Count To Ten - Tina Dico

The title track to Tina Dico's upcoming album, Count to Ten, has just been placed up online for free download. I'd highly recommend getting this track, and looking into the album when it's released on April 8th. Tina has put together a fantastic album here, with a number of really good songs - and this is one of the strongest songs on it.

Count To Ten - Tina Dico

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Taking A Break

I'm going to take a break for about a week, while work has gotten really busy. I just can't get the time to really post up a whole lot at the moment while I have this backlog. So, stay tuned, we'll be back soon.

Torn to Tattered - Carbon Leaf
Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder
Breathe In Breathe Out - Mat Kerney

Hype - Buy

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals : Toads Place 02-22-08

On Friday night, I drove down to New Haven, CT, to see Grace Potter & The Nocturnals for the 3rd time.
As always, it was a fantastic night. Their opening group, the Phonographs (I think) didn't do much for me, but once Grace hit the stage, they did a wonderful job. Great sound, as always, a couple new songs, a couple old ones and a bunch that I really liked.
Honestly, there's not a whole lot that I can say about Grace's live acts anymore, other than that they completely and utterly rocked.

Set List

Joey
Meantime
Ah Mary
Ain't No Time
Treat Me right
Stop the Bus
Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith)
Big White Gate
Mastermind
Sinking Man
Watching You
Nothing But the Water 1 >
Nothing But the Water 2 >
4-Way Drum
Nothing But the Water 2
Sweet Hands
Sugar (New)
Down by the River (Neil Young)
Encore:
Piss on your hand

iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free stuff. Eh, I'm passing.

11h30 - Danger
Mama Tierra - B-Negão, Macaco & Nazão Zumbi
Last Night (Radio Edit) - Mavado

Grace Potter: The Live Collection

I'm a huge fan of Grace Potter, and today is Grace Potter day, with the concert review coming later today, and the following item that I'm about to post up.
This lady and her group is on fire. They've come up kicking and screaming, quite literally, on stage and man, it's a sight to see. They're one of the best new bands out there today, and hopefully, they're going up and up, because they're off to a great start.
This Is Somewhere, their latest album, was absolutely fantastic. However, they've since put out an incredible amount of music on their own through concerts, both covers of other songs, and some originals.



Disc 1: Grace Potter Live! The Originals

Over their past couple tours, the Nocturnals have unveiled an entire album's worth of songs, ranging from fast to slow, some stuff that I hope will make it onto an album sometime in the near future. Here's the best of the new songs:

1- I've Been Watching You
2- Sugar
3- You Gotta Move
4- Every Mile
5- Delta
6- Sinking Man
7- Arizona
8- Margery
9- Skinny Woman
10- Can't See Through




Disc 2: Grace Potter Live! The Covers

This girl and her band loves their influences and covers. The Beatles, Neil Young, Steve Miller, Jimi Hendrix, and a whole lot more are represented here in this fantastic lineup of cover songs.

1- Come Together (The Beatles)
2- Cortez The Killer (Neil Young)
3- Farmer John (Don & Dewey)
4- Jet Airliner (Steve Miller Band)
5- Who Knows? (Jimi Hendrix)
6- Live With Me (Rolling Stones)
7- Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley (Allen Toussaint)
8- No Expectations (Rolling Stones)
9- Getting In Tune (The Who)
10- Pain In My Heart (Otis Redding)
11- Ohio (Neil Young)

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Falling Slowly: Winner!

Congrats to Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova for winning an Oscar for their song Falling Slowly off the Once soundtrack. Congrats!

Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

Hype - Buy

House : Carry You Away Soundtrack

I'm a huge fan of the TV show House, MD. It's got good stories, even better characters and a fantastic taste in music for it. Last fall, FOX released a soundtrack of some of the songs that made it onto the show. It's a very fun soundtrack, with some really good, and some rare songs onto it.
Beyond that album, there's a bunch of other songs that have made it onto the show that didn't make it onto that soundtrack (and a couple that did, but are still really good.)
The main point in looking at this cross section of music from the show is it's tone and how that relates to the show itself, particularly when it comes to the character of house. All of the below songs are fairly moody ones - mostly dealing with loss or are otherwise not really 'up' songs. Overall, they form a really good feel for the show and House himself, who is a fairly depressed character all things considered. The comedy in the show aside, there's usually a couple of moments where we really see House as himself - alone and depressed. These songs fit perfectly.

Are You Alright? - Lucinda Williams
Beautiful - Elvis Costello
Colors - Amos Lee
Good Man - Josh Ritter
Grey Room - Damien Rice
Hope for the Hopeless - A Fine Frenzy
Human - Civil Twilight
In The Deep - Bird York
Orange Sky - Alexi Murdoch
See The World - Gomez
Some Devil - Dave Matthews
Walter Reed - Michael Penn

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New Artist: Bon Iver

One artist that I've recently come across is Bon Iver. I'm not entirely sure how to classify his music - it's stunning, beautiful, and minimal, somewhere between Folk, acoustic and alternative.
Bon Iver (which means Good Winter in French) came about when Justin Vernon, a member of a prior musical group, DeYarmond Edison. After some alone time, he seems to have come up with this extraordinary album, For Emma, Forever Ago.
What's interesting is that this album was recorded at home, really minimally, because it has a very sleek yet rich sound to it. The guitar work blends with the vocals to form a really calm, quiet and relaxed album.

He also did a concert that was aired on NPR. You can listen to the whole thing here: Concert

Flume - Bon Iver
Lump Sum - Bon Iver

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Duet: Paperweight

This week's duet comes from the soundtrack of the Zach Braff movie, The Last Kiss, between Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk. The two have worked together before, and until recently, had been dating, although that seems to have ended.
This is a fun acoustic duet. Fisk and Radin's voices both work really well together. It really sounds like something that Braff would use in one of his soundtracks. While I never saw the movie, this song seems like it would really fit in the film.

Paperweight - Joshua Radin And Schuyler Fisk

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Around the World: Canada

Oh Canada - one of the first countries that I'm more familiar with, and one that I've visited several times, and hope to in the future. Bordered by the United States to the South (and a little to the North), Canada is often relegated to the US's lesser cousin - something that's completely false. Canada is a wonderful country, with a rich history, and currently, one with an economy that’s doing really well. It used to be that the US dollar was a lot stronger up there, but recently, it’s done an about face, with the Canadian dollar matching the US dollar. Canada was first colonized by Europeans with the Vikings, but by the 15^th and 16^th centuries, exploration parties from the British and French arrived. The country was given up by the French after the seven years war, and the country was formed to its current state in 1867, and severed governmental control from the UK in 1982, although Queen Elizabeth II is still considered the head of state.

This was the first country that we've come to where I've really had to sit down and think about what group or singer best represented the country. Due to proximity, there’s a lot of music that’s shared between the US and Canada, and thus a lot more variety when it came to selecting one. I picked Gordon Lightfoot, from Ontario. Lightfoot has been singing and writing since the 1960s, gaining greater prominence in the world in the 1970s with a number of songs. For me, it’s a sound of nostalgia, as my parents listened to Lightfoot extensively when I was young, and I’ve started listening to him a lot more in the last couple years. He’s also one of the artists that I’ve seen in concert, when he came to Vermont when I was in high school.

Canadian Railroad Trilogy – Gordon Lightfoot

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Cover and Original: Hold On

This week's Cover and Original comes with a pair that has two really different takes on the song.
The cover, performed by Gregory Douglass last year, which made it onto his album Retro Active: Volume 1. His take on the song is very stark, with no background music at all. Douglass brings a much different tone to the song, phrasing words and sections differently, making this a much more mournful version.
Sarah McLachlan's version, off of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is a much richer song - there's a lot of background guitar and drumwork that meshes together really well. Vocally, it's a typical McLachlan song, very lyrical and easy to listen to.

Hold On (Sarah McLachlan) - Gregory Douglass
Hold On - Sarah McLachlan

Hype - Buy

New Artist : DJ Rekha

NPR, I've found, is a really fantastic way of discovering new music, particularly in their All Things Considered feature.

This time, I came across DJ Rekha. I'm not the biggest fan of hip-hop, electronica, trance or anything like that, but I have had a good appreciation for Indian music, and she's got a wonderful blend of all of these. Rekha Malhotra is DJ Rekha, out of London, and who's been playing since the 1990s.

She's recently released her first album, DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra. Since '97, she has been performing at a venue called S.O.B.'s every month with something called Basement Bhangra, bringing an indian flavor to the New York music scene.

Snake Charmer - DJ Rekha & Panjabi MC
Bhanghall - DJ Rekha
Teri Sadi - DJ Rekha

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free stuff:

Music:
Seven Days of Lonely (Radio Edit) - I Nine
Mundos Diferentes - Gabby Villanueva
Entropy Reigns (In the Celestial City) - Kelley Polar

TV:
Reconstruction - Jericho
Kansas City - Pinks
Viewer's Choice Special - Dirty Jobs

Around the World : Bulgaria

Whoa, it's been a little while since I've done this - things have been busy recently at work. Bulgaria is a country that I'm somewhat familiar with, as I worked with a guy who was from there, Stephan aka, the Crazy Bulgarian. Nice guy, I liked working with him.
The country is located in the Balkans, next to Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. It's an ancient country, having been occupied since the Neolithic times. The earliest known known peoples are called the Thracians, united around 500 BC under a single king. Given it's location between a number of different, and sometimes volitile countries, there's a long history of conflict here.
More recently, Bulgaria entered the first World War alongside the Central Powers, leading to territorial losses at the war's end. The Second World War saw them allied with the Axis powers, where they occupied parts of Greece and Yugoslavia. While allied with Germany, they refused to take part in the elimination of their Jewish population, saving tens of thousands. After WWII, the country was under Soviet control, and reverted to a Republic in 1990 with the fall of communism.
The band that I've selected for Bulgaria is Balkandji, who's described as a folk-metal band, mixing tradtional music with rock music. Many of their songs draw from traditional folk lore. They formed in 1999, and continue to tour in the region.

Libe - Balkandji

Prior Stops:
Australia
Argentina
Azerbaijan
Algeria
Afghanistan
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil

Don't Drink The Water

In addition to a history degree, I was awarded a minor in geology when I graduated. Originally, I'd intended on double majoring in History and Geology at the same time, but never got around to completing that, mainly because it would have taken me a further 2-3 years of study, something I didn't want to do. It's still something I really like keeping up on, with the occasional paper or presentation - my university will hold faculty talks every now and then, and I just got back from one today, this one on the topic of concentrated levels of arsenic (among other toxins) in large sections of Bangladesh. While the estimated lifespan of the population has jumped about ten years with the introduction of drilled water wells, providing the population with a non-surface water supply (generally infected, and could prove deadly with regular consumption), the drilled wells have proven to introduce these chemicals into the general population, killing almost 150,000 annually. The purpose of the study was to investigate means to test the water annually, and to direct people to wells that were deemed safe to drink from. It was an interesting study, with some promising results. They were able to direct people to better wells, with much success, although there are some cultural issues that cropped up. The main problem is that there is still a lot of toxins there, a problem that is expensive for a poor country. (It has almost half of the US population in numbers, in the space of Wisconsin - around 500 people per square kilometer)
I've done this sort of work before - testing and analyzing groundwater flow patterns, mainly with small commercial spills and things like that, but to see something on this scale would have been facinating to work on.

Don't Drink The Water - Dave Matthew's Band

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Tina Dico: Count To Ten

Zero 7 is a fantastic group effort. While at the core, it's just two guys, they tend to pull in a number of extremely talented musicians who have since gone on and are in the middle of a really good solo act. Two of them, Sia and Jose Gonzalez, have both released new records lately, to favorable reviews all around.

Another artist who's worked with Zero 7 is about to release her latest solo album - Tina Dico, who was featured on Zero 7's album When It Falls, on the song Home. The album is entitled Count To Ten, and was released earlier over in Europe, but it will be making it's US debut on April 8th.

Dico is a talented singer. Right from the beginning of this album, she leads with a strong voice and with an overall strong sound. Unlike Sia, a professional counterpart, Dico doesn't have the same pop-energy. Their voices sound somewhat similar, but they have their different approaches to music, which is apparent here. Dico has more of an indie-alternative / singer-songwriter sound to her playing, with a lot of energy, with goes up and down as needed. This album in particular, is perfect for easy listening on a relaxing afternoon, as I'm finding here at home, while reading.

Sacre Coeur - Tina Dico
On The Run - Tina Dico

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Carbon Leaf is for Lovers

Carbon Leaf's excited for Valentine's day. Barry Privitt, the lead singer, has posted up this video for the day, and for their fans, to share the Carbon Leaf love, they've put up their top ten songs as rated by users on iLike. Enjoy!

What About Everything?
Life Less Ordinary
Let Your Troubles Roll By
The Boxer
Love Loss Hope Repeat
The War Was In Color
Desperation Song
Grey Sky Eyes
On Any Given Day
Learn To Fly

Hype - Buy - Look

V-Day

So it's Valentine's Day.

When it's good:

Destiny - Zero 7
Heartbeats - Jose Gonzalez
Dreaming - Sara Wheeler
Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
This Is Us - Mark Knofler and Emmylou Harris
Love Love Love - Tristan Prettyman
Songbird - Willie Nelson
I'm A Believer - The Monkees
Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra
Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

When it's not:
Out To Sea - Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers
Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well - Mike Doughty
Apologies - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Let It Die - Foo Fighters
Ashes and Wine - A Fine Frenzy
When The Pain Dies Down - Chris Stills
Learn To Fly - Carbon Leaf
Turpentine - Brandi Carlile

Hype - Buy

Duet - I'll Forget You

Here's a duet that landed in my e-mail box the other day, by a lesser known singer named Lior and Sia, who's a personal favorite of mine. The duet, which was on Lior's album Corner of an Endless Road, is a nice acoustic affair - soft and laid back, but a very sad song. I find it to be a relatable song:

"I've made up my mind, I'll forget you in time."

I'll Forget You - Lior and Sia

Hype - Buy

iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free stuff from iTunes - I didn't get any of it.

Hometown Glory (Radio Edit) - ADELE
The Sweetest Thing - Santos De Los Angeles
All That Matters - Addison Road
Dirty Jobs Viewers' Choice Extra - Dirty Jobs

Around the World: Brazil

This next stop around the work places us in South America, in Brazil. Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world, and was originally a colony of Portugal, in 1500. The country remains one of the strongest economic forces in the world and is a viable democracy.
The singer that I'm using to represent the country today is CéU, an indie singer-song writer of really great acclaim over the past year, hailing out of São Paulo. Her first album was released almost a year ago in the US. CeU, who's name is Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças, was born into a musical family, where she has been influenced by a lot of Brazil's classical music. By age 15, she studied music and wanted to be a musician, and she draws from many influences in the country, including samba, blues, afro and jazz, mainly African influences. Her first album was also nominated for a Grammy award, in the Best Contemporary World Music Album, although she didn't walk away with that this time around.

Concrete Jungle - CéU

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Prior Stops:
Australia
Argentina
Azerbaijan
Algeria
Afghanistan
Belgium
Bolivia

Concert Review - Mieka Pauley and Gregory Douglass

Instead of handing out on the couch watching the Grammys last night, I got a ticket to see two singer-songwriters whom I've covered here before: Gregory Douglass, with Mieka Pauley opening. I liked both artists fairly well - Gregory Douglass made my Best Discoveries of 2007 list earlier this year, and Mieka Pauley was a New Artist featured here with her latest album, Elijah Drop Your Gun.
Meika opened with a very fun set list for the night. I confess that I haven't paid as much attention to her music as I have Douglass, and I was extremely impressed by her performance. She had a great tone and energy before the audience that really got everyone moving. Vocally, she has a really good handle on her sound, as well as with the guitar - she used it in ways that I haven't really seen anyone else use it before, and got a good sound out of it with some fantastic songs. Overall, she's probably one of the better and more passionate performers opening for someone. Here's her set list:

1- Marked Man
2- Run
3- Fate Day By Day
4- All The Same Mistakes
5- When I'm In Chicago
6- Hallelujah (Cover)
7- Die
8- Get Your Shit Together (Cover)
9- Blunt
10- Heavenly
(I'm not 100% sure of all the song titles here)

Gregory Douglass was up next, and also gave a really good performance. I was really impressed with his musical style, and I've really enjoyed two of his albums that I have.
Douglass reminds me a little of David Gray and Ben Folds - he's got a similar style, and an energetic stage presence, along with some of his fantastic songs. Here's what he played:


1 - Unknown
2 - Devotion (New)
3 - Don't Tell Me It's Gonna Be Alright
4 - Turn Around
5 - Hard Enough To Try
6 - Welcome Back To The World
7 - Time
8 - Have A Nice Day
9 - Fly Away
10 - The Ride
11 - Hang Around
12 - Same alibis
13 - Enough By Now
14 - Tyrant (New)
15 - Light Don't Shine
Encore
16 - No Apology (New)
17 - Better Tomorrow

Be Like The Man - Meika Pauley
Hang Around - Gregory Douglass

Hype - Buy - Look - Look Again

New Artist: Kara McGraw

I really hate to sound like a broken record, but I have another artist that I know that I'd like to highlight - Kara McGraw. Kara's another singer out of Vermont who's quite good. I saw her sing back in Burlington a couple years ago. She's got a fantastic, strong voice with a strong hand at songwriting.
Kara has released one, self-titled album. Since it's release, she has taken a bit of a back seat, focusing on the recording and production aspect of the music industry. Hopefully though, she'll come out with another album in the near future.

Before Pompeii - Kara McGraw
Tired of Silence - Kara McGraw

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Run!

Gnarls Barkley has a new, catchy song to listen to, called run, which will be on the upcoming album The Odd Couple, due out in April. Here's an audio stream to listen to:

Real Media
Windows Media
iTunes


I like this song, I really do. It has a really interesting, old school feel to is, which is cool, and it's not a copy of Crazy, which everybody and their brother was crazy about...

Duet - Calling All Angels

This week's duet is one that I was able to watch, during one incredible concert last year - Brandi Carlile and her sister Tiffney, together on the song Calling All Angels, a Jane Siberry song. The two of them together were just incredible. Brandi has a wonderful voice in concert, and her sister complements her really well here.

Calling All Angels (Jane Siberry) - Brandi and Tiffney Carlile

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Cover and Original - Apology Song

This week's cover and original is Apology Song, by the Decemberists. The song is covered by a group called Wakey!Wakey!, which in and of itself is an amusing title for a group. This is an interesting take on the song. The original is a great song, and the cover keeps much of the same tone and feel with it, but with a different vocalist, it gives it a whole knew style.

Apology Song (The Decemberists) - Wakey!Wakey!
Apology Song - The Decemberists

Hype - Buy

Bonaroo Lineup

Just announced, here's the initial lineup for the 2008 Bonnaroo music festival:

* Pearl Jam
* Metallica
* Jack Johnson
* Kanye West
* Robert Plant and Alison Krauss featuring T-Bone Burnett
* Phil Lesh & Friends
* My Morning Jacket
* The Allman Brothers Band
* The Raconteurs
* Willie Nelson
* Death Cab for Cutie
* B.B. King
* Sigur Ros
* Levon Helm and the Ramble on the Road
* Ben Folds
* O.A.R.
* The Bluegrass Allstars Featuring Luke Bulla, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela fleck, Edgar Meyer & Brya
* M.I.A.
* Umphrey's McGee
* Iron & Wine
* Yonder Mountain String Band
* The Swell Season
* Talib Kweli
* Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi's Soul Stew Revival
* Gogol Bordello
* Broken Social Scene
* Robert Randolph's Revival
* Rilo Kiley
* Mastodon
* Lupe Fiasco
* Against Me!
* Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
* Pat Green
* Ozomatli
* Tegan & Sara
* Solomon Burke
* Drive-By Truckers
* !!!
* The Avett Brothers
* Israel Vibration
* Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck
* Aimee Mann
* Ladytron
* The Fiery Furnaces
* Orchestra Baobab
* Ghostland Observatory
* Jose Gonzalez
* Dark Star Orchestra
* Minus the Bear
* Donavon Frankenreiter
* Lez Zeppelin
* State Radio
* Battles
* Jakob Dylan
* Two Gallants
* The Sword
* Vampire Weekend
* Little Feat
* Nicole Atkins
* The Felice Brothers
* Mason Jennings
* MGMT
* The Lee Boys
* Black Kids
* Serena Ryder
* Steel Train
* Grupo Fantasma
* Back Door Slam
* Bonnaroo Late Night Chat About with David Cross
* Janeane Garofalo
* Zach Galifianakis
* Jim Norton
* Brian Posehn
* Mike Birbiglia
* John Mulaney
* Michelle Buteau

Super-Tuesday?

Biiig elections come and gone. Republicans have a pretty clear front-runner, John McCain, who I actually could live with, out of all the Republican choices out there at the moment. Democrats are currently head to head. Some races are down to just a handful of votes separating Clinton and Obama, which is very exciting.
It's the perfect time to watch The West Wing - I'm surprised that NBC hasn't pulled it out for a massive run on TV.

West Wing Theme - W.G. "Snuffy" Walden
Obama - Extra Golden
The Times, They Are A Changin' - Bob Dylan

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Around the World in 80 Bands - Bolivia

This stop this week is Bolivia, where I've selected the music of Willy Claure as the representation. Bolivia is located between Chile, Argentinia and Brazil, and was founded by Spain during the colonial era. The country has since gone through several military dictatorships in the 1900s, although there have been elections in 2002.
Willy Claure is the stage name for José Wilfredo Claure Hidalgo. His primarly style of music is the acoustic guitar, with a big influence from Spanish singers and guitarists.

Brave Margot - Willy Claure
Le parapluie - Willy Claure

Prior Stops:
Australia
Argentina
Azerbaijan
Algeria
Afghanistan
Belgium

Album Review - It's Time For A Love Revolution

Rocker Lenny Kravitz releases his 8th studio album today, It's Time for A Love Revolution, his first in three years. For his work, he produces a solid, although somewhat forgettable album. This is an album that came completely under my radar, but delivers a fairly good listen over the 14 tracks.
Kravitz is just as I remember him from the earlier songs that I remember from High School, a somewhat comforting sound. The guitarwork is heavy and has a good beat to it. As the title suggests, this album has several love songs on it, which makes me think this should have been released a week later, closer to Valentine's Day, but it works well overall, charting a relationship over the course of the track list, from first to last song.
Overall, this is a solid album that doesn't really let down, but looking back over the track listing after giving it a couple of listens, there aren't any songs that wholly stand out from the pack - rather, they're all decent listens.

Back in Vietnam - Lenny Kravitz

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

This week's free music from iTunes - only one good song, and that's Far, Far, which is highly recommended.

Check Yes Juliet - We the Kings
Back to You - Myra & Veze Skante
Far Far - Yael Naïm
I'm Eighteen - Sean Kingston
Past, Present and Future - LOST Catch-up Episode

New Artist - Goodtimes Goodtimes

A new artist that I've come across via a couple good music blogs is Goodtimes Goodtimes, out of London, England. I received their first album, Glue, on Friday, and I think that that's all that I really listened to most of the weekend.
Goodtimes Goodtimes is Franc Cinelli, and he draws from a number of different influences, coming up with a sound somewhere between Bob Dylan, Josh Ritter, Bright Eyes and a couple others.
This first album is fantastic - it has a wonderful, rustic/folk/rock sound that just clicks from the first song, and lyrically, these songs are all really good. Cinelli uses repetition frequently in the song, through the lyrics and chords, (and name), which works really well when you're listening.
This is a fantastic start, with a fantastic album. Highly recommended.

Kids - Goodtimes Goodtimes
Sunshine Sunshine - Goodtimes Goodtimes

Hype - Buy - Look

New Artist - Civil Twilight

I'm a sucker for any music that's on the show House MD, generally. Props to whoever picks the music for that show, because they've got one killer soundtrack.
Last night's episode, right after the Superbowl, featured a new and upcoming artist, Civil Twilight. They're a trio out of South Africa, who's just released their first album, entitled Human.
Already, off the bat, I'm really liking these guy's sound and style - something like Bono working with the band Mute Math (another fantastic group to check out sometime)
According to their MySpace, Human is supposed to be on iTunes by now, but it doesn't seem to have made it's way up there yet. It's also available at their website for a $5 download, $10 hard copy, or for free, with a donation requested. It's worth picking up - these guys have a fantastic first album on their hands.

Human - Civil Twilight
Perfect Stranger - Civil Twilight

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The Best of January

So, it's that time of the month again, and it's a new year with a bunch of really good songs to start off the month. It's been an interesting year so far, with the markets going all wacky and a Presidential primary that's really heating up, so here's something to distract you:

Who Cares? - The Alternate Routes
Are You Lonely - The Alternate Routes

The Alternate Routes released a limited CD that took many of the songs off of their first album and turned them acoustic. The result is spectacular - the songs here are plunky and take on a life of their own.

All In It - British Sea Power

British Sea Power released their latest album, Do You Like Rock Music?, recently, with this as the first track - which has a good beat, sound and feel to it - this one's a winner. And it just builds and builds, and does it well, which is always fantastic to hear with a song.

Gravity - Coldplay

Here's a live song from Coldplay that's new - something that might be on the upcoming album, which is due out sometime in the first half of the year. This feels like classic Coldplay - it's nice to hear that they haven't lost their touch.

Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irgolva

This song is almost the perfect ballad

Kids - Goodtimes Goodtimes
Sunshine Sunshine - Goodtimes Goodtimes

Goodtimes Goodtimes is a band that released their first album last year, and which I've since picked up from a couple of music blogs. They have a fantastic guitar groove and vocals. Vocally, they sound a little like Josh Ritter and Paolo Nutini. These are some songs that really get me up, which I like.

Pretty Good (John Prine) - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Josh Ritter

A great cover from Grace Potter, and a fantastic duet that I got to see this past summer, and one that I've been looking for for ages. Finally!

Spaceship - Jason Spooner
Black and Blue - Jason Spooner

Jason Spooner has a nice laid back feel, with some comforting lyrics and a delicate guitar to boot. Lazy driving songs, perfect for the highway.

Little Black Sandals - Sia
Soon We'll Be Found - Sia

Sia, whom Zero 7 fans might know from her collaborating work with them, as well as her prior solo albums, is back with problems. Some Real Problems, and this album is no sweat - light, tight and a fantastic listen. Sorry, did that sound corny?

A-Punk - Vampire Weekend

One of the biggest bands from last year before they even released their first album, A-Punk is a fantastic example from these guys. Great guitars, drums and vocals here.

Lying For The Song - We'll Write
Never Seems To Rain - We'll Write

These guys have a good feel for rhythm and sound, one that takes me back to some nostalgic college days before I began to worry too much about things. It's a refreshing sound and one that I'll be keeping my eyes on.

Hype - Buy

LOST

LOST returned last night - something that I've been really waiting for for something like 8 months, ever since the last season finale back in May. A long, worthwhile wait. LOST has had a bit of a mixed record, mainly with Season 2, but I thought that Season 3 redeemed it nicely. Now, back to the weekly grind of waiting to see what happens next. I'm a little annoyed that they have only 8 episodes filmed here. It's a good run, but I'd like my proper season back!

LOST is also one of the few shows with an absolutely perfect taste in music. They don't really go for the hugely popular songs of the moment, but really have a nicely varied mix of songs. Here's a couple from it:

Main Title - J.J. Abrams
You All Everybody - Driveshaft
Downtown - Petula Clark
Wonderwall - Oasis (Charlie Covers the song in Season 3)
Wash Away - Joe Purdy

Hype - Buy - Look