Josh Ritter Announcement: So Runs The World Away

This morning, the official Josh Ritter website announced the title of his next album, the followup to the Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter: So Runs The World Away. Along with the announcement was a free MP3 download for a track called Change Of Time. The new album is due out on May 4th in the United States, or if you live in Ireland, it will be out just a couple days before, on April 23th.

This is rather exciting news for me, as both The Animal Years and The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter were both two absolute favorites of mine over the past couple of years. The times that I have seen him in concert have likewise blown me away with his energy, songwriting and sound. The last concert that I saw, over at the University of Vermont, Ritter dropped a number of new songs into his set, and in all likelihood, these songs, Orbital and The Curse, will make it onto this record. (Especially The Curse, given the mummy artwork on his webpage).

What has impressed me the most thus far with the new songs that I have heard is the story. WIth his prior albums, Ritter has demonstrated an ability to tell a fantastic couple of stories, whether it's from the American West, life after a nuclear war, or a long distance romance, and the trend doesn't seem to have vanished with this album, which is most exciting. While the songs that I've heard thus far are a bit calmer than his usual fair, I'm really hoping that we'll get some more of his energy as well.

You can listen to the new track here, at Youtube or download the song by going here. To support the album, Ritter is going back out on tour between the US and Ireland:

April 24th - Galway, IRE
The Live Lounge at The Radisson Hotel

April 25th - Limerick, IRE
Dolans Warehouse

April 27th - Dublin, IRE
Grand Canal Theatre

April 29 – Belfast, N. IRE
Festival Marquee at CQAF
[ On-sale Feb 26th ]

April 30th - Kilkenny, IRE
Ormonde Hotel, Kilkenny (8.30pm)
Kilkenny Rythym & Roots festival

May 7th - Philadelphia, PA
Theater of Living Arts

May 8th - Washington, DC
9.30 Club

May 10th - Baltimore, MD
Ram's Head Live

May 11th - Durham, NC
Carolina Theatre

May 13th - Atlanta, GA
Variety Playhouse

May 15th - Chicago, IL
The Vic Theatre

May 19th - New York, NY
Town Hall


May 20th - New York, NY
Town Hall [SOLD OUT]

Lillian, Egypt - Josh Ritter
The Curse - Josh Ritter
Orbital - Josh Ritter

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Josh Ritter & The Low Anthem

Over the weekend, I caught an ad in the local paper, Seven Days, and found one of the more fantastic deals for a concert that I've seen in a while: Josh Ritter and the Low Anthem at the University of Vermont: $10. And, it was the next night. Purchasing a ticket was an absolute no-brainer, and on Friday night, I went up to Burlington to see Ritter for a second time.

The last show that I had seen from Josh Ritter and his band was in 2007, where he played with Vermont group Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on the Waterfront Park. It was a fantastic show, and Ritter was introduced in grand style. The Low Anthem was a band that I had yet to see, but one that I was familiar with - looking back over the archives here, I'm surprised that I haven't written about them yet.

Low Anthem opened for the show, and over the course of the show, I have to wonder if it's a brilliant concoction of a bipolar producer. The group opened quietly for a couple of songs, including a great rendition of Charlie Darwin, a high, ethereal, sounding song, before launching into several other numbers that where loud and fast - Home I'll Never Be, in particular, is one song that stood out from this style.

Low Anthem was good, but unpolished. Coming off of their first album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, released earlier this year, this isn't necessarily something that was unexpected, but their sound was almost too raw, too varied, and had a very limited stage presence. I'm not sure that I saw them open their eyes on stage (that might have been the lighting though), but they seemed shy, hesitant until they began to play. While this obviously doesn't impact the sound, I've always felt that concert performances are more than just the music - it's about the entire experience and performance of the evening, music plus the band on stage. Fortunately, in this instance, Low Anthem's music, energy and drive really made their act shine over their appearance.

Ritter, on the other hand, made the evening. From the start, Ritter practically jumped on stage, with a huge, boyish grin plastered on his face that didn't leave the entire time that he was on stage. This was one concert where I didn't take down a set list - I stood an enjoyed the show. The group played a wide range of songs, from some earlier albums, although mostly from The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter and The Animal Years, as well as a number of new songs from next year's upcoming album. Throughout the set were a number of my personal favorites: Snow Is Gone, Wolves, Girl In The War, Good Man, Kathleen, Lillian Egypt, Rumors, Mind's Eye and a number of others.

Ritter is one of the few artists that I absolutely love in person far more than I like studio recordings. When introducing his music to a friend recently, I told him to imagine the music about 10 % faster, and 90% louder, and you'll come up with an approximation to the intensity and mood of the evening. Ritter's group, all decked out in vests and ties, presented a polished, energetic and excited performance that will likely rank up on some of my favorite concert experiences.

For me, Josh Ritter's performance epitomizes what rock music should be: It's fun, loud and full of wild energy by a group that seems genuinely excited and thrilled to be doing what they're doing. It's an added bonus that the group is brimming with talent - song-writing, musical expertise and sound is unmatched. If the band is coming near you anytime in the next couple of years, do yourself a favor and check them out.

Brian Stowell has a fantastic set of photographs from the current, ongoing tour - I highly recommend checking them out!

Wolves - Josh Ritter

Lillian, Egypt - Josh Ritter

The Curse - Josh Ritter

Orbital - Josh Ritter

Right Moves - Josh Ritter

Snow Is Gone - Josh Ritter

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Long Time Coming, The Snow Is Gone

Welcome to spring! Today is the first day, and it is a paticularly welcome day here in Vermont after another long winter. The snow is going, the temperatures are going up (for the most part) and the birds are returning.

Snow Is Gone - Josh Ritter

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Photo from flickr

Friday Mix

It's been a very slow day, and I'm taking a break from homework. Here's five songs, picked at random for the weekend.

Grounds for Divorce - Elbow
Kids - Goodtimes Goodtimes
Feel So Free - Ivy
You In A Song - Jason Reeves
Kathleen - Josh Ritter

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Duet - Josh Ritter & Kathleen Edwards

There's something to be said for a really simple, calm song. The duet here is between two of my favorite alt-country/folk-rock singers, Josh Ritter and Kathleen Edwards. Both of these guys are really similar, and I've never really looked at them together at all. Both have their hard folk sound with their faster songs, but also have their softer side, as seen with this song.

Wanna go get high?
Mercury is parked outside
Wanna take me to
The parking lot of the old high school

And it's like you said
I would've turned up dead in the car

This is a fantastic duet between the two - Josh is mainly on supporting vocals here, but he has a nice presence here, and Kathleen has her own fantastic sound here.

Mercury (Kathleen Edwards) - Josh Ritter & Kathleen Edwards

And, a song that I couldn't resist putting up:

Kathleen - Josh Ritter

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Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are coming back to Vermont! The Higher Ground just announced another fall concert on the Waterfront (review for the first one here). Last year's concert was an amazing, amazing one, and if you live within a couple hundred miles of Vermont, this is a show that'll likely be well worth attending. The concert turned me to Josh Ritter and was a first date for a short relationship, so I look back on it with some good memories.

Give the first concert a listen here.

Pretty Good - Grace Potter & Josh Ritter

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Spring in Vermont

Finally, it's spring in Vermont. I can wear my sneakers, not scrape my windshield every morning and get to work without risking sliding off the road.
I heard this Josh Ritter song this morning on VPR, and it's been stuck in my head all day.

Snow is Gone (Live) - Josh Ritter

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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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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.

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Grace Potter: Live at the Waterfront

Christmas just came early. Earlier this summer, I went to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals when they came up for a concert at the Burlington Waterfront. It was an absolutely amazing, amazing concert, probably the best one that I've ever been to. I have some bittersweet memories of it now, because it was when I went on my first date with a now ex, but that doesn't bother me that much now.

Someone just posted the concert on Archive.org.

This is one concert that would have absolutely blown the roof off of any building that they could have played in. They played with so much energy and, dare I say, grace. I know I talk about Grace a lot here, but give this show a listen, and this is why I think she's one of the best new musicians out there now. Plus? It's got a very long-sought after cover/duet with Josh Ritter. Here's my original concert review. If you listen to one concert this year, listen to this one.

1. Intro
2. Ah Mary
3. chat
4. Treat Me Right
5. Stop The Bus
6. Here's To The Meantime
7. chat
8. Belladonna
9. Apologies
10. chat
11. Lose Some Time
12. Falling or Flying
13. Pretty Good (John Prince) w/Josh Ritter
14. Mastermind
15. Over Again
16. Who Knows
17. Joey
18. If I Was From Paris
19. Watching You
20. Nothing But The Water(Part I)
21. Nothing But The Water>
22. Drums>Nothing But The Water>
23. Nothing But The Water(Part II)
24. Encore
25. Cortez The Killer (Neil Young)
26. Big White Gate
27. Come Together (The Beatles)

Whole Show

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Josh Ritter on Letterman

Last night, Josh Ritter performed for the second time on The Late Night with David Letterman, playing their song To The Dogs or Whoever, from their latest album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. Watch here, it's a fantastic performance:

To the Dogs or Whoever - Josh Ritter

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My Mix

I can't think of a good title for this mix of songs. I was fooling around with play lists on iTunes - I swear, it's a compulsion sometimes, when I came up with the first five songs, when I realized that I had something good here. When I got home from work, I pulled another dozen songs together to come up with this final list. I think that it's the best play list that I've come up with in a while. Let me know what you think:

Everybody Knows - Ryan Adams
Hang Around - Gregory Douglass
When The Pain Dies Down - Chris Stills
Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine
Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder
Good Man - Josh Ritter
Who You Are - Cary Brothers
Pressure Suit - Aqualung
Time Is A Runaway - The Alternate Routes
Toy Soldiers - Carbon Leaf
See The World - Gomez
Trouble - Ray LaMontagne
Place To Be - Nick Drake

Have a good weekend! Next week, regular features & an announcement for a new feature.

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The Top Ten Albums of 2007

The following list was at times very, very hard to come up with, while at other times was very easy. Early on, I knew what my top album of the year was from when I heard the first song on it, as was the second and third picks. The rest required quite a bit of deliberation.
There was a lot of good music this year. I added 2257 new songs to my music library this year, 6.3 days and 12.63 gigabites. That's a lot of music. I found a lot of new albums that I'd never heard, rediscovered some old music and generally immersed myself in everything. Along the way, I came across a lot of good music, and some bad music.

Here's ten albums that I really liked, but they just didn't crack the top ten:

20 - Say No To Being Cool, Yes To Being Happy, The Softlightes
- I loved these guys sound all the way through, great first album.

19 - The Flying Cup Club, Beirut
- They've followed up their first with more Balkan-flavored sounds.

18 - The Reminder, Feist
-1,2,3,4 was stuck in my head for much of the summer and fall. There are plenty of worse songs out there, so I'm fortunate for that.

17 - In Our Nature, Jose Gonzalez
-Jose Gonzales followed up his fantastic first album with a fantastic second album - another cool cover and more acoustic rock goodness.

16 - Good and Reckless and True, The Alternate Routes
- Ryan Adams fans might like this one. It's an all around solid rock album.

15 - Kismet,Jesca Hoop
- Hoop brought a fanastic, unique sound that really was pretty cool.

14 - Dylan, Bob Dylan
- This compilation of Dylan's music pulled together a fantastic set of his entire career. A must.

13 - Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
- These guys had some really good cuts off of this album - it's tight, together and really well done all around. Canadians were on fire this year.

12 - Little Voice, Sara Bareilles
- This first album really impressed me from her first song Love Song, but overall, the entire thing did really well, and was really solid.

11 - Who You Are, Cary Brothers
- Cary Brother's first album was a long anticipated one from me - I don't think that there was a track on here that I didn't like. From the fantastic Who You Are to Blue Eyes, this is another guy who's going to have a good career ahead of him.

Here are the albums that I loved:

This was an earlier album in the year that's come up and down on my list before settling here at number ten. I've been a fan of The Shins for a while now (Yes, I found them when the rest of the world did with Garden State), but I loved both of their earlier albums. This one didn't disappoint, with the fantastic Phantom Limb, Sea Legs, Australia and Girl Sailor. They brought along their fantastic sound and even better songwriting skills for a third fantastic time.

This album showed me that not all country is bad, and more importantly, reinforced that country songs are really storytelling songs, and that they can be really good at it. Here is a fantastic concept album of the use of horses in warfare throughout history. The title track blew me away, and as a historian, really impressed me with some of the songs.

Spoon was a band that took a bit of time to grow on me, but I was incredibly impressed with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, their latest independent album, which is at best described as minimalist, with some fantastic new songs from them, such as Underdog, Don't Make Me A Target, and Rhythm and Soul. It's a great addition to their already really good repertoire.


Brandi Carlile's follow up to her first album really surprised me this time around - my first impressions of her was lukewarm, but right from the start, this album really impressed me, and after seeing her live in concert, her energy and sound completely blew me away.

One In the Sea impressed me from the start A Fine Frenzy's voice. It's delicate and powerful at the same time, and coupled with her songwriting, was an incredible first effort. Her songs are both light and somber, especially with Ashes & Wine, Rangers, Hope For The Hopeless and most of the others on there. Seeing her perform with Brandi Carlile this year was a big highlight here.

This was apparently one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and for good reason. Rilo Kiley pulled out a fantastic effort here, bringing a sound that reminded me a bit of Fleetwood Mac, but with an angry indie-rock singer edge to it.

Dreamworld - Rilo Kiley

I caught Josh Ritter opening for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals earlier this summer, and really had a fun time - their latest album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is a marvel of storytelling and a nice bridge of country-folk and rock music. There's some really cool stuff here musically, and their song writing skills are certainly sharp from some of the songs here.

Rumors - Josh Ritter


I first was introduced to Ferraby Lionheart with Vermont Avenue, which sort of lurked at the back of my head for a couple of months while I heard more and more from him over the summer. Quickly, his unique sound won me over with some really great songs from this album. Like A Fine Frenzy, this is a fantastic debut album from a newcomer that I'll be looking forward to hearing more about.

Before We're Dead - Ferraby Lionheart


This was almost #1. It's really, really close, because I love Sam Beam's sound, and to hear this album compared to his other ones is a huge jump. The sound became rich, with lots of peripheral instruments, while not loosing one bit of the fantastic sound and style that he employed for his first two albums. He's no longer a guy playing acoustic guitar in a closet, he's out there and brought a wonderful album with him. I can't wait to see what's next.

Innocent Bones - Iron & Wine

This is Somewhere was easily my most anticipated album of 2007, from the beginning of the year when I first learned that the Nocturnals were putting out their first studio album. I loved it from the beginning, and not because they're from Vermont. It's because they've got an incredible sound, and have moved to a somewhat more mainstream rock sounds that really works with Grace's vocals and the band's talents. Their first two albums were fantastic, don't get me wrong, but this album just plain rocked. And in person, these guys were like nothing else I've really seen, with an incredible amount of energy. Easily my favorite album of the year.

Mastermind - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Tomorrow, the best songs of 2007.

Breaking Out: Their First Major Release

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

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

Indian Summer - Carbon Leaf

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

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

This Is Somewhere - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

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

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

The Crane Wife - The Decemberists

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

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

The Animal Years - Josh Ritter

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

Good Man – Josh Ritter
Wolves – Josh Ritter

A Series of Sneaks – Spoon

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

Advance Cassette – Spoon
Car Radio – Spoon

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C&O - Blame

This week's Cover and Original is an example of how an artist will really take the song and replicate it, but in a good way. In 2006, Josh Ritter covered the Modest Mouse song Blame It on the Tutons on his EP Girl in the War. The original song was on the 2004 album Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and is a fantastic Modest Mouse song.
This is one of the cases where the sounds of both songs are very similar. Ritter presents the song in a bit of a stripped down way, whereas the original is a bit richer in sound. It's one of the better covers out there.

Blame it on the Tutons (Modest Mouse Cover) - Josh Ritter

Blame it on the Tutons - Modest Mouse

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Artist Comparison: Carbon Leaf and Josh Ritter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Everybody's Going to the Moon

The New York Times is reporting today that the group who financed the X-Prize has come back with a second challenge for the fledgling, but growing private space industry - The first group to land a rover on the moon, move around and take video, will win the new prize, this time at $25 million dollars.
The first X-Prize was valued at $10 million, for the first group to create a privately funded and built space ship that could travel to a certain height and back again within two weeks, and was won in 2004 by SpaceShipOne, which was helped along by Paul Allen, who is the co-founded of the Microsoft corperation.

$25 Million in Prizes Is Offered for Trip to Moon

The NYT has posted up a discussion thing on whether this is a good or bad idea, and the result from readers seems to be fairly positive. Although it still puzzles me that people on there, in this day and age still maintain that we never went to the moon, that it was filmed in the desert somewhere. Other people have said that it's a waste of money, that the focus should be here at home, on big issues such as global warming and things like that that'll help benefit humanity down here.

I personally think that we should go to the stars, now. I've begun to read more on the space industry and it's history. Two books that I've gone through have been extremely interesting. The first is called Rocketeers, and is about the race for the X-Prize a couple years ago. I was introduced to a band of people who want to go to space, and have started building real rockets in their garages and private hangers on a shoestring budget to reach into space. Often, these people are the age of my parents, and remember seeing the lunar landings on the TV, and were inspired by that sort of thing. The other book that I read was called In the Shadow of the Moon, and is about the Gemini to Apollo missions that NASA conducted to reach the moon. If anything, I'm a bit more convinced that NASA really screwed up our chances at long term space habitation and exploration. For starters, it was essentially given it's purpose to win a race, one that we ultimately one, with several lunar landings before interest vanished. What happens once a race is won? NASA's turned it's focus on more scientific endevours, rather than exploration, which is a fine goal, but not one that's likely to go out and start poking everything above us. Plus, NASA's a governmental agency, and with a waning in public interest, politicians have their way with the agency, and now that we don't have to beat the Russians at something, we're back down with the Space Shuttle (Which I think was a bit of a crappy idea. Looks cool, but ultimately doesn't serve our interests in exploration).
This is why the X-Prizes are so important. Commercial enterprises are what will bring us to space. It's always been the key behind exploration, whether it was the Spanish coming to the New World, Lewis & Clark's expeditions into the Western United States and the British interests in India, all because money was to be made from those locations. I'm sure that we can find some way to make space travel profitable. Asteroids have high metal contents. Tourism in space has already started, with various people going to Russia for trips into orbit. I'm sure that there could be a market for a number of other things in and around our planet, whether it's a week trip to a space station, the Moon or Mars or whether it's for private science enterprises. Publicly administrated space exploration doesn't work. The two shuttle disasters, the Challenger and the Columbia, both shut down American manned space missions for years afterwards while the problem was sought and people debated whether the risk was too high. Not to sound callous, but those crews are a relatively small price to pay, and are the ultimate heroes for the coming future, because they risked everything to further humanity along this path. There will be more deaths - all exploration is fraught with peril, and these might be necessary, or maybe not, but it should not stop us from getting out there.

Man on the Moon - R.E.M.
Moons - Josh Ritter
Moon and Sun - Gomez

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New Music: The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

Along with Grace Potter & The Nocturnals last night, I also got to see Josh Ritter, a singer from Idaho who opened for her. I'd never heard of the singer before, and was happy to find that he wasn't a bad singer, and that his music is somewhat in line with what I tend to listen to, although nothing really jumped out at me at the time.
I did a bit of digging and listened to a couple tracks from his latest album, and, now having heard some of the tracks live, really enjoyed the studio cuts this time around.

Ritter's band depends on the piano and guitar for much of the drive behind the music, while Josh himself fronts everything with his voice, which really fits with his own catagory. I don't think that I've really heard anyone with a voice quite like his, somewhat raspy with a good sound. Together, the band holds itself well with all the elements, and there's some good tracks off of the album. They looked like they were having a really fun time on stage before the Nocturnals, and Josh himself looked like he had fun with his duet with Grace during her set.

Their latest album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, comes out tomorrow, and it's a decent album to pick up, especially in the indie/alternative rock scene. There's a couple of weak songs there - the album is far from perfect, but there are a bunch that are a lot of fun to listen to, such as the three below.

Rumors - Josh Ritter
Mind's Eye - Josh Ritter
Right Moves - Josh Ritter

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