Carry Away the Summer

Here at Carry You Away, we like mixes. Now that I have a car with a CD player, I really like putting together a collection of songs to fit a particular driving style or mood that I find myself in, and go from there. Recently, I got to thinking about movie soundtracks and how a lot of the hipster, indie films often have this sort of attitude - a mix-tape is generally just as good when it comes to a film.

I guess that works, although I have to say that the only really good film soundtrack collection that I've come across recently seems to have been a model for a lot of the other films - Garden State. For me, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno (and an upcoming one called Adam) can't hold a candle to this album, which still holds up nicely for me. I'm not entirely sure why the other two have really not held up beyond a single listen for me - I think that the artists are too new, the collection is just too pretentious to really gain any sort of mainstream following that the GS soundtrack has. Garden State was a fun film, and I suspect that there will be those who will label it as a defining film of our generation, along with the sountrack.

With artists like Simon and Garfunkle to the Shins, I think what really made the soundtrack work well is its variety of songs that are on it. There are several genres represented, from indie to acoustic to oldie, with a couple of artists that were just well known enough to a couple that were just obscure enough, but with enough material out there (in most cases) to keep people interested. I'd argue that the movie was a big success for people like The Shins, Cary Brothers, Zero 7, Iron & Wine and helped to get Nick Drake back on the radar. The album doesn't come off as pretentious, but honest, and it worked extremely well with the movie. Not having seen Juno or Infinite Playlist, I'm not sure how well those tracks meshed with the film, but it's not something that I'm losing sleep over.

While thinking about this, I think I found the formula that really made Garden State shine, and to put it to the test, I've put together a summer-ish sort of mix based on the criteria:

European/UK Band, Alt-Rock, Male

Indie Band, fairly obscure, complex lyrics

Electronica, easy listening, female vocals

Indie Band, same as #2

Acoutic Folk, Male, Soft

Alt-Folk/Rock, Male

Alf-Folk/Rock, Male

Acoustic Folk

Indian Electronica, no vocals

Oldie, Folkish, Male, duet

Folk-Cover of Techno/Electronica song, Male

Electronica/Female Vocals, Soft

Female Acoustic, Folk/Rock

Bonus: Alt-Rock (Used for Commercial)

Let's compare this to Garden State's Soundtrack:

Don't Panic - Coldplay

Caring is Creepy - The Shins

In the Waiting Line - Zero 7

New Slang - The Shins

I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You - Colin Hay

Blue Eyes - Cary Brothers

Fair - Remy Zero

One Of These Things First - Nick Drake

Lebanese Blonde - Thievery Corporation

The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel

Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) - Iron & Wine

Let Go - Frou Frou

Winding Road - Bonnie Sumerville

Writing to Reach You - Travis (Commercial/Trailer)

And now, applying the same sort of formula , and this is what I've come up with, Carry You Away's Summer mix. How does it line up?

Bad Skin Day - Bell X1

Interior Of A Dutch House - Beirut

Hayling - FC/Kahuna

Postcards From Italy - Beirut

Re: Stacks - Bon Iver

Her Morning Elegance - Oren Lavie

When The Pain Dies Down - Chris Stills

At Your Door - Alexi Murdoch

The Khaleegi Stomp - Transglobal Underground

A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy

Heartbeats (The Knife) - José González

What's Wrong With Me (Nouvelle Vague Remix) - Skye

Dreaming - Sara Wheeler

5:19 - Matt Wertz

Full

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Geek Stuff

Big milestone in geek-genre history today. Today is the 42nd anniversary of the first release of Star Trek, back in 1966. 42 is a fun number for anyone who's a geek and read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is why I find this amusing.
I'm not a Trekkie - regular readers will remember that I'm a Star Wars nerd, but Star Trek is one of, if not the most influential Science Fiction TV show out there, despite the fact that it only ran for 3 seasons before being canceled.
Here's a couple songs to celebrate:

Another Girl, Another Planet - Bell X1
Starfighter Pilot - Snow Patrol

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Best of July

This past month has been a fantastic one for new music. I've come across some fantastic new artists, as well as some older ones who're back for more. Here's what I liked:

Broken - Tift Mirritt
I heard this track on the radio (Point FM 104.7), and fell for Mirritt's voice and lyrics. Her rhythm and sound mesh perfectly with one another with a great country-folk-rock feel.

Tu Es Ma Came - Carla Bruni
Another radio discovery, this time via NPR, Carla Bruni is probably also the most important person that I've reviewed thus far - she's the first lady (or the equivalent) of France - she's married to Nicolas Sarkozy, and has just released her second album, Comme Si De Rein N'etait, which has a great acoustic feel.

Freeze Ray - Neil Patrick Harris
The first song off of Joss Whedon's brilliant internet geek musical, Freeze Ray is a fun little romance that bubbles with optimism and shyness.

Flame - Bell X1
Bell X1 is an interesting Irish group that has a lot in common with Snow Patrol. Flame is a really fun introduction to them.

Jacqueline - James Hunter
James Hunter is back with his fantastic 50s/60s retro sound with this track, Jacqueline.

Back in Black (AC/DC) > Indecision - Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf is one of my favorite bands of all time, and they've been working on new material. This is one of their latest songs, and a good cover to boot.

Crossroads (Robert Johnson) - John Mayer
I came across this track via Archive.org from one of Mayer's latest concerts, which really fits with his blues style. It's a fantastic cover of Robert Johnson's song, with a good dose of Eric Clapton's version thrown in for good measure.

Arms of a Thief - Iron & Wine
Serpent Charmer - Iron & Wine
Iron and Wine's latest single, Love Song for a Buzzard, which has these two songs as B-Sides, are perfect additions to one of my favorite albums from last year, The Shepherd's Dog. These two songs are two additions to an already perfect album.

Something Is Not Right With Me - Cold War Kids
The Cold War Kids are back with their second album, Loyalty to Loyalty. This track captures their sound once again nicely, with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

Many Lessons - Bantu Feat Ayuba
Mighty Intelligence - Dread Skeezo feat Dream Maximum
These two songs are from an album who's review is forthcoming - African/Islamic hiphop/rap, which is utterly fantastic. These two songs are two of the best tracks of a stellar album.


Slipping Away - Cory Woodward
I'm not entirely sure how I came across Cory Woodward, but I'm really enjoying his laid back and interesting sound with this song, Slipping Away. I particularly like the guitarwork here - it's simple and elegant and flows nicely.


Evil is Alive and Well - Jakob Dylan
Something Good This Way Comes - Jakob Dylan
Bob Dylan's son Jakob has become a musician in his own right, first with the band The Wallflowers, whom I fondly remember from my high school years with hits such as One Headlight and 6th Ave Heartbeak. These two songs are reminiscent of some of the elder Dylan's music, but different. Both of these are fantastic. My review for this is also forthcoming.

Measure of a Man - We'll Write
We'll Write is one of my favorite 'Geek Bands'. This one's about the end of humanity by robotic enslavement. It doesn't get better than that.

On My Way - Kara Grainger & Amos Lee
Amos Lee has had a good year this year, with the release of his latest album. I came across this girl, Kara Grainger, and was surprised to find that the two collaborated on this song. She's got a fantastic new album out now, with a nice country-folk feel to it, and this song is a good representation of that.

Put On Your Sunday Clothes - Michael Crawford
This track was from the Wall-E soundtrack, one of my favorite movies of the year. It's old school, quaint and perfect for the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd highly recommend it.

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