End of the Line

I'm sorry to say, but this is the end. I'm going now. Farewell.

Between work and play, I can't keep up, and some things have to go. Carry You Away has been a very fun ride, with a lot of shows, albums and sounds coming through it, and I've really enjoyed working on it. Rest assured, I'll still post up something when I hit a concert or when I come across something interesting, but it won't be often, I'm pretty sure.

If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.

~Gustav Mahler

If you're really interested in what I'm up to, you can always do the following:

My regular blog, where I talk about Sci-Fi & other serious things, is here:

http://jeditrilobite.wordpress.com

My 501st Blog, about the 501st Legion, is here:

http://tk3220.wordpress.com

The Last Song - Foo Fighters

Fall!

This weekend, I turned my apartment's heater on for the first time in four or five months. Fall's officially on in Vermont, which now means long sleeves, hats, a spectacular array of colors in the hills and leaf-peepers coming to gawk.

Growing up in rural country and dirt roads, I have a special appreciation for the changing of the seasons. It's a beautiful sight.

Is This the Fall? - Carbon Leaf


Autumn - Wood's Tea Co.


Summer's End - Foo Fighters


Summer's Gone - Gaelic Storm

Hype - Mog - Buy - Visit

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

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

Acoustic & Original

This week's A&O comes from a favored band of mine, the Foo Fighters, with their song Times Like These, which was originally on the album One By One, from 2002. Done solo, the sound stands well on its own - it's not quite as fast or as powerful as the original version, but it's still a very good one.

Times Like These (Acoustic) - Foo Fighters
Times Like These - Foo Fighters

Hype - Buy - Look

Norah Jones With....

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

Virginia Moon - Foo Fighters


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


Tenessee Stud - The Little Willies (iTunes Link)


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


Colors - Amos Lee


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

Hype - Buy - Look

Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace is the latest studio album from the Foo Fighters, and it's one that I've been looking forwards to for a little while now. While it has several fairly good songs that are up with the best of their stuff, this album doesn't quite made the grade as compared to their other albums. Instead, it's more of the same, especially after the fantastic double album, In Your Honor. Where In Your Honor was split between fast and slow songs, Echoes Silence Patience and Grace is much the same, just with fewer songs. And, while they were at it, they did do a good job with this album, it just feels very much like that prior album.

The album opens up with the fantastic The Pretender, which reminds me a lot of the fanstastic Best Of You. Both songs have an incredible amount of energy between the two of them. Fast, heavy guitarwork and loud lyrics. This is one area where the Fighters excel atl. They also do a good job with ramping up the energy, such as in what happens with Let It Die, where it starts off slowly, with some soft guitar licks, while building over the length of the song. Erase/Replace is fast and blunt, and easily one of the weaker songs of the album. The rest of the album settles into two catagories, fast with a decent beat and slower, more thoughtful. Long Road to Ruin, Cheer Up Boys, Summer's End, and But, Honestly all fit into the first catagory, and blend together nicely. Come Alive, Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners, Statues and Home all fit into the second and likewise work well together.
This is one of the weaknesses of the album - there's really nothing, except for The Predender, Let It Die and Home that really stand out here, even among their other albums. Even back to The Colour and the Shape, there's a predictible sound that holds the Foo Fighters back a bit.
This isn't to say that this album is horrible and should be set on fire and returned to the store - quite the opposite, these guys aren't Nickelback. The album is very listenable and fairly enjoyable. It's a very good thing that I really enjoyed In Your Honor, because there's not a whole lot of differences between the two. Which isn't a bad thing, because sometimes it's nice to listen to something like that. The formula that they've come up with is variable, and it's a good sound for them - it works. I'd recommend this album, but it's not mindblowing. But comfortable.

Let It Die - Foo Fighters
Home - Foo Fighters

Hype - Buy - Look

The Best of September

This has been a really good month for music, with a ton of albums being released and with some good stuff floating around out there. Here's the best of what I found this month -

You Can't Always Get What You Want - Band from TV

The Band from TV is just as it sounds, a band from TV. It's a collection of actors from various TV shows who've come together, including Hugh Laurie (House MD) and Greg Grunsberg (Heroes, Alias), among others. One of their first tracks released was for the House, MD Soundtrack, a cover of the Rolling Stones song, You Can't Always Get What You Want, one of the trademark songs from House, MD. It's a fun cover, with a bit of a different take than the original.

Eh Hee - Dave Matthews

This song is weird. Just plain weird, and really different from everything that Dave Matthews has done thus far. It's got a weird beat, lyrics and video. And it's pretty cool, once you get over how odd it is.

State of Massachusetts - Dropkick Murphys

This is the latest from the Dropkick Murphys, which sounds like one of their Irish rock songs, with a kickass beat and an interesting story with their lyrics.

Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder

One of the main tracks from the soundtrack Into the Wild, this is a cover of somebody's (I can't remember what the original artist was), and it's one of those songs that just struck me while I was driving. Good lyrics, and when the chorus kicks in, I'm good.

Beautiful - Elvis Costello

I've been trying to find this for a while, ever since it was used in a House, MD episode, Elvis Costello's cover of Christina Agulara's Beautiful. It's got a good beat and overall, a much better cover than the original.

Let It Die - Foo Fighters

Just off of Echoes, Silence and Grace, the Foo Fighters are back (review coming soon) and this is one of the cooler songs off the album, starting off really slowly, but building over the whole song.

Home - Foo Fighters

This is one of the softer Foo Fighters songs off the album, and it really goes to show that these guys can do more than just fast rock. Dave Gohl's voice with the piano is just fantastic here.

Pagen Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine

This is one of my favorite favorites of the month. It starts off stripped of sound before opening up about 20 seconds into the song, with amazing drum and guitar work, as well as Sam Beam's fantastic voice. I love this song.

Carousel - Iron & Wine

I also love this one. It's got some amazing guitar work and vocals and has a delicate and relaxed sound to it. One of the best off of the album The Shepherd's Dog.

In Our Nature - José González

José González is back with In Our Nature, and the title track has a fantastic sound and off beat tone to his acoustic guitar and drum work.

Teardrop - José González

This is a cover of Massive Attack's song, and like Heartbeats before in Veneer, González shows what he can do with an electronic song, although the result isn't as dramatic as it was with Heartbeats. No matter, this song is just amazing as is.

White Bird - KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall is back with Drastic Fantastic. While not as good as her earlier album, White Bird is one of the stronger songs on the album, with a nice laid back sound and really good vocal work on her part.

Hopeless - KT Tunstall

This is another one of the stronger songs off of Drastic Fantastic, with a nice beat and good KT Tunstall sound. The vocals and drumwork are flawless here.

Love Song - Sara Bareilles

This is the lead single off of newcomer Sara Bareille's album Little Voice. She's got a good sound with the piano and a strong voice here, and some fantastic lyrics.

Many The Miles - Sara Bareilles

This is another fantastic song off of Little Voice, with fantastic piano and vocals, with a good opener that eases nicely into the chorus here, with a nice blend of soul, R&B and rock.

Buttons - Sia

Sia's best known (at least to me) for her collaborations with Zero 7. I like her work with them just fine, but it wasn't until this song that I really listened to her. This song's quirky pop sound is really cool, and distinctive.

Hype - Buy

New Music: Foo Fighters, Jose Gonzalez & Iron and Wine

Three albums out today that I'm looking to pick up from three of my favorite artists. I've really been looking forwards to these for a while, and can't wait to add them to my collection.





Foo Fighters- Echoes Silence Patience & Grace

This album sounds really good, and the lead single, the Pretender, is a really fun song, right up in line with Best of You, which is one of my favorites anyway.

The Pretender - Foo Fighters











Buy


Iron & Wine- The Shepherd's Dog


This album sounds incredible - Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam) has really come a long way with his sound from his first album, bringing us an incredibly rich and wonderful sounding set of music.



Pagen Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine

Buy


José González- In Our Nature



Gonzalez is back this week with his followup to Veneer, his first really good album. This one's got a fantastic cover of Massive Attack's Teardrop, but also a great set of his own songs that just sounds incredible.



Killing for Love - José González

Buy

Hype Machine

New Foo Fighters Video: The Pretender

This just hit the Youtube airwaves last night - a new Foo Fighters video for their latest single, The Pretender. Its' s a fantastic one, really good camera work and angles, and it's really in step with the song:

The Pretender - Foo Fighters

Hype - Buy - Look

Best of the Month: August

Over the past month, I've been collecting, listening and buying songs as they catch my interest, and here are my picks for the best of August:

Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen
The boss is back with the first single in a couple of years now, and this one's pretty damn good. Solid guitar work and drive behind this one, with a solid track once again.

Don't Stop Now - Crowded House
Even A Child - Crowded House
Crowded House is back after, inadvertently. Starting out as a solo album with the older members of the band added on, they're back with a bit of a better sound than before, with two fantastic songs, Don't Stop Now and Even A Child.

Ashes and Wine - A Fine Frenzy
Rangers - A Fine Frenzy
A Fine Frenzy, whom I've talked about before, is off to a fantastic start with her first album, with a sweet voice and beautiful piano accompaniment, all the while displaying some fantastic lyrics. Ashes & Wine and Rangers are two of the best songs off the album, although the entire thing is pretty damn good.

The Pretender - Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters are back with their latest single, The Pretender, which starts off slow before exploding into a really good song. I'm not sure if it's as good as Best Of You, but it's still a pretty good track.

Mr. Columbus - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Falling or Flying - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Grace Potter and The Nocturnals exploded with their first major studio release, This Is Somewhere, refining their sound and sharpening their already fantastic songwriting skills. Mr. Columbus and Falling Or Flying are two of the best tracks from the album, although you'd be hard pressed to find a bad song on that album.

Boy With A Coin - Iron & Wine
Iron & Wine's latest single shows a little experimentation, adding in a bit of a faster rhythm and a richer sound than some of his older songs, but it's an a really catchy track that's just amazing.

1973 - James Blunt
I wasn't a fan of Blunt's first single, You're Beautiful, but 1973 really won me over, I'm not sure if I'll check out the rest of the album, but this one's a much stronger track that's good in it's own right.

Killing for Love - José González
Down The Line - José González
José González is following up the amazing Veneer with In Our Nature, with more original works, but a couple of covers as well (Teardrop). Killing for Love and Down The Line are two really good tracks that highlight his acoustic guitar work and lyrics.

Close Call - Rilo Kiley
Dreamworld - Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley's been the talk of the blogging and media community for the last couple weeks with her new album, Under the Blacklight with some of the best pop music out there. Blending some really cool guitar work and vocal talent, this album's certainly a really good listen. Close Call and Dreamworld are my two favorites from the album.

Hold On (iTunes)– KT Tunstall
K.T. Tunstall’s back with a new single, for her upcoming album Drastic Fantastic, which is fast, hyper and sounds like a fantastic followup to her last release, Eye to the Telescope.

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa – Vampire Weekend
This is a fun offbeat song who’s just released their first self-titled EP. It’s light, poppy, indie music at its best. These are some guys to keep an eye on.

Hype – Buy