time Without Consquence. Murdoch has a sound akin to that of Nick Drake, abit a little more modern and a little more experimental. This is a fantastic first effort from Murdoch, one that has brought out a number of fantastic songs. This is a guy that I desperately want to hear more from, and soon.

Blue Mind - Alexi Murdoch

Hype - Look

New Grace Potter Video - Ain't No Time!

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals have filmed a cool video for a song off of their latest album, Ain't No Time. Here it is:

Hype - Buy - Look

New Video for Sara Bareilles: Love Song

Sara Bareilles, one of the artists that I've found this fall and completely fallen in love with has just released a video for her first single, Love Song. It's a fantastic song, and she has an absolutely fantastic voice to go along with it.

Take a look at it here. (Sorry, they disabled embedding)

I'm Not There

This looks like a really, really cool concept for a movie, a biotopic of Bob Dylan. It has a pretty high profile cast, with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett, Ben Whisaw and Marcus Carl Franklin all starring. All starring as Bob Dylan. It looks facinating, from the trailer:

What also looks to be really cool is the soundtrack, which will have two discs, and will be all Dylan covers.

Here's the list, courtesy of I am Fuel, You Are Friends:

I'M NOT THERE (FULL SOUNDTRACK LISTING)
Disc 1
1. Eddie Vedder & the Million Dollar Bashers: "All Along the Watchtower"
2. Sonic Youth: "I'm Not There"
3. Jim James and Calexico: "Goin' to Acapulco"
4. Richie Havens: "Tombstone Blues"
5. Stephen Malkmus & the Million Dollar Bashers: "Ballad of a Thin Man"
6. Cat Power: "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again"
7. John Doe: "Pressing On"
8. Yo La Tengo: "Fourth Time Around"
9. Iron and Wine and Calexico: "Dark Eyes"
10. Karen O and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Highway 61 Revisited"
11. Roger McGuinn and Calexico: "One More Cup of Coffee"
12. Mason Jennings: "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"
13. Los Lobos: "Billy"
14. Jeff Tweedy: "Simple Twist of Fate"
15. Mark Lanegan: "The Man in the Long Black Coat"
16. Willie Nelson and Calexico: "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)"

Disc 2
1. Mira Billotte: "As I Went Out One Morning"
2. Stephen Malkmus and Lee Ranaldo: "Can't Leave Her Behind"
3. Sufjan Stevens: "Ring Them Bells"
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Calexico: "Just Like a Woman"
5. Jack Johnson: "Mama You've Been on My Mind"
6. Yo La Tengo: "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
7. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova: "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
8. The Hold Steady: "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window"
9. Ramblin' Jack Elliott: "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"
10. The Black Keys: "Wicked Messenger"
11. Tom Verlaine and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Cold Irons Bound"
12. Mason Jennings: "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
13. Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Maggie's Farm"
14. Marcus Carl Franklin: "When the Ship Comes In"
15. Bob Forrest: "Moonshiner"
16. John Doe: "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine"
17. Antony and the Johnsons: "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
18. Bob Dylan: "I'm Not There"

This looks like it's going to be something not to miss.

Simple Twist of Fate - Jeff Tweedy
(The Watchtower cover is below.)

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Cover & Original - Soundtrack Edition

I'm doing a bonus Cover and Original this week, because two cover versions of Bob Dylan's song All Along The Watchtower are being released in soundtracks, and both are somewhat different takes from the original version.

The first is Bear McCreary's version, performed by BT4, on the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack, which is in stores today. This is a very different take on the song, with a science fiction/Galactica feel to it, which was really cool to here, and the screenwriters took the time to really incorperate the song into the finale of last season.

Two Riders Approaching

The second versions is from the soundtrack from the upcoming Dylan film, I'm Not There, performed by Eddie Vedder and The Million Dollar Bashers. This is a fun take on the song, although I really like the Galactica version better.

And of course, there's the fantastic original version.

All Along The Watchtower - Bear McCreary

All Along The Watchtower - Eddie Vedder and the Million Dollar Bashers

All Along The Watchtower - Bob Dylan

Hype - Buy

Happy Birthday, Weird Al!

Today is the birthday of Weird Al Yankovich, best known his parody songs, most recently, White and Nerdy off of his latest album, Straight Outta Lynwood.

Bob - Weird Al

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's take from iTunes. It's a pretty weak one this time around:

Snake Devil - Scary Kids Scaring Kids

Tears from a Gun - The Black Ghosts

Antes del Fin - Circo Antes del Fín

Hype - Buy

Listen to 4th and Wall

West Indian Girl's upcoming album is in stores tomorrow, the 23rd. I just got word that you can listen to the entire album for free, over here. Sounds like a pretty cool album.

To Die In LA - West Indian Girl

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Review: Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 Official Soundtrack

I just got a copy of the soundtrack for the third season of Battlestar Galactica. This is a bit different than what I usually write about, but these soundtracks are certainly worth pointing out. There's one for each season of the show, as well as the miniseries that was released in 2003. Battlestar Galactica, for those of you who aren't science fiction fans, is a show currently on the SciFi channel, and is a remake of a 1978 show by the same title. Rather than a continuation of the original, this is a re-imagining, starting the show over with a fresh look and feel, as well as more modern. Where some science fiction is enough to make your eyes roll, this one's down to earth, realistic and dark. It's easily one of the best shows on television today.

When the show's creators went forwards with this, they changed a lot of the conventional aspects of sci-fi TV - They rooted it in more realism, from set design, uniforms, situations and dialog, making it a very accurate show, at least militarily. One of the big things that was also a big change was the music.
A number of science fiction television shows and films have a very bombastic type of score - lots of brass, loud, dramatic and exciting. Just listen to the opening credits of Star Wars or the original Battlestar theme (which they actually brought back in Season 2 for one episode).
These soundtracks, like the rest of the show, is a bit of a reinvention. Like the show, the score here is darker and moodier. Furthermore, they branch out with their sound, utilizing a number of world influences from India to Ireland, giving this show a very unique sound.
The third season soundtrack is possibly the best of the three soundtracks. It compounds on a number of themes that have been introduced already in the series, and adds in some new ones. The album opens with a bang, with the first couple of songs. The music here is more dramatic, darker and richer in sound. The opening song, A Distant Sadness opens the season up with some wonderful vocals, and moves on to several other songs that are filled with an incredible energy that works perfectly with the opening of the season. Like the season, the best stuff was in the beginning, but there are some other fantastic cuts here along the way, such as The Dance, Under The Wing, Temple of Five and Heading the Call. The album ends with the fantastic cover of Bob Dylan's song, All Along the Watchtower, vocals by the band BT4. It's a fantastic blend of the soundtrack's usual sound and rock and is a purely Battlestar Galactica feeling song.

A Distant Sadness (From 'Occupation') - Bear McCreary
Storming New Caprica (From 'Exodus, Part 2') - Bear McCreary
The Dance (From 'Unfinished Business') - Bear McCreary

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Battlestar Galactica - All Along The Watchtower

My all time favorite science fiction TV show is probably Battlestar Galactica (along with Firefly). I'm currently, along with numerous other fans, awaiting for the 4th, and last season that's due to come next spring, and for the upcoming special, Razor, which will be released in November on the SciFi channel.

One of the cooler moments last spring during the finale was the use of a cover of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower, used in the last couple of minutes of the finale. Lyrics were also used as dialog, which was really cool. The soundtrack is being released next week, on the 23rd. I can't wait to listen to the entire thing.

All Along the Watchtower (With Dialog) - BT4 & Cast Members

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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

Duet - Michael Stipe & Coldplay

This is one of the better duets that I've come across recently, with both Coldplay and Michael Stipe (the lead singer of REM). Stipe has released an EP with a number of collaborations with the song, with Chris Martin, Joseph Arthur (who originally sang the song), and Justin Timberlake.The EP was for the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief fund, and features 6 versions of the song.

I think this is the best version of the song on the EP, which was recorded live at the Austin City festival. Stipe's voice is strong, and Chris Martin is an excellent suppliment to it when he comes in at various points. I do find it funny that Martin declared the song the best ever written (something that he also did with the Verve's Bittersweet Symphony with Richard Ascroft) This version of the song reached number 1 on the Canadian charts.
Plus, I connected to this song on one level, a lot of the lyrics really struck me as relevant (not so much the religous ones...)

In the Sun - Michael Stipe & Coldplay

Hype - Buy

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

Artist Comparison: Carbon Leaf and Josh Ritter

Two artists that I'd like to compare today is Josh Ritter and Carbon Leaf. On the first listen, the two groups don't sound a whole lot like one another, but when looking a little deeper at the two, there's some bigger things that really makes them alike in some ways.

For a while, I've been thinking of ways to compare Carbon Leaf to another band. Carbon Leaf is one of my absolute favorite bands of all times, for a number of reasons - they have a diverse instrumentation, exceptionally strong strongwriting skills and a fantastic sound. Additionally, they have been shifting their sound over the past couple of albums that makes it difficult for them to really be comparible to other groups.

The War Was In Color - Carbon Leaf
The Temptation of Adam - Josh Ritter

I've been listening to Josh Ritter and his group ever since I saw them this summer with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. I wasn't blown away with them from the get go, but over the past two months, I've gained a real appreciation for the group. Like Carbon Leaf, they have a fantastic sound and superior songwriting capabilities.

On the whole, the two groups both have a bit of a different sound. Josh Ritter goes more towards a bit of a country and folk, while Carbon Leaf tends to be more lyrical. Neither Josh Ritter nor Barry Privit sound much alike - Ritter's voice is more raw while Privit's is a little deeper, more refined.

Good Man - Josh Ritter
What About Everything? - Carbon Leaf

Where the voices don't quite meet, the instrumentation does - again, it doesn't sound like each other, but they both maintain a high level of skill, both have interesting drum, guitar and bass work that sounds just a little different than other groups out there.

Both are two slightly different, yet similar sounding bands. They've got the same feel, to me, with great lyrics and a fantastic sound. The core of both artists in their songwriting is a story. Generally in all cases, each song is generally directed with some focus, often with a very atypical or interesting one. And, both are real favorites of mine.

This Is My Song - Carbon Leaf
Right Moves - Josh Ritter

Hype - Buy - Look Once - Look Twice

Through The Gate

So, I am now the proud owner of the entire series of Stargate SG-1. I've been a fan for years, but I've never gotten around to purchasing any of the seasons yet. A co-worker of mine sold me his for an extremely reasonable price as he's just bought the shiny new complete series boxed set that just came out.
I predict a marathon in the near future.

Stargate SG-1 Theme - TV Theme

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free selection from iTunes:

Shake It - Metro Station

Yo No - Carina Ricco

Ticket To Ride: Interviews - Audio Book (Interview suppliment with the Beatles)

New Hype Machine!

The ever wonderful site, Hype Machine has undergone a change over the past couple of days, to a new version - check it out at hypem.com.

Maybe soon, they'll actually list this place...

New Band of Horses Video

Band of Horses just released the video for their latest single, Is There A Ghost?

Kinda amusing one...

This Day in History

On this day in history, Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery opened for Elvis Presley in Lubbock, Texas in 1955. This was one of the highlights of Holly's very short career, and was one of the things that really started him off as a rock and roll frontman. While he had already been getting airtime on various radio stations, Elvis was a huge influence on the younger musician, and would propell him into fame as one of the greatest rock & roll singers of all time.

Crying, Waiting, Wishing - Buddy Holly

Hype - Buy

Concert - Cary Brothers, Kate Voegele and Matt Nathanson

This weekend at the Higher Ground, I was able to see Kate Voegele, Cary Brothers and Matt Nathanson in the Higher Ground Ballroom. It was an okay night - not the greatest

Kate Voegele Set
One Way or Another
Wish You Were
Hallelujah (Cover)
chicago
Only Fooling Myself

I wasn't extremely impressed with Kate Voegele, who's recently scored her first album through the newly formed Myspace Records. She's got a fairly typical sound for a singer, and overall, there wasn't anything that really makes her stand out a whole lot. Not to say that she's a bad singer, because she's not. Maybe average. Her set was decent, fairly short, and she had some fun on stage. Maybe she'll get better with time.

Cary Brothers Set
Ride
Jealousy
Who You Are
If You Were Here (Thompson Twins Cover)
Honestly
Wasted One
Glass Parade
Blue Eyes

Cary Brothers was the one that I set out to see last night, and I finally got a shirt from their merch booth (I tried to get one last time I saw him and failed, because they ran out.) His set was a significant improvement over Voegele's, although because he wasn't backed by a larger group this time around, I wasn't as thrilled with his set as I was the last time that he was in town. His set was also a bit shorter. They did take the smaller group (only Cary and two others) and ran with it - they had a couple of songs that sounded a little different, like Wasted One and Who You Are, but the sound was good and he was probably the best singer of the night.

Matt Nathanson Set
Car Crash
Wedding Dress
Lucky Boy
-> I Want You To Want Me (Cheap Trick Cover)
Angel
I Saw
Princess
-> Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield Cover)
Come On, Get Higher
Pretty The World
Bent
To The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts
Falling Apart
Still
Suspended
Snakes? (Patty Smith Cover?)
Gone
Laid
Smalltown Girl (Journey Cover) With Cary Brothers and Kate Voegele
Comfort Me
-> Losing My Religion (REM Cover)
Answering Machine
Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran Cover)
All We Are

Matt Nathanson is a bit of an annoying twerp. He's a very good singer, but he reminds me a lot of Dane Cook. On stage, he's funny, often getting the crowd going and seems a little self-involved, but once he gets down to start playing, he and his group sounds pretty good on stage.
Matt was clearly the show for the night, with everyone there to see him. He's certainly popular with the college group and demographics. His songwriting is also about average, and his live show can double as a comedy one, which is fine, as long as he plays music. On stage, they've got a good sound, very solid, very good beat.

Overall, the entire night was pretty good, low key. I chatted with a couple people, took pictures, and enjoyed myself. This was the last night of the tour for this group of singers, and they seemed to really have a fun time. Cary and Kate both jumped on stage for one of Matt's songs, and Matt jumped into one of Cary's songs, Blue Eyes. It looked like they were also enjoying themselves.

More pictures here.

Hype - Buy - Look

Grace Potter Returns to Vermont!

I got an e-mail yesterday from the Higher Ground: As someone who's purchased a ticket to see Grace Potter in the past we're offering you the chance to purchase tickets for all three shows BEFORE the public onsale this Fri, Oct 12th at 11am

So, Grace Potter is coming back home for 3 nights this coming New Years eve, same as last year.

Concert Dates: Friday, December 29, Saturday, December 30, Monday, December 31

I tried to get tickets last year, but never got around to doing that. I'm telling you, if you're in Vermont during those dates, that's something that you'll want to go out to see.

Evolution of... Zero 7

Zero 7 has been a favorite of mine ever since I first discovered their work through a free download via Amazon.com with their song Destiny and later through the use of their song In the Waiting Line in the movie Garden State. Zero 7 is the name for two musicians, Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, although they frequently collaborate with a number of other musicians for their work. Their first song was a remix of Radiohead's Climbing Up the Walls, which was a b-side for Karma Police. This led to several collaborations and soon, an EP called EP1, when they first used the name Zero 7, in 1999.

Climbing Up the Walls (Zero 7 Remix) - Radiohead

Two years later, the duo released their first album, Simple Things, a down-tempo album that would eventually become a gold record. On the album, they collaborated with Mozez, Sia Furler, and Sophie Barker. Simple Things brought the band out into the limelight, with a number of critical praises. The album is probably my favorite of the group, with it's low-key sound and number of outstanding songs.

End Theme - Zero 7

2004 marked the band's second album, called When It Falls, where the duo collaborated once again with Mozez, Sia Furler, and Sophie Barker, with Tina Dico joining the ensamble. While the album retained a similar feel to Simple Things, I never got the same feel that I did with their first album.

Speed Dial No. 2 - Zero 7

The Garden, the band's third album, was released last year, with only Sia returning for the album, but with Swedish singer José González joining her for several songs. Henry Binns also contributed vocals to the album. This album was a little more upbeat than the prior two, with a slightly different sound and tone to the whole thing. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 2007.

Throw It All Away - Zero 7

Over the past couple of years, Zero 7 has had their music used in a number of television and movie projects, ranging from the Garden State soundtrack to CSI, Veronica Mars, House MD and a couple others. I'm hoping that we'll be seeing more from these guys within the next couple of years, because I can't get enough of their music. The band is currently working on a Ingrid Eto, an insturmental project.

Hype - Buy - Look

Radiohead - In Rainbows

12 days ago, Radiohead shocked a lot of the music blogging community by putting up a short announcement on their website:

Hello everyone.
Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days;
We've called it In Rainbows.
Love from us all.
Jonny

The other shocking thing was the means in which they released it - online, ahead of the physical album (which isn't so much of a shock), but fans could choose whatever price they wanted for the downloads. You could pay nothing, if you wanted, or you could pay whatever amount you felt was proper. Apparently, there's a lot of talk about how this is going to revolutionize the music industry. I don't think that will really have any huge changes in the way that music is distributed, because this seems to be to be a bit of a publicity stunt on the part of the band, and one that's certainly gotten them a lot of attention. To start, Radiohead is one of those artists that has a lot of fans out there already. This is something that can probably work with a group that's already hugely established and with a good fan following.
The other thing is that this isn't something that's commercially viable. There's no set amount, and therefore potentially a disaster. While loyal fans would contribute money towards this album, how about the demographic of people who are somewhat indifferent or haven't really listened to Radiohead? I know I didn't kick in any money - This is the first Radiohead album that I've listened to beginning to end, and while it's not bad, it's not mindblowing. I would feel compelled to kick in money if this was something from one of my favorite bands. In any event, I'm sure that we'll probably see a couple of copies of this sort of thing, a flexible distribution, but I can't see it happening on a huge scale, not when the RIAA sues people left and right over illegal downloads and when corperations need to make money.
The album isn't bad. I can't say that it's going to make me a huge fan of the band, but it's listenable, and a somewhat solid album. However, there really aren't any songs that really stick out for me, they all sort of blend in together in a nice mix.

In Rainbows - Radiohead

Hype - Download/Buy - Look

Norah Jones With....

Norah Jones is one of my favorite singers out there, and I've found that she's popped up in some interesting places musically, working with other artists and bands. Here's a couple of places where I've found her collaborating:

Virginia Moon - Foo Fighters


One of the lighter tracks from the Foo Fighters album In Your Honor, Norah Jones is featured prominantly with lead singer David Gohl in the track Virginia Moon, which plays well with Jone's songs, with a slight Jazz feel. It's an interesting duet that plays to both singer's strengths.


Tenessee Stud - The Little Willies (iTunes Link)


Before Norah Jones released her first album, Come Away With Me, she was part of another band, one that grew out of mutual interests from the other members of the band, the Little Willies. Based out of New York City, they emulated some of the country greats, such as Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. Jones strays from a Jazz/Blues track to a more bluegrass and country one, which is an interesting mix.


Colors - Amos Lee


One of the best songs off of Amos Lee's self-titled debut album, Colors is one of two songs that features Norah Jones, the other being Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight, playing Piano for both songs. Amos Lee actually owes his success to Jones, who had heard his EP and promptly asked him to join her on tour. It's not terribly surprising, as their music sounds very similar, with the same bluesy and Jazz feel.

Hype - Buy - Look

New Music This Week

A couple of new albums were released this week, from two bands that I've listened to and enjoyed:

Beirut - Flying Cup Club

The followup to the fantastic Gulag Orkestar, their first album, Beirut is back with another cool album with their brilliant background music, trumpets and vocals.

Buy

Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

Band of Horses is also back with a followup sophtmore album, Cease To Begin. I've only listened to a handful of these guy's songs, but this one sounds pretty good.

Buy

Hype

Duet - Coldplay & Richard Ashcroft

Bittersweet Symphony has long been a favorite song of mine, a very cool song indeed, even if they did rip off some parts of it from the Rolling Stones. A couple of years ago for Live8, Coldplay covered the song with Richard Ashcroft singing along with them. Here's the result.

Bittersweet Symphony - Coldplay & Richard Ashcroft

Hype - Buy

C&O

This week's cover and original is of a Beatles song that I paticularly like. The Beatles seem to be the band that has the most songs covered, and it's sometimes hit or miss with the various versions out there. There's entire albums, such as the I Am Sam soundtrack, or the new Across the Universe Soundtrack, and there's random efforts on a number of other artists who've covered the band. Here, the Dave Matthew's Band has their own version of I Saw Her Standing There.

I Saw Her Standing There - Dave Matthew's Band

I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles

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

Autumn in Vermont

It's fall in Vermont now, and that means a couple of things. 1 - it gets chillier, 2 - The leaves turn nice colors. 3 - Leaves draw tourists by the droves to come up and gawk, which is never a fun thing because they drive really slowly on the back roads - always frustrating when you're in a hurry somewhere. Still, it's a pleasant change from everything in Vermont, and one of the nicest times of the year. It typically means lots of yard work, and some time in the woods, which is always a nice thing. My family makes apple cider (we've already made 19 gallons of it, and we have about that much in apples left) from the trees that we have in our fields.
Two songs for the season:

Is This The Fall? - Carbon Leaf
Autumn - Paolo Nutini

Hype - Buy - Look

This week's free swag from iTunes. It's an okay week, nothing terribly great here. How Lucky We Are is probably the best of the lot.

He Hates Me - Sarah Johns
Quiero - Alejandra Alberti
How Lucky We Are - meiko

More Images

For more images from the past weekend - Brett Dennen, Guster, A Fine Frenzy and Brandi Carlile, I've got them all here.