Weekend Mix: Goodbye.

So I got a call last night from my girlfriend: "We need to talk..." I'm betting that you can guess how that went.

Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy
Apologies - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Brand New Day - Sting
Breakin' Up - Rilo Kiley
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
Gone Away From Me - Ray LaMontagne
Gone - Matt Nathanson
Happiness - Alison Krauss
Honestly - Cary Brothers
In The Sun - Michael Stipe & Coldplay
Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well - Mike Doughty
Low Millions - Low Millions
Oh No - Colin Meloy
Other Side of the World - KT Tunstall
Out To Sea - Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers
The Long Goodbye - A Girl Called Eddy
Turpentine - Brandi Carlile
What You Want - John Butler Trio

Breaking Out: Their First Major Release

Everyone gets a break, and it's especially cool when an artist breaks out into the playing field with a major record. I don't think of signing onto a major record label as selling out for an artist. Like the rest of us, they're working a regular job - it's just more visible to us. Whether that major record is good or not varies, but there are major records out there that are good. *gasp* The whole sell-out thing is just a way to pretentious for no real reason, good or otherwise.

Anyhow, here's a couple of records that landed bands on a major record label that are quite good.

Indian Summer - Carbon Leaf

This 2004 album was Carbon Leaf's fifth, but their first major record label with Vangard Records and represents some of their best work since their last independent album, Echo Echo. The album takes much of the energy and all of the songwriting skills from that prior album, and brings a more mainstream sound to the table, one that is quite good, compared to some of their older works, although I count Echo Echo as one of their finest albums. This major release helped bring Carbon Leaf to greater attention and publicity. Their follow up album, Love Loss Hope Repeat was also on Vanguard Records.

This Is My Song – Carbon Leaf
One Prairie Outpost – Carbon Leaf

This Is Somewhere - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

This is Somewhere is the third album by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and like Indian Summer, it brought a more mainstream rock sound to Grace Potter's repertoire. Her prior albums, Original Soul and Nothing But Water both had distinct sounds, and this one is no different. The mainstream sound here is among their best sounds thus far with a fantastic sound.

Falling Or Flying – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Mastermind – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

The Crane Wife - The Decemberists

The Decemberists likewise had a number of independent albums prior to this release, all of which were a fairly acquired taste. This album really was the one that turned me onto their sound, which brings their interesting sound in line and which also brings their phenomenal songwriting skills to bear with several fantastic long songs. This album also brought the band quite a bit of acclaim and media recognition.

O Valencia! – The Decemberists
The Crane Wife 3 – The Decemberists

The Animal Years - Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter’s highly acclaimed album, The Animal Years was the first major release from Josh Ritter after a couple of independent albums. Like the other albums above, this release helped bring in line his prior sound to a more mainstream sound, but one that likewise didn’t sacrifice the songwriting or tone and feel of the music.

Good Man – Josh Ritter
Wolves – Josh Ritter

A Series of Sneaks – Spoon

Not all major releases help their artists in question. Spoon’s first major release, A Series of Sneaks, came shortly after their first album. The band signed on to Elektra Records and released the album to moderate critical acclaim and was an overall financial failure for the band. Quality-wise, the album is also far below what the band had come up with before. After their first experience with a major record label, they went back to the indie route – and they’ve remained there since, releasing several much better and more highly acclaimed albums.

Advance Cassette – Spoon
Car Radio – Spoon

Hype - Buy

Duet - Dylan & Cash

Here's a fantastic duet between two of the America's greatest singers to ever live. I don't think that there's anything else to say here about this. Their voices are perfectly matched for this song and it's just wonderful to listen to.

Girl of the North Country - Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan

Hype - Buy

C&O Take A Look At Me

Here's this week's Cover and Original. I think that describes my mindset over the past couple of months, so it's not really a favorite of mine.

The covered version by the Postal Service is a fantastic cover, taking the song and really turning it into a 'Postal Service' sounding song that's really different from the original, and even changes it's sound a bit. The original is one that sounds very 80s to me, and I think that this is one of the cases where I think that the cover is superior to the original.

Against All Odds (Phil Collins) - The Postal Service
Against All Odds - Phil Collins

Hype - Buy

The Evolution of ... John Mayer

I first came across John Mayer when everyone else did, during my senior year of high school with his release Room for Squares and the song No Such Thing, which I still really enjoy. Mayer's an artist for me that is a bit of a mixed bag. I enjoy most of his music, although his earlier stuff really falls into the pop-rock spectrum than I'd like. On the other hand, he shows an incredible amount of talent that really hasn't been used to the full extent.

Mayer first broke into the music scene with a due called LoFi Masters, before splitting up and going solo. He released an EP called Inside Wants Out, which featured No Such Thing, which would later come off of the album Room for Squares, which was released in 2002. The album quickly caught on and was a big success, winning Mayer a Grammy for Your Body is a Wonderland. A year later, he released a live CD, called Any Given Thursday, which featured some music from his next album, Heavier Things, which was released in 2003. While it didn't perform as well, the single Daughters won Mayer a second Grammy Award. Mayer then went on to work with the John Mayer Trio, playing with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, releasing an album called TRY!, a live album in 2005. The group has since been on break. In 2006, Mayer followed up with Continuum, which held a change in direction for the singer, and has since performed well in the charts. Once again the album also earned Mayer a couple of Grammy Awards, one for best song and best album. Last year, he announced that he was working on a new album.

While Room for Squares placed Mayer on the map and was a huge success, he has made efforts to start utilizing his talents with the guitar, most noticably in Continuum. Room for Squares was a fantastic pop/rock album with all the right ingredients for success, songs for everyone, fairly good musical work and a good, solid sound.

83 - John Mayer

Heavier Things was much of the same pop/rock sound that is seen in Room for Squares, although a little moodier. While it's not a direct copy of the album, there is many of the same elements present, and like the first, it was a fairly successful album because of that. The guitar work hasn't really changed that much between the two, and the themes present are about the same.

Split Screen Sadness - John Mayer

The first real hints of change came with TRY!, with the John Mayer Trio. This was a huge musical jump in style here, towards the BB King Blues and Jimi Hendrix type guitar work that really showed that Mayer could be something more than just a pop musician - there was real talent here. He revisits some of the roots here with covers of Hendrix and Ray Charles on this album.

Wait Until Tomorrow (Jimi Hendrix) - John Mayer Trio

Continuum, his latest work, shows that the transition isn't a temporary thing, a stunt. While the album is a little preachy, it certainly mixes more blues and rock than before than in the pop stuff. The guitar work has taken a step up, as has some of the song writing here. Rolling Stone has named Mayer one of the modern guitar gods, and while I'm not sure that's the case, he's certainly showing that he's working towards something greater. His next album is supposed to have even more of a jump in style.

Stop This Train - John Mayer

Mayer's latest single doesn't come from any album, but Say is certainly up there with the style of Continuum - intricret guitar work and some decent vocals. It's a good listen. If it's an indication of things to come, it's a good one.

Say - John Mayer

Hype - Buy - Look

On This Day...

Jimi Hendric was born in Seattle, Washington in 1942. Hendrix is considered one of the foremost pioneers in guitar rock & roll, pulling jazz, blues and funk all tinto one form. He recieved his first guitar at age 15, and never graduated from high school. In 1961, he joined the army after being arrested and was assigned to the famous 101st Airborne Division, although he only served for a year. After that, he broke into music and fame over the next couple years. His popularity with his albums and studio work led him to headline the Woodstock music festival in 1969 where he played his famous rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. A year later, Hendrix was found dead in London.

Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix

Hype - Buy

iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's picks from iTunes - They're starting to get into the holiday season. Two music videos up as well, both worth checking out.

Carol of the Bells - The Bird And The Bee

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear - Mannheim Steamroller
Follow the Lights - (Ryan Adams Music Video Featuring the Cast of October Road)
Say - John Mayer Music Video

Lyra - From the Golden Compass Soundtrack

This is easily the movie that I'm looking forwards to this year. I've been a fan of the books for oh, about ten years or so now, ever since I was in middle school. God, that's a long time. I've also been looking forwards to the soundtrack, which is scored by Alexander Despat, who did the fantastic Syriana soundtrack.
Over the weekend on BBC Radio 1, they released Kate Bush's song that will play over the credits, Lyra.

Track listing for the soundtrack:

1. The Golden Compass (02:22)
2. Sky Ferry (02:44)
3. Letters From Bolvangar (02:33)
4. Lyra, Roger And Billy (01:29)
5. Mrs. Coulter (05:20)
6. Lyra Escapes (03:44)
7. The Magisterium (01:58)
8. Dust (01:10)
9. Serafina Pekkala (01:50)
10. Lee Scoresby's Airship Adventure (01:20)
11. Iorek Byrnison (05:28)
12. Lord Faa, King Of The Gyptians (02:17)
13. The Golden Monkey (02:04)
14. Riding Iorek (04:38)
15. Samoyed Attack (01:21)
16. Lord Asriel (02:10)
17. Ragnar Sturlusson (06:18)
18. Ice Bear Combat (02:15)
19. Iorek's Victory (01:26)
20. The Ice Bridge (01:33)
21. Rescuing The Children (02:18)
22. Intercision (02:47)
23. Mother (03:35)
24. Battle With The Tartars (04:31)
25. Epilogue (03:33)
26. Lyra (03:19) - Kate Bush

Overall, I'm a bit let down by this song - I was hoping for something along the lines of what we had with the Lord of the Rings soundtracks, but this song falls a bit flat compared to those, and is quite dull lyrically, especially if you know the books at all - it's not subtle at all. It's not a bad song by any stretch, but not a really good one either...

Lyra - Kate Bush

Hype - Buy

New Grace Potter EP

iTunes has just released a new EP from Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. While it doesn't have any new songs on it, it has live studio versions of three songs - Ah Mary, Stop the Bus and Falling or Flying.

It's a pretty cool trio of songs - three of the best off the album, and like her live shows, they've got a ton of energy and are well worth listening to.

You can listen to the entire thing here through Rolling Stone Magazine's website. Listen.

Stop the Bus - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Hype - Buy - Look

Acoustic & Original

I've always thought that this song could be a Fleetwood Mac song for some reason - it's tone and feel really reminds me of some of their songs that I have from them. The acoustic and studio versions of this paticular song aren't all that different stylistically, but the acoustic version does have a very different feel to it. Both versions are pretty interesting to listen to. It's one of my favorite songs of 2007.

Dreamworld (Acoustic) - Rilo Kiley

Dreamworld - Rilo Kiley

Hype - Buy - Look

Happy Thanksgiving!

A day early, but I'm not going to be around the internet tomorrow through Sunday. Hopefully all the American readers here will be having a pleasant holiday, my condolences to anyone who works in retail and have a good weekend!
Thanks to everyone who's been stopping by and reading what I write.

Thank You - Dido
Thanksgiving Song - Adam Sandler

Hype - Buy

The Evolution of... Ray LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne came into the public consciousness with his fantastic 2004 album, Trouble, and has since followed up with the 2006 album Till The Sun Turns Black. Over the past couple of years, he has released a number of absolutely fantastic songs that have made it big in both the radio and television world.
LaMontagne was born in New Hampshire and moved around a lot - his father, a musician, left the family and he was put off from music for years. He's apparently a huge fantasy fan (which is awesome), and moved to main where he worked as a shoe factory. During an early shift, he heard a song, Treetop Flyer, by Stephen Stills, and he quit and started working on music. He started touring in 1999. His demo started getting attention and he was invited to open for local folk concerts, opening for Jonathan Edwards. This attracted the attention of a record label, Chrysalis Music Publishing.

Trouble, released in 2004, is a fairly quiet album, brought to life with LaMontagne's fantastic guitar skills and songwriting. His songs are quiet, powerful and intimate. Trouble is characterized by a relatively stark sound, with some background instrumentation, but nothing major. Here, he's mainly carried with the guitar and vocals. The thing that probably really set LaMontagne apart was his voice, which has a husky feel to it that's not unlike Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine).

Trouble - Ray LaMontagne
All The Wild Horses - Ray LaMontagne

2006 brought in a new album for LaMontagne - Till The Sun Turns Black, which reveals a fairly dramatic change with the overall sound and tone of the singer. Ray LaMontagne builds on the work that he did with Trouble, making it much richer in sound. His guitarwork has refined itself, and the introduction of more background instruments only adds and enhances the sound and feel to the album. Trumpets, piano, better bass-work and the introduction of the electric guitar have really made this album go above and beyond it's predecessor.

Three More Days - Ray LaMontagne
Be Here Now - Ray LaMontagne

Hype - Buy - Look

Book Rant

Yesterday, a co-worker told me to go take a look at Amazon.com. There was a notice about a new product that the website is selling, the kindle. When I got home for the night, the current issue of Newsweek was sitting on the counter, with the kindle as the cover story.

The kindle is a new e-book reader that Amazon is pushing through, most likely to take advantage of the digital revolution and the effect that items such as the iPod have had on the music industry. It's probable that Jeff Bezos is hoping to replicate the same thing with their website. It's an interesting little device - it has the ability to connect to amazon.com and be independent of a computer. It's got a 30 hour power life and it's supposed to be very easy to read, given the nature of advances in screens.
What really bugs me is that the article in Newsweek leads me to believe that Amazon.com or someone high up there owns the magazine - it reads as a glowing advertisement for the product. They essentially mark this as a huge change in the way that we're going to read.

We're not.

This isn't going to change anything in any major way or form. The publishing industry has tried to do the whole e-book thing earlier in the century (it's fun to say that) and it didn't take off. I remember thinking that the ebook readers were really cool. The only problem was that the readers were expensive, the text was harder to read, books were hard to come by and were expensive. Not to mention that it runs on batteries, which can die on you.
Compare this to the hard copy of a book. They've been around for five hundred years, they are flammable, but can be read at your convenience (aka, they're not going to run out of batteries), and they're relatively cheap. Plus, they're not going to vanish on you when the reader has a hardware problem or if you drop it. A book, however, might incur a little damage to the cover, which is what it's designed for.

The kindle does do some positive things in the direction towards e-books becoming popular - the reader can purchase books via the store on it's own as a unit and it seems to be easier to read. You can get a magazine or newspaper uploaded to it. However, the huge price, ($399) is certainly not helpful, as is the fact that publishers aren't going to lower prices for e-books - they'll remain about the same price. This caution on their part is probably a good thing, because I don't really see this taking off the way that the iPod has.
People said the same thing about the iPod, but the method of listening to music has advanced to match technology. Record players, 8-Tracks, cassettes, CDs and now digital versions of the song only improve upon the ways that music is purchased and listened to. Literature, on the other hand, hasn't changed significantly over the past 500 years. It's still printed pages bound together. This device might bring these devices more popular, but it will not, as the article suggests, change the way that we read.
This comes at a very, very interesting time. Over the past couple of days, a report was released, To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence, (article) that suggests that the number of people in the United States has dropped significantly over the past couple of years. The report looked over a broad range of ages, reading habits and is essentially an overview of a number of reports, all with the same conclusion - people read for pleasure less than they did a very short time ago.
The NPR Report that I heard about this on maintained some other interesting statistics, mainly with personal success and reading level, and the results are astonishing, and amount to the following: the younger and more consistently a young person reads, the more likely they are to succeed. The current prison population maintains about a 3% higher reading level.
Hopefully, this device will make it more accessible to people, more at least more hip. Slick electronic devices have that ability - look at the iPod compared to the other models out in the market now. I'm not wishing that this will go down in flames - I personally think that the new Sony reader, while not as good as this one, but it looks cool. I'd buy one, but the price tag is a huge factor and I'm not giving up my small library for anything. I still love the look, feel and smell of regular, old fashion, low tech books.

The Book I Write - Spoon

Hype - Buy - Look

My Generation

These guys are thought to have the oldest musicians in the world. The Zimmers, out of England, have members as old as a 101. The name comes from the name for the walkers that old people typically use.
This is a paticularly ironic song - My Generation, sung by 'old people':

People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

It's a bit of an ironic protest - part of the reason behind this song is the sort of imprisonment that the elderly feel in nursing homes and how they might essentially get abandoned by their families.

My Generation - The Zimmers

Hype - Buy - Look

Cover & Original - Neil Young, Covered

So, C&O is usually on Wed, but because I didn't put the things that I wrote up last night on my USB stick, tomorrow's regular feature is up today. So.

I've gotten into Neil Young lately. I'd listened to him off and on over my life, but not really all that closely. As I've read about other artists, I've really seen how much of an influence he's been on a number of bands that I really like. So, here's a couple of artists covering a bunch of Neil Young songs.

Ohio (Neil Young) - Gov't Mule w/ Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Ohio (Live) - Neil Young

I love this cover version of Ohio. It's got a nice, rich guitar opening to it, while Warren Hayes and Grace Potter sound absolutely fantastic.

Heart of Gold (Neil Young) - Johnny Cash

Heart of Gold - Neil Young

The late, great, Johnny Cash does an absolutely wonderful job with this one. It suits his sound perfectly.

Harvest Moon (Neil Young) - Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie)

Havest Moon - Neil Young

This is the indie version of this set. The quality's not that great, but he does a good job with it.

Cortez, The Killer (Neil Young) - Dave Matthews Band with Warren Hayes (Of Gov't Mule)

Cortez, the Killer - Neil Young

This is one of the songs that DMB is perfectly suited for, and while it's a little outside of their style, Haye's help with the song is a fantastic addition.

Hype - Buy

Tomorrow - Evolution of Ray LaMontagne & Breaking into the Maintstream...

iTunes Free Music of the Week

Another sucky week from iTunes...

Hold On - Holy Ghost!
El Parrandero - Sin Animo De Lucro

New John Mayer - Say (What You Need To Say)

John Mayer is one of those artists that I go back and forth with. I was a big fan of his first effort, Room for Squares, which I still really enjoy listening to. Heavier Things was likewise a fun record, but not as good, and Continuum was a better and frankly more artistic effort on his part. He's not a favorite artist of mine, but he is highly listenable. Now, he's got a new single, one not attached to any of his records, Say, which is part of the soundtrack for the movie The Bucket List, which looks quite interesting. This new song is a bit repetitive, but it sounds a little different from Mayer's other works, a whole lot more mature than his earlier work, and it doesn't sound nearly at preachy as something like Daughters or Waiting on the World To Change.

Say - John Mayer

Hype - Buy - Look

The Best of You

So, December's just a week or so away, then it's 31 days until the end of the year. Time to start looking back a bit over the past twelve months and all that's come out in that time. I want to know what you guys thought of the year - what was the best thing that you heard this year? Which songs and bands really struck a chord (quite literally - bad joke, sorry).
E-mail me your picks for the top bands and top songs that you heard this year, here at jeditrilobite [at] gmail [dot] com. Remove the brackets and insert the correct symbols, and let me know. I'll be compiling the list on December 28th or 29th, and will post the results up, along with a Carry You Way's best of list in the new year.

Best of You - Foo Fighters

Hype - Buy

Hold You In My Arms

This is one of my favorite Ray LaMontagne songs. It fits for this weekend.

Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne

Hype - Buy - Look

Man of a Million Faces

Artist Stephin Merritt was recently featured on NPR for a new feature that they're doing, called Project Song. There, the artist has to come up with a song from scratch within 48 hours. Merrit was shown a number of photographs and words, and he chose the picture above, as well as the card: 1973.

The result was the song Man with a Million Faces. I really like this one - it sounds very cool, a bit somber, but interesting. I'll be interested to see what this feature comes up with next.

Here's what he came up with:

Man With A Million Faces - Stephin Merrit

Hype - Buy - Look

On the Road Again...

I'm headed out of state again for multiple hours, so here's a mix of some of my favorite travelling-themed music.

On the Road Again - Willie Nelson
Carefree Highway - Gordon Lightfoot
Stop the Bus - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Wandering 'Round - Carbon Leaf
Three Hours - Nick Drake
Ventura Highway - America
See The World - Gomez

Have a good weekend!

Hype - Buy

Duet - Monahan and Carlile

Here's a duet that really works well - Pat Monahan (lead singer of Train) and Brandi Carlile. The song was on Pat Monahan's solo album, Last of Seven, which was released this past September.
I've never really been that big into Train, just listening to a couple of songs, but Monahan's voice is really good here, although my favorite of the two is by far Carlile. Their voices match extremely well for this matchup.
This song really works well as a duet - it's a love song, and these tend to work well, especially as a duet. Here, it works especially well with both a male and female singer.


Pirate on the Run - Pat Monahan and Brandi Carlile

Hype - Buy - Look

Artist Comparison: Colbie Caillat and Jack Johnson

My first distinct memory of Jack Johnson was shortly after he released his first song on Brushfire Fairy Tales in 2001. I was driving up to Burlington with my mother and brother, and the song Bubble Toes was on the radio. It caught my ears, but I promptly forgot about the song and singer until his last album, 2005's In Between Dreams. Recently, I've come across another singer, who bears a fairly strong resemblence to Jack Johnson, Colbie Caillat, who has recently released her debut album, Coco. Interestingly, the title of her lead single is Bubbly.

Both singers are out of the West Coast of the United States, and have a couple of similarities between the two of them. Musically, they both play the guitar - Johnson is well known for it, and Caillat seems to follow his sound somewhat. Both have an extremely carefree sound that's perfect for a sunny, lazy afternoon when you really don't want to do anything (this is typically when I listen to either to any degree.) It's not that I don't like their music, it's just that I have to be in the right mood to listen. Both artists employ a fairly slow and deliberate pace that is pretty specific.

Subject-wise, they also have some similarities - a number of both of their songs are concerned with love and togetherness, or loss and longing. It's an extremely common theme in music, and while in some places it's just annoying, here it really works in a way without being whiny. Their sound and their fit really go well together.
I think that some of this has to do with their location - both singers seem to fill a bit of a cool-surfer, laid back persona (just look at both of their music videos), something that's generally associated with California or the islands of Hawaii. I'd bet that both artists would credit singer Jimmy Buffet to some degree with songs such as Margarittaville to their music, as it has the same, lazy feeling to it.

We Are Going To Be Friends (The White Stripes) - Jack Johnson
Realize - Colbie Caillat

Hype - Buy

New Artist - Matt White

I just came across this artist while looking up another one - Matt White. He's currently on the road, opening for Third Eye Blind, currently playing in Elmira college tonight. He's just released his first album on October 30th, entitled Best Days, via Geffen Records and is currently a contender for VH1's Top 20 Countdown. This guy's really new - I can't find a whole lot of information on him. I suspect that given his image and sound, we'll start seeing him a little more often here and there.

Musically, he reminds me a lot of Matt Nathanson and John Mayer, although a little less annoying. I'll be keeping an eye out for more for him. From the songs that I've listened to and downloaded, he's got a pretty good voice, as well as a good beat. There's nothing rushed here, nor is there anything that's catagorically unpleasent about his work. However, there's not a whole lot that wholly stands above and beyond everyone else out there, but that's not really a bad thing. He certainly fits into a catagory that I really enjoy listening to.

Play - Matt White

Hype - Buy - Look

C&O - Feel Good

Here's an example of several very good, but very different covers, this week of Feel Good Inc. , originally by Gorillaz. Covering their fantastic song is The Editors and Skye.

Where the original is a fantastic blend of electronic pop and alternative rock. It has an absolutly fantastic beat to it and the video's awesome as well. The Editors take a slightly different route with the song, going with the acoutic guitar with their version, while Skye goes more the pop route with it, which actually sounds really good.

Feels Good Inc. (Gorrilaz) - The Editors

Feels Good Inc. (Gorrilaz) - Skye

Feels Good Inc. - Gorillaz

Hype - Buy - Look

Kate Bush on the Golden Compass Soundtrack

One of the big fantasy movies that I'm really looking forwards to seeing this year is The Golden Compass, based off of the fantastic book by the same title. The song will be called Lyra, after the main character in the movie and will be played over the end credits.
.

The Soundtrack, which is being released December 11th, will be composed by the fantastic Alexander Despat, who worked on Birth and Syriana.

New England Rock

I'd like to take a moment and examine a couple of bands from my neck of the woods - New England. For those of you who can't remember US geography from school, or never learned of it, New England is in the far North East section of the US, comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. We've got a long and very proud history within the states, and some fantastic musicians have come from here. Here's a couple that I could come up with. Sorry Rhode Island...


Vermont - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals / Phish

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals originated in New York, where Potter went to school at St. Lawrence, but she's from Vermont, and the band is currently still based in Waitsfield Vermont, a town over from where I grew up - I actually went to high school with Grace, even though I really didn't know her personally. The Nocturnals got their name from their all night rehearsals at the school, and they released their first album in 2004, then their second in 2005, with their latest this year.

Crazy Parade - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals








Phish, well known for its live concerts rather than their studio works, formed at the University of Vermont when John Fishman, Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth got together to play in Fishman's dorm room in 1983. They were later joined by Mike Gordon and Page McConnel. The band released their first album in 1988 and they got really popular shortly after, filling a void that the Grateful Dead left when they disbanded. The band broke up in 2001 after a long tour, but most of the members are still active in the music world.

Heavy Things - Phish



Massachusetts - The Dropkick Murphys / Guster

The Dropkick Murphys originated out of Quincy, Massachusetts, and have become huge favorites in the region with their punk/Irish sound. Annually, they play in Boston on St. Patrick's Day. The group formed in 1996, releasing a couple of EPs before their 1998 record Do or Die. They're recently released their latest, entitled The Meanest of Times.

State of Massachutetts - The Dropkick Murphys

Guster

Guster is based out of Boston, Mass, and was founded at Tufts University there when Adam, Ryan and Brian met while in attendance. They released two albums prior to 1999 that were sleeper hits, but gained traction with the 1999 album Lost and Gone Forever and have recently released their latest album, Ganging Up On The Sun.

Hang On - Guster

Connecticut - The Alternate Routes / Rane

The Alternate Routes formed a couple of years ago, out of Bridgeport, Connecticut and released their first album, Good and Reckless and True in 2005, which was later re-released earlier this year. The band started when two of the members, Eric and Tim met at Fairfield University in the state. They relocated to Boston and New York for a little while, and now they're back in Connecticut. Hopefully recording new music...


Time Is A Runaway - The Alternate Routes

Rane

Rane is a band that's still pretty small, based out of Hartford Connecticut with a sound that they describe as 'progressive pop', that's quite good. I got hooked on them right away, and their first couple albums are very fun to listen to. They started their own record label, Tides Records, and have released 8 albums in the last couple of years. Haven't heard much from them lately, hopefully we'll hear from them soon...

From The Vine - Rane


Maine (And New Hampshire)- Ray LaMontagne

Ray Lamontagne is the big artist out of Maine at the moment, and is one of my favorite folk/rock singers out there. He's got a deep and gravelly voice, not too unlike that of Sam Beam, (Iron & Wine). LaMontagne was born in New Hampshire, and moved around a lot as a child before settling in Maine. Now based there, he's been singing since 1999. His latest release is the fantastic 'Till The Sun Turns Black.

Trouble - Ray Lamontagne

Rhode Island - I couldn't find anyone from there. Anyone know of any?

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

Nothing grabbed me this week...

Nike Boots - Wale

Ella Se Fue - Notch
The Power of One - Bomshel

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New Vampire Weekend Video

This looks fun, perfectly fits with their sound:

Ladies of Cambridge - Vampire Weekend

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Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!

A fitting album for Veteran's Day, Corb Lund's latest album, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! is coming out tomorrow in Canada, and later on this month in the US, and is a fun concept album - it focuses for the most part on the military, and the use of Cavalry in warfare, as seen in a couple of songs here, most notably, I Wanna Be In The Cavalry, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier, and even right down to a version of Taps.

This is a fantastic album. I'm not a fan of most country music out there, but this has the feel of The Decemberists rather than Brooks & Dunn. The lyrics are thoughtful, interesting and deep, especially revolving around the songs about war. The title track is by far the best on there, and is interesting to me as a student of history. And by no means is this an album about Civil War era warfighting - he covers all the territory, from Gengis Khan, all they way up to the current conflict with the use of horses in Afghanistan by the US Special Forces, as well as mentions of World War II, Vietnam, as well as the typical eras that you might think of this sort of thing.

The music here is very well done. The music is rich, with a deep country and folk sound that reminds me quite a bit at times of the really good Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot, who's also done some fantastic narrative, historical songs. These guys use a really good mix of instruments, ranging from mandolins, electric guitars and tight drumwork.

You can listen to the entire album at their myspace page.

Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! - Corb Lund
Student Visas - Corb Lund

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