Christmas Time is Here

So, I'm going to jump on the Christmas-mix bandwagon, because this is probably going to be my last post for about a week. (I still don't have the internet at my place, and I get a week off from work, where I can get away from everything and read.) So, here are some of my favorite Christmas songs, new and old. The best of the list is the one at the bottom, which was part of the now canceled show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Santa Claus is Coming To Town - Frank Sinatra
Silent Night - Skye
The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
2000 Miles (The Pretenders) - Coldplay
When I Get Home For Christmas - Snow Patrol
(There's No Place Like Home) For Christmas - Perry Como
Jingle Bells - Diana Krall
Here Comes Santa Claus - Elvis Presley
Toy Soldiers - Carbon Leaf
Silver Bells - Kate Smith
Have Yourself a Merry Christmas - Coldplay
Holly Jolly Christmas - The Format
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Watermark - Enya
O' Holy Night - Troy Andrews

After my break, we'll be back with the best song and album of the year, as well as my picks for the best new artists and some thoughts on what we'll be seeing next year. And, I've got an announcement for a huge, major feature that'll take up most of the year that I'm quite excited about. Stay tuned.

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Acoustic & Original

This week's Acoustic & Original comes from The Format, whom I was introduced through via the show Veronica Mars. This song appears on the show's soundtrack, and recently, I discovered an acoustic version of it off of their EP called Snails. The song is On Your Porch, and is a really good one. It's sad, and makes me think about a lot of things. Really, really good lyrics here.

On Your Porch (Acoustic) - The Format
On Your Porch - The Format

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Tomorrow - Christmas Mix. And an announcement of a new feature that I'm excited about.

Duet - Laurie & Matthews

This duet is without words - it's a classical piece, a very short one that was used in the TV show House, MD, the episode Half-Wit, when Dave Matthews guest-starred on the show as a musical savant. At one point, House, who plays piano, starts off a song on a piano that he brings in, when Matthews joins in. It's a really nice song, very soft, very pleasant.
Laurie plays piano on his own anyway, and in The Band from TV, where he plays piano along with numerous other band members who are from the TV realm. And everyone knows who Dave Matthews is..

Duet from Half-Wit - Hugh Laurie and Dave Matthews

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New Artist - the Adam Ezra Group

Here's a new group that I came across last week when they opened for Carbon Leaf at the Higher Ground in South Burlington Vermont: The Adam Ezra Group.
The group came together about five or so years ago, and is made up of Adam Ezra, Abbie Barrett, Dan Berglund, Josh Gold, Jeff 'Turtle' Goulart and Justin Panariello. In the time since they've started, they've released several albums and EPs - Crawl EP (2005), Chain (2005), Tumble Down Slow (2003), Sessions (2000), and Adam Ezra (2000).
These guys have a pretty good sound, somewhere along the lines of Dispatch and Blues Traveler, but they do have a good original streak there. When I saw them, they had a fairly good sound, but given their fairly new status as a band, they still have a little work to do with their sound, which I did hear when I saw them - these guys have a lot of potential, and I suspect that we'll hear more from them in the future as they refine their work a bit more.

Small Town City - Adam Ezra Group
On The Crawl - Adam Ezra Group

(More tracks are avaliable through their website, here)

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C&O - Walk on the Ocean

This week's cover and original is one that I've been looking for for a long time now for a favorite song of mine, Walk on the Ocean, originally by Toad the Wet Sprocket, whom I've recently rediscovered. This was one of the songs that's been jumping around in the back of my head for a long time now, but the name and band had eluded me for ages. Thus, I've finally tracked it down, and along with that, found a couple of covers for it.
The covers here are some good imitations, although neither surpass the original, nor do they really deviate from it. Mayer's version of the song is a good one, with a pretty similar sound (he sounds like the band anyway), while Brian's isn't nearly as good, which is a shame, because he's a fine singer. The original, in this case, remains the best version, and it's a fantastic song to boot.

Walk on the Ocean (Toad the Wet Sprocket)- Brian Dolanzi
Walk on the Ocean (Toad the Wet Sprocket) - John Mayer & Guster (? - Not 100% sure this was them)
Walk on the Ocean (Acoustic) - Toad the Wet Sprocket

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The Evolution of ... The Decemberists

The Decemberists and I have an interesting history. When I was first introduced to them several years ago, I really didn't like their sound at all. Colin Meloy's voice just didn't click, and even now, it's an odd sounding one, a sort of harsh buzz.

I started listening to them more closely about a year ago, shortly after their latest album, The Crane Wife was released, and I've come around to their sound. I'm not entirely sure what's brought me over for these guys, but after listening to their music more and more, I'm liking them more and more as time goes on.

The Decemberists first came on to the music scene in Portland Oregon with their first EP, 5 Songs, which was released in 2001 and helped mold some of their early sound. I have to say that this was some of the first I heard from them, and I wasn't impressed on the first listen or two. Their sound here was a bit unrefined but further listens have let the group grow on me since then.

Shiny - The Decemberists

Castaways and Cutouts in 2002, bringing with them an interesting sound, but also songs that told stories. Theirs are not the regular pop songs that cover the typical themes. These are stories that cover a number of subjects. Right from the get-go, their name has references within itself - it comes from the Russian Decemberist Revolt. Their first full length album has a fairly raw sound to my ears - Meloy's voice is rougher, the instruments are tight and the lyrics are fantastic - it's a fantastic start to their career, but not their best work- that was yet to come.

Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect - The Decemberists

Their next album came a year later in 2003, Her Majesty. Once again, listeners were treated to some fantastic songwriting skills. Overall, their sound has smoothed out a little, save for Colin Meloy's voice. 2004 followed with another EP release, the Tain. Once again, I wasn't impressed at first, although I've certainly allowed them to grow on me a bit since then. Their sound was certainly progressing here.

Los Angeles, I'm Yours - The Decemberists

Their next album, Picaresque, is when they really started getting good. The album starts off fantastically with 16 Military Wives, which blends the instrumentals and vocals much better than their prior album, all while keeping their fantastic songwriting. This is the first album where I really like all the songs - their sound has evened out a bit and everything has started to click by this point. The album was followed with Picarequeties in 2005.

16 Military Wives - The Decemberists

Their latest album, The Crane Wife, was also their first major release, and in my opinion, their best yet to day. Colin Meloy's voice has matured since their first sounds, to the point where it's possibly the strongest point of the album.
This is a bit of a concept album, centered around the Japanese folk story of the Crane Wife, where two of the songs, Crane Wife 3 and The Crane Wife 1 and 2 take up much of the time on the album, all while the rest of the songs center around trust and betrayal. There's several extremely long songs here - the Island and Crane Wife 1 & 2 clocking in at over ten minutes each - yet they are some of the best songs on the album. Early 2007 saw the release of an iTunes EP, entitled Live from SoHo.

Sons & Daughters - The Decemberists

The group was as of recently on a tour in Europe, to be followed up with a second one in the US, which was cut short due to a serious illness from one of the band members (it's unknown which one). Prior to that, the group did a five stop tour backed by a full orchestra around the United States. Hopefully, the group will recover and begin writing up some new material for a new album. Hopefully, we'll be seeing more of them in the next couple years.

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New Artist - Meika Pauley

Here's an artist that I came across earlier today while looking up some upcoming concerts at the Higher Ground in South Burlington. In February, Gregory Douglass (I'll be writing about him sometime this week), will be playing and Meika Pauley is opening for him. I typically look up the opening acts where I can, and when I came across her myspace, I was pleasantly surprised at her sound.

Operating out of Cambridge Mass, Mieka has been around for a couple of years. In 2005, she took the top prize at the first Starbucks/NEMO Emerging Artists competition. Her first album, which the following cuts are from, was released last month. In setting up for this album, fans footed the bill, through a website called elijahdropyourgun.com, where they could pre-order the album. She raised $16,000, and the latest album is out.

Her vocals remind me a little of K.T. Tunstall, with a good drive and rhythm, with plenty of energy behind her. Her songwriting seems to be pretty good too.

Be Like the Man - Meika Pauley
9:45 - Meika Pauley

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New Video - Car Crash

Vanguard Records has posted up this video for Matt Nathanson's latest single, Car Crash:

It's an interesting video - I particularly like how they've back lit Matt as he sings. Out of all of his songs, this is one of his better ones. On stage, I've said that Nathanson is a bit of an annoying twit, but he does put out some good music, and his latest album, Some Mad Hope was quite good.

Car Crash - Matt Nathanson

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In the Event of Zombies - Proceed to Bethel Vermont

I just got back from the Science Fiction / Horror movie I Am Legend. I have to say it's probably one of the best movies out this year, especially in the Science Fiction or Horror genres.

The movie, for those of you don't know, takes place three years after a global epidemic that wiped out almost 90% of the earth's population. One survivor, played by Will Smith, has eked out a living in a now abandoned New York City, along with his dog, Samantha. He drives around the city in expensive cars that are now abandoned, plays golf off of an abandoned aircraft carrier and hunts deer in Central Park and Times Square. Oh, and locks up his house and never goes out anywhere without his rifle, because those who weren't killed off by the virus have been turned into a sort of primitive zombie-vampire, who eat anything that they can find after nightfall.

From the beginning, I was reminded of a book that I read earlier this year, called The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman. The book is based on a couple of premises - the first and foremost being about what would happen if everyone vanished - especially New York City. In the book, he presents some of the same things - the subways filling with water, roads falling into disrepair, wildlife returning to the places in which humans formerly lived and plant life springing up everywhere.



Here, the movie presents a fairly accurate vision of this sort of future - like Weisman suggests, the roads have fallen into disrepair, trees and grasses spring up everywhere, deer and lions have returned (or just escaped from somewhere), as well as the subways filling with water. However, unlike in Weisman's world, the tall skyscrapers are still standing tall, (Weisman suggests that they would topple with their foundations becoming waterlogged), the roads are still intact (it's suggested that they would collapse with the subways) and the entire eastern seaboard wasn't radioactive glass, suggesting that the nuclear reactors in the United States hadn't overheated and were destroyed without anybody to staff them.

The first half of the movie is outstandingly done - Smith's character goes about his day, alone with his dog in the city, talking to store dummies that he seems to have placed around in a couple of places that he frequents. He sends out a radio beacon to alert any other survivors that he's out there, to help them. In all likelihood, it's probably mostly for his own sanity, the hope that there is someone else out there.
We can see that he's lonely. Some of the best scenes are the ones that are the quietest, looking over the abandoned city while Smith walks around.

In the times that he's not wandering around, we see that Smith has a lab in his basement, where he spends more of his free time working out a cure, based on the immunity that he seems to have against the virus.

It's not an easy feat to virtually carry a movie almost completely on the shoulders of one actor, but Smith really manages to pull it off, especially with the help of his dog, who accompanies him everywhere he goes. While a good proportion of the film takes place in 2012, we do see a couple of glimpses into the past, just prior to the outbreak and during the evacuation. In 2009, a scientist came up with a cure for cancer, with 10,009 human clinical trials. In another glimpse, we see that those trials had horrible side effects, with the virus mutating into something that turns people into a snarling beast that was burned by the sun - almost like rabies. Smith tries to get his wife and daughter out of Manhattan before it's cut off from the rest of the world - he was a colonel in the US Army, and he used his position to try and get them to safety.

The flashbacks are interesting, because the movie takes place afterwards, and there's little setup - the viewers are merely thrown into the mix, with little explanation. The setup's in the first half of the movie, where it works extremely well, and brings the viewer up to the second half, where the action takes over - Smith looses it when Sam is turned, and he tries to kill as many of the zombies as he can, when another pair of survivors turn up, telling him that they heard his message and stopped by as they were on their way to Bethel Vermont, where there is apparently a colony of survivors.

This is perhaps one of the better parts of the film, where Smith hears this news - his first reaction is to throw his dish across the room and shout. He plays it off extremely well, as he finally has somebody to talk to, besides his pet and the television (he can follow along with the dialog of Shrek perfectly). The use of the movie Shrek was very cleverly done - it uses a quote that really parallels their current situation. While he was resistant to the idea of going with them to start anew, he uses the movie to communicate, using things that he does know to get ideas across. We see the other survivor do the same thing, and it takes them a little while to relax a little.

I thought that it was interesting that they chose Vermont as a place for survivors, especially Bethel, which is a real town, and which I've been through a number of times. One of the survivors makes an offhand comment that the cold helped prevent the spread of the virus. It's a bit of a common mis perception about Vermont, that it's cold here all the time - while we do have fairly cold winters, it's hardly Hoth year-round - the spring, summer and fall seasons are all quite nice. Winter's just a little longer than most places. Although, from what we do see of the zombie-vampire things, they wouldn't last long at all in the cold of Vermont, or probably anywhere outside of a city environment.

One of the more interesting parts of the film was the way the survivors operate. Smith stockpiles supplies, guns, locks up his doors to the extreme measures and generally does what he can to survive. The colony, which we see in the end of the film, seems to operate on that principle - behind the walls, there's a wind farm and a farm (another Vermont stereotype), and people walking around without bite marks everywhere.

The part that music fans will like is the way that music is used here. Smith's character seems to be a huge Bob Marley fan - he calls one of Marley's the best album ever created and listens to Three Little Birds while washing Sam - the lyrics are paticularly pointed to the situation:

Don't worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': don't worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

It's probably one of the main things about Smith's character - the hope that everything will be going all right. We see that he's continually working on a cure for the virus, and even though he says that everyone else in the world is dead, there is still that hope that this is something that'll just pass.
Further on in the film, Smith's character tells Anna a story about Marley, who was shot prior to a peace rally, but went back on stage just a couple of days later, saying that the bad people of the world don't take a day off. It's another pointed view into Smith's character and what drives him.

The film succeeds on a number of levels - the strength of the acting - I'm continually surprised at Will Smith in films - I thought that he was abysmal in Independence Day, but thought that he did a good job in I, Robot, and by all reports, he did a very good job in Pursuit of Happiness. Here, he does an excellent job largely on his own - the scenes with him and Sam are the best in the movie and perhaps in this genre, at least in a long time.

The progression of the story is also a strength here, as we're slowly introduced to the situation and what life is like in a post-apocalyptic world. The film goes beyond a mere horror-zombie film. There's true depth here, in the isolation of Smith's character and his lack of belief in god and fate. What we're presented with is a solid film, with solid acting and a very good addition to the genre, as well as a fairly accurate vision of what would happen if everyone in the planet just died off. Go check out this movie, and while on your way to the theater, go pick up Alan Weisman's book, because if you like this, you'll be interested in what he has to say, the answer to the question : What would happen if everyone on the planet vanished? I Am Legend has quite an interesting take on that question - Plus zombies. I do admit, The World Without Us would be a fun read if it had them in it.


Three Little Birds - Bob Marley
Stir It Up - Bob Marley

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Acoustic & Original

This week's Acoustic & Original is from Rilo Kiley, with their recent album Under the Blacklight. This was a fantastic album, and one of the better songs off of the album was Moneymaker.
The acoustic version here is interesting, as there's a heavy bass and guitar section in the original. The acoustic version is stripped down, and the guitar part here is pretty cool
Here's the two versions.

The Moneymaker (Acoustic) - Rilo Kiley
The Moneymaker - Rilo Kiley

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The Best ... Best of Albums

This year, there were three albums that really stood out for me for they were some of the best best of compilations and re-masters of some really good artists.

The first one released this year was Nick Drake's Family Tree, a collection of rare takes and alternate songs that have never before been heard. Over his short time working on music, he did quite a bit - the 29 song album is a really, really good insight behind his albums.

Black Mountain Blues - Nick Drake

The second one was the fantastic Dylan, a compilation of Bob Dylan's music over his entire career. This was released in a couple of sets - a one disc release and a three disc release, as well as a special edition with a couple of DVDs. Starting from the beginning and going on to his more recent releases, this one just blue me away.

Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan

And lastly, Mothership was just released, right on the heels of a reunion concert from one of Hard Rock's best bands ever. I've only had a chance to go through a couple of tracks, but this is another fantastic gathering of some of their favorites.

Black Dog - Led Zeppelin

Hype - Buy

Concert Review - Carbon Leaf & the Adam Ezra Group

So, last night, Carbon Leaf returned to the Higher Ground for another amazing show. Despite the winter weather advisory, they pulled in a full house. They were fronted by the Adam Ezra Group, whom I had never heard of, but was quite impressed by.


Adam Ezra Grou Set List

1 Opening (Missed this one)
2 Gave Into Pressure
3 Nightly Gesture, I Call You
4 All Band Drum Solo
5 Say I'm not the Only One
6 Small Town City
7 Don't Shine the Light on my System Mama
8 Back on the Road Tonight
9 We All Try Do or Die
10 Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show)
11 You Can Tell A Lot About A Man

Unfortunently, I don't know what the song titles are for the songs - these are snippits of the lyrics (except for Wagon Wheel and Small Town City).


I was pretty impressed by these guys. If you liked Dispatch or Blues Traveller, The Adam Ezra Group will probably suit you. They've got a cool drum lineup, as well as a fun, energetic sound. These guys looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage, and Adam seemed to never stop, either running around the stage or through the crowd at one point.

I was most impressed by several songs, most notably Small Town City, which really stood out from their setlist - this marked a refined and passionate song with some good songwriting here. Their sound overall is fairly unrefined, raw, and I imagine that they'll be working over the next couple years to something even better. But as a beginning, these guys are someone to keep an eye on. I'll be highlighting them in more detail later.

I got to speak with Adam after the show - nice guy, really enthusiastic about music and interested in the blog and everything surrounding that. Hopefully, I'll get around to seeing them again next week when they play at Nectar's.

Carbon Leaf Setlist

1 Wolftrap and Fireflies
2 Another Man's Woman (New Song)
3 Toy Soldiers
4 Let Your Troubles Roll By
5 Texas Stars
6 For The 1st Time (New Song)
7 One Prairie Outpost
8 Life Less Ordinary
9 Attica's Flowerbox Window
10 For Your Violin
11 The Boxer
12 Paloma
13 When I'm Alone
14 War Was In Color
15 Meltdown (New Song)
16 Come Together
Encore
17 Favorite Things Jam (By the Christmas Power Trio)
18 What Child Is This
19 What About Everything


Now, Carbon Leaf. I am continually amazed at how they'll change up their shows a bit. This show featured a bunch of new songs - Another Man's Woman, For the 1st Time and Meltdown. The best of these was Meltdown, which really blew me away.

Once again, the guys pulled out all the energy for this show - they really did a fantastic set, with a lot of new and some really old stuff that I've never heard live before (Toy Soldiers!). I'm not sure this is the best concert that I've heard from them, but it's certainly one of the better ones.

One thing that impressed me the most, more than other shows, was Carter's Guitarwork for this show. Completely off the hook and leaps and bounds above what I've ever heard before. There were a bunch of really cool solos here, and I'm really hoping that some of them will make their way onto Archive.org. I know the Boston Show will be making it's way up there sometime soon, and I have another recent show that I'll be pulling some new songs off of.

I finally got to speak with Terry and Barry - guys, if you read this, it was an absolute pleasure to see you guys again. Next time you're up in Vermont, I've got a round of drinks for you.

Small Town City - Adam Ezra Group
The Boxer - Carbon Leaf

For more pictures from the concert, click here.

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New Artist - Skye Edwards

This is an artist that I've come across fairly recently, although her debut album was released last year, called Mind How You Go. Skye (which is the first letters of her name - Shirley Klarisse Yonavive Edwards), is out of England and used to be the lead singer of a band called Morcheeba - it seems that she left due to problems with other members of the band.

Her first album, Mind How You Go, was released in 2006 do limited success, and the first single was used in Grey's Anatomy, which is sure to help her popularity. She's got an upcoming album coming in 2008, and is rumored to have a version of her fantastic Gorillaz cover Feel Good Inc. on it.

I like this artist - Skye has a wonderful, strong voice. Her songs range with a nice blend of hip-hop, lounge and easy listening. Anyone who's a fan of Zero 7 would probably really like her work. (Come to think of it, that would be an absolutely fantastic lineup, for the group to add her to the list.) Here's a couple of her songs that I paticularly like:

Stop Complaining - Skye
Love Show - Skye
What's Wrong With Me - Sky

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Nobel for Gore

Today, Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in environmentalism. It's a long time coming for something like this in the environmental field, and I think that it's absolutely fantastic that things that I've studied and learned about from a very early age are finally getting some validation.
I do have to wonder though, about what this all means. I was listening to VPR earlier today on the way in to work, and they were talking about a number of different, relatively unrelated environmental concerns that now HAVE to be related to Global Warming in order to get any attention at all. In addition to that, I have my own doubts about how everything has become a buzz word : green this, green that, carbon, carbon footprint, no-impact, etc, the list goes on and on.

I Need to Wake Up - Melissa Etheridge

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Weekend Mix - Home

So, I have a new apartment. I have to say, I lucked out completely here. a) The rent is fantastic. b) it's big, and I don't have a roommate. Bedroom's big, second bedroom is now a library/office, good sized kitchen as well as a living room. c) heat and water included and d) it's not far from where I work, and it's in a city (well, as close as you can get in Vermont).
Needless to say, I'm very pleased with this, especially since I'm no longer living at my parent's house. Not that I have anything against my parents, but it's nice not being the geek in the parent's house. I'm currently awaiting two more bookshelves from UPS, who apparently can't find my place. I also need to pick up a bunch of odds and ends, like a cutting board, pizza cutter and some pots.

Yeah... So, here's some songs about homes:

Home - Alexi Murdoch
Going Home With You - The Alternate Routes
Interior of a Dutch House - Beirut
Can't Find My Way Home - Blind Faith
Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan
Home - Carbon Leaf
Home - Foo Fighters
On Your Porch - The Format
I'm Goin' Home - Hootie and the Blowfish
Home Life - John Mayer
Welcome Home - Peters and Lee
Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel
Screen Door - Uncle Tupelo

Hype - Buy

NPR: Vote for the Best

NPR's All Songs Considered are doing their own user vote for the best music of the year:

All Songs Considered, November 22, 2007 - It's that time of year again, when all the critics start scratching their heads as they look for the year's best album. Was it Radiohead's In Rainbows, or something more off the radar like Loney Dear's Loney, Noir?

Tell us what you think. Vote for the best album of 2007 in our online survey. We'll post the results on All Songs Considered Dec. 20. Some of the contenders are listed below.

Source

New Video - To Die in LA

A new video has come around for West Indian Girl's latest single, To Die In LA:

It's a fun video - half of it was shot with a Nokia N93i phone

To Die in LA - West Indian Girl

Grammy Nominations

Were just released. Here they are:

Category 1 -  Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)

• Irreplaceable
     Beyoncé
     Beyoncé Knowles, S. Smith & Stargate, producers; Jim Caruana, Jason Goldstein &
     Geoff Rice, engineers/mixers
     Track from: B'Day
     [Sony Urban Music/Columbia/Music World Productions]

• The Pretender
     Foo Fighters
     Gil Norton, producer; Adrian Bushby & Rich Costey, engineers/mixers
     [Roswell/RCA Records]

• Umbrella
     Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
     Kuk Harrell & C. "Tricky" Stewart, producers; Kuk Harrell & Manny Marroquin,
     engineers/mixers
     Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
     [Def Jam]

• What Goes Around…Comes Around
     Justin Timberlake
     Nate (Danja) Hills, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake, producers; Jimmy Douglass &
     Timbaland, engineers/mixers
     [Jive/Zomba]

• Rehab
     Amy Winehouse
     Mark Ronson, producer; Tom Elmhirst, engineer/mixer
     Track from: Back To Black

Category 2 -  Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)

• Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
     Foo Fighters
     Gil Norton, producer; Adrian Bushby & Rich Costey, engineers/mixers; Brian
     Gardner, mastering engineer
     [Roswell/RCA Records]

• These Days
     Vince Gill
     John Anderson, Guy Clarke, Rodney Crowell, Diana Krall & The Del McCoury Band,
     featured artists; Vince Gill, John Hobbs & Justin Niebank, producers; Neal
     Cappellino & Justin Niebank, engineers/mixers; Adam Ayan, mastering engineer
     [MCA Nashville]

• River: The Joni Letters
     Herbie Hancock
     Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza &
     Tina Turner, featured artists; Herbie Hancock & Larry Klein, producers; Helik
     Hadar, engineer/mixer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer
     [Verve]

• Graduation
     Kanye West
     Dwele, Lil Wayne, Mos Def & T-Pain, featured artists; Warryn "Baby Dubb"
     Campbell, Eric Hudson, Brian "Allday" Miller, Nottz, Patrick "Plain Pat"
     Reynolds, Gee Roberson, Toomp & Kanye West, producers; Bruce Beuchner, Andrew
     Dawson, Mike Dean, Anthony Kilhoffer, Greg Koller, Manny Marroquin, Nottz Raw,
     Tony Rey, Seiji Sekine, Paul Sheehy & D. Sloan, engineers/mixers; Vlado Meller,
     mastering engineer
     [Roc-A-Fella Records]

• Back To Black
     Amy Winehouse
     Mark Ronson & Salaamremi, producers; Tom Elmhirst, Gary Noble & Franklin
     Socorro, engineers/mixers; Mark Ronson, mastering engineer

Category 3 -  Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award.  A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year.  (Artist names appear in parentheses.)  Singles or Tracks only.)

• Before He Cheats
     Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
     Track from: Some Hearts
     [19 Recordings/Arista Nashville; Publishers: That Little House Music, Mighty Underdog Music/Sony/ATV Cross Keys]

• Hey There Delilah
     Tom Higgenson, songwriter (Plain White T's)
     Track from: Every Second Counts
     [Hollywood Records/Fearless Records; Publisher: So Happy Publishing]

• Like A Star
     Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter (Corinne Bailey Rae)
     Track from: Corinne Bailey Rae
     [Capitol Records; Publisher: Global Talent Publishing]

• Rehab
     Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)
     Track from: Back To Black
     [Universal Republic Records; Publisher: EMI Music Publishing]

• Umbrella
     Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash & Christopher Stewart,
     songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z)
     Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad

Category 4 -  Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

• Feist

• Ledisi

• Paramore

• Taylor Swift

Category 5 -  Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance.  Singles or Tracks only.)

• Candyman
     Christina Aguilera
     [RCA Records]

• 1234
     Feist
     Track from: The Reminder
     [Cherry Tree / Interscope Records]

• Big Girls Don't Cry
     Fergie
     Track from: The Dutchess
     [A&M Records]

• Say It Right
     Nelly Furtado
     Track from: Loose
     [Geffen]

• Rehab
     Amy Winehouse
     Track from: Back To Black

Category 6 -  Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance.  Singles or Tracks only.)

• Everything
     Michael Bublé
     Track from: Call Me Irresponsible
     [143 Records/Reprise]

• Belief
     John Mayer
     Track from: The Village Sessions
     [Columbia/Aware]

• Dance Tonight
     Paul McCartney
     Track from: Memory Almost Full
     [MPL/Hear Music]

• Amazing
     Seal
     [Warner Bros.]

• What Goes Around...Comes Around
     Justin Timberlake

Category 7 -  Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups, with vocals.  Singles or Tracks only.)

• (You Want To) Make A Memory
     Bon Jovi
     Track from: Lost Highway
     [Island/Mercury]

• Home
     Daughtry
     [RCA Records/19 Recordings]

• Makes Me Wonder
     Maroon 5
     Track from: It Won't Be Soon Before Long
     [Octone/A&M Records]

• Hey There Delilah
     Plain White T's
     Track from: Every Second Counts
     [Hollywood Records]

• Window In The Skies
     U2
     Track from: U218 - Singles
Category 8 -  Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
(For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together.  Singles or Tracks only.)

• Steppin' Out
     Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera
     Track from: Duets: An American Classic
     [Columbia]

• Beautiful Liar
     Beyoncé & Shakira
     Track from: B'Day (Deluxe Edition)
     [Columbia/Sony Urban]

• Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
     Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
     [Rounder Records]

• The Sweet Escape
     Gwen Stefani & Akon
     Track from: The Sweet Escape
     [Interscope Records]

• Give It To Me
     Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
     Track from: Timbaland Presents: Shock Value

Category 11 -  Best Pop Vocal Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)

• Lost Highway
     Bon Jovi
     [Island/Mercury]

• The Reminder
     Feist
     [Cherry Tree/Interscope Records]

• It Won't Be Soon Before Long
     Maroon 5
     [Octone/A&M Records]

• Memory Almost Full
     Paul McCartney
     [MPL/Hear Music]

• Back To Black
     Amy Winehouse

Category 15 -  Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance.  Singles or Tracks only.)

• Timebomb
     Beck
     [Interscope Records]

• Only Mama Knows
     Paul McCartney
     Track from: Memory Almost Full
     [MPL/Hear Music]

• Our Country
     John Mellencamp
     Track from: Freedom's Road
     [Universal Republic Records]

• Radio Nowhere
     Bruce Springsteen
     Track from: Magic
     [Columbia]

• Come On
     Lucinda Williams
     Track from: West

Category 16 -  Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals.  Singles or Tracks only.)

• It's Not Over
     Daughtry
     [RCA Records/19 Recordings]

• Working Class Hero
     Green Day
     Track from: Instant Karma - The Campaign To Save Darfur
     [Warner Bros.]

• If Everyone Cared
     Nickelback
     Track from: All The Right Reasons Special Edition
     [Roadrunner Records]

• Instant Karma
     U2
     Track from: Instant Karma - The Campaign To Save Darfur
     [Warner Bros.]

• Icky Thump
     The White Stripes
     Track from: Icky Thump

Category 17 -  Best Hard Rock Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals.  Singles or Tracks only.)

• Sweet Sacrifice
     Evanescence
     Track from: The Open Door
     [Wind-up Records, LLC]

• The Pretender
     Foo Fighters
     [Roswell/RCA Records]

• I Don't Wanna Stop
     Ozzy Osbourne
     Track from: Black Rain
     [Epic]

• Sick, Sick, Sick
     Queens Of The Stone Age
     Track from: Era Vulgaris
     [Interscope Recods]

• The Pot
     Tool
     Track from: 10,000 Days

Category 20 -  Best Rock Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award.  Includes Rock, Hard Rock & Metal songs.  For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3.  (Artist names appear in parentheses.)  Singles or Tracks only.)

• Come On
     Lucinda Williams, songwriter (Lucinda Williams)
     Track from: West
     [Lost Highway Records; Publishers: Warner-Tamerlane Publishing/Lucy Jones Music]

• Icky Thump
     Jack White, songwriter (The White Stripes)
     Track from: Icky Thump
     [Third Man/Warner Bros.; Publisher: Peppermint Stripe Music]

• It's Not Over
     Chris Daughtry, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson & Brett Young, songwriters
     (Daughtry)
     [RCA Records/19 Recordings; Publishers: Surface Pretty Deep Ugly Music, G Watt Music/EMI April Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing, Floating Leaf]

• The Pretender
     Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel & Chris Shiflett, songwriters (Foo
     Fighters)
     [Roswell/RCA Records; Publishers: M.J. Twelve Music, I Love The Punk Rock Music, Living Under A Rock Music, Flying Earform Music]

• Radio Nowhere
     Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
     Track from: Magic

Category 21 -  Best Rock Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.  Includes Hard Rock and Metal.)

• Daughtry
     Daughtry
     [RCA Records]

• Revival
     John Fogerty
     [Fantasy]

• Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
     Foo Fighters
     [Roswell/RCA Records]

• Magic
     Bruce Springsteen
     [Columbia]

• Sky Blue Sky
     Wilco

Category 22 -  Best Alternative Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)

• Alright, Still...
     Lily Allen
     [Capitol Records]

• Neon Bible
     Arcade Fire
     [Merge Records]

• Volta
     Bjork
     [Elektra/Atlantic]

• Wincing The Night Away
     The Shins
     [Sub Pop]

• Icky Thump
     The White Stripes

Complete, full list can be seen here: http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/50th_Show/50thNominations.txt
     [Third Man/Warner Bros.]
     [Nonesuch Records]

     [Columbia; Publisher: Bruce Springsteen]
     [Volcano]

     [Third Man/Warner Bros.]
     [Lost Highway Records]
     [Universal Republic Records]
     [Mosley/Blackground/Interscope Records]

     [Interscope Records]
     [Jive]
     [Universal Republic Records]

• Amy Winehouse
     [Def Jam]
     [Universal Republic Records]

     [Universal Republic Records]

Happy Hanukkah!

Last night was the first night of Hanukkah, as my boss mentioned (and is interestingly out sick today...), so here's a couple of related songs:

Hanukkah Song - Adam Sandler
Hanukkah Blessing - The Barenaked Ladies

Hype - Buy

The Best of November

This was a nice change from last month, with very few good songs. There was a lot of good music coming out this month, stuff that I was coming across recently.

(Reposted because SaveFile is now back online & this can get listed with Hype again...)


Best Days - Matt White

This is a pretty cool song, fairly mainstream sounding, but it's got a very good, laid back feel to it, reminding me quite a bit of John Mayer and Matchbox Twenty. The lyrics are simple, but the vocals and guitarwork isn't bad. This guy's a newcomer, and I haven't been able to find out a whole lot about him, but I'll be keeping an eye out for him.

Dylan, Bob Dylan

I'm not going to highlight any particular song here - just this one album, with 51 songs on it over three disks (I got the deluxe version) spans Bob Dylan's entire history in music, which is incredible in and of itself. This album covers an entire era in rock music. An essential.


I Want To Be In the Cavalry - Corb Lund
Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier - Corb Lund
Student Visas - Corb Lund

These three songs from Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albanians are really interesting to me - mainly for their focus of history, and all are from the fantastic album Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! Cavalry is a fun song with a fantastic military-like beat, while the title track is a really cool look at horses in warfare over the course of history. Student Visas is a somber and very dark song about black ops during what sounds like Columbian operations. Each is fantastically written and have a good sound.

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Bob Dylan) - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

This song has really been getting my head into the clouds every time I hear it - it's a fantastic rendition of the original Bob Dylan version. Glen Hansard does a good job imitating the lead vocals and Marketa Irglova does a fantastic job backing him up. One of the best out of that album, I'm Not There.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan) - Antony & The Johnsons

Another fantastic Bob Dylan cover, one that really don't follow any of the other covers that I've heard - it's slower, deliberate and somber, but quiet and thoughtful. It's possibly the best cover of the song since Jimi Hendrix's version.

Skin and Bones - Jess Clemons and the Cooperative
Well The Tide - Jess Clemons and the Cooperative

Jess Clemons is another musician that I went to high school with, and I was really thrilled to see that she's just released her first album, Jess Clemons & The Cooperative. Both songs have some really good writing backing it up, brought to life with some fantastic vocals. She goes the folksy-blues route with her music, and it really works for both songs, which are easily the best off of her first album.

Seed of Wonder - Jesca Hoop
Love and Love Again - Jesca Hoop

Jesca Hoop is one of the best musicians of the year that's come to my ears. She's got an incredible, unique sound that is very catchy, especially in the case of Seed of Wonder. There's some good guitar work behind it. The entire album sounds cool, and there's a huge variance in the sound between each album. Seed of Wonder and Love and Love Again don't really follow the same formula, which is really neat.

Run (Snow Patrol) - Leona Lewis

Just a bit of a disclaimer - I'm not a huge fan of the original verion of this, the Snow Patrol song Run. It's a fine song, but it's hardly one of my favorites. However, Leona Lewis has done a masterful job with the song and made it one of the few cases where the cover surpasses the original by a bit. Vocally, she does a very good job with the lyrics and turning this to a quiet, thoughtful song.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Brandi Carlile & A Fine Frenzy

I saw this song live, when the two came to Vermont. What a fantastic concert, and this song was a fun one to see on stage. The two singers are good together, although I think Brandi Carlile is the stronger of the two singers. This version is a fun duet.

Mouthwash - Kate Nash

Kate Nash is another one of the very good singers that's come out of the woodwork this summer. She sounds very similar to Regina Spektor, with some great vocals. This song has a good beat and sound, and is a fun one to listen to - her voice is just fantastic. A must for any dentist!

Black Mirror - Arcade Fire
No Cars Go - Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a band that's been around for a while, but I was just turned to them. Black Mirror and No Cars Go are two of my favorites from their fantastic album Neon Bible. I'm a fan.

A Man of a Million Faces - Stephin Merritt

This song was the result of NPR's song in 48 hours feature. It's catchy and has some really interesting lyrics. Merritt's voice really fits well with this (and I believe that he played all the parts for this) and the entire song really fits together well with a moody feel to it.

Say - John Mayer

John Mayer's back with a single, and despite his shortcomings, I think this song really shows some talent. It's got some good guitar-work and good lyrics.

How Long, Eilen Jewell

KCRW picked up with this song, and it's got a very laid-back feel to it with a unique sound and some good lyrics and a good sound to it.

Please Read The Letter - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

This is another fantastic duet that I came across, and one that's rather unexpected. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss sound fantastic together. This song has particular meaning right now, and I'm probably going to get the rest of this album, because it's just got an amazing sound all around.

That's all for this month - I can't wait to see what December brings.

Hype - Buy

iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free stuff. More Holiday music.

Be Your Santa Claus - Keith Sweat
Sleigh Ride - Los Straitjackets
Y Te Vas - Motel

The Evolution of ... Coldplay

Coldplay has been one of my longtime favorite bands. They've gained considerable fame worldwide with their three major albums and numerous hits that each has produced, all the while coming up with a fairly consistant sound that doesn't get old, at least to my ears.

The group came onto the music scene in London, England, and released their first EP, entitled Brothers and Sisters, which was released on 1999. The three songs lay the foundation of the band's sound, quiet, calm, with a fairly high voice from their lead singer, Chris Martin. When they strike up the mood, they'll get into a great beat.

Only Superstition - Coldplay

They followed up Brothers and Sisters with their debut album, Parachutes. This album produced several major hits, including Trouble and Yellow. Another track, Don't Panic, gained fame in it's release with the Garden State soundtrack.
Parachutes further refined the sound that the group started with, with better guitar work and lyrics. The album is overall everything a debut album should be, and it's easily one of the finest alternative albums to come out of this decade.

Everything's Not Lost - Coldplay

Two years after Parachutes, Coldplay followed up with another monster hit, A Rush of Blood to the Head, which probably surpassed the first album in popularity, although it wasn't a huge jump away from Parachutes. Coldplay's most recognizable song, Clocks, as well as Daylight, The Scientist and God Put A Smile On Your Face are all part of this album and helped bring the group further into the limelight. A Rush of Blood to the Head is similar to Parachutes - similar style, song types and feel. It's a good album, but not a breakout success that their first album brought about.

Warning Sign - Coldplay

It was a three year wait before Coldplay came back with another album, this time X&Y, which, like their first two albums, brought quite a bit of success to the band. They also changed around their sound a little. There's more emphisis on the vocals, and the insturmentation takes more of a supporting role here. The album takes on a bit more of a consistant tone and speed. It's still got the same basic sound as that of the prior two albums, but it's less of a copy. Still, it doesn't quite hit the level of Parachutes.

What If? - Coldplay

Coldplay has, over the past couple of years, become heavily involved with various charities, such as Oxfam and LiveAid. A couple of years ago, they said that it would be a long time before anyone heard from them for a while, sparking rumours that the band was on the verge of splitting up. That's since been retracked, and the group has announced that they'll be coming back sometime next year with another album, title unknown.
One of the things that I've found interesting recently is the number of Douglas Adams references in their music. Don't Panic is a classic line and saying from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and their next album has a song and total length of 42 minutes, another major part of Adams' books. Recently, Coldplay has appeared on an EP called In the Sun, with REM's Michael Stipe, where they play along with him on the song In the Sun, which is quite good.

In the Sun - Michael Stipe & Coldplay

Hype - Buy - Look