Memorial Day

I was on the road yesterday, and wasn't able to post this.

I have an enormous amount of respect for the US Armed forces. They do an important job, regardless of personal politics. I've gone to school and worked with a number of veterans and future veterans, and the deserve this day.

Taps - Corb Lund

Five Years

It's been a whole five years since the US invaded Iraq in 2003. I remember that morning very clearly - we watched the news as the US moved into the country very successfully. Operationally, things went really well, and then everything went to hell.
Too often, this war has split the country into two sides, for and against. Both sides have valid points. We've eliminated one of the world's worst person, who's responsible for killing thousands and starting border wars which have dragged larger powers in. We've brought a form of democracy to the country. However, it's not all that functional. Large portions of Baghdad are still without power and running water, there's constant violence in the streets and the US has spent nearly 3 trillion dollars on a war that doesn't seem to be in our best interests.
I've taken several classes on international relations and nation-building, and while the war is a financial disaster for the US, it might not be terribly wise to bring everyone out starting 2009 as promised by the Democratic party candidates if they win the general election. Nor do I think it's wise to keep our people there for decades. What we need to do is help eliminate the corruption in their parliament, restore basic utilities and infrastructure, give people jobs to do.
Hopefully, we won't have people looking at this day in five years as the ten year mark while still there.

Bom Bom Bom - Living Things
Soldier - Civil Twilight
Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! - Corb Lund

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Carry You Away's Best Songs of 2007

It was difficult to narrow down just ten songs out of everything that I've heard this year. But, here are the songs that I feel are the best that I've heard or enjoyed.

10 - Rangers, A Fine Frenzy

From A Fine Fenzy's debut album One Cell in the Sea, this song has a really good sound to it, with a pace and energy that really matches her tone. The chorus is a really good one, followed up with some fantastic lyrics. Everything really comes together nicely here for this tune. This song really turned me onto A Fine Frenzy, and will keep me listening for years to come.

9 - Heart Made of Sound, The Softlightes

The video for this song really got me hooked here, and brought me back time and time again for listen after listen. This song gives me the same feeling that I had on my best summers here in Vermont - sounds weird, but for some reason, I connect this song to walking around Burlington Vermont on a sunny summer afternoon. The sound here is bright, energetic and just fantastic. Even when I'm in a horrible mood, I'll listen to this and it'll bring me right back up.

8 - Seed of Wonder, Jesca Hoop

This song sounds really different, with some absolutely fantastic guitar work and vocals from Hoop. It's unconventional, with influences from Hip-Hop and alternative rock. It's got a lazy beat that's incredibly catchy.

7 - Hard Sun, Eddie Vedder and Everybody Knows, Ryan Adams (Tie)

This is a tie for me, because both songs remind me of the other. Hard Sun is a good, solid rock song, one that reminds me of driving on a highway, while Everybody Knows brings out the same feeling - both have a good beat behind it backed by lyrics and a sound that just works, really well.

6 - Vermont Avenue, Ferraby Lionheart

I didn't take to this song at first, but it grew on me quite a bit as time went on. Lionheart's voice is like gold here, lazy and seductive, with lyrics that match that. The guitar and drum work is wonderful, and I like this song more and more as time goes on.

5 - In the Mausoleum, Beirut

Beruit's back with more of a fantastic Balkan sound. This song starts off with a fantastic beat and sinks in with some fantastic vocals and lyrics. What's really catchy is the use of other instruments, such as their distinctive use of a trumpet and stringed instruments. This song floats along wonderfully through the entire three minutes.

4 - Time Is A Runaway, The Alternate Routes and Who You Are, Cary Brothers (Tie)

This was another tie for me, between Time is a Runaway and Who You Are. Neither song really stands out on a technical level, but both songs really grabbed me for their sound and lyrics. Who You Are has a wonderful LA sound to it with a fantastic beat and energy, while Time is a Runaway has some fantastic lyrics coupled with their vocals and background instrumentation. Both are songs to relax to.

3 - Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!, Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans

Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albanians come forth with this fantastic ballad-like song that exhols the wonders of mounted cavelry, looking at their use through history. As a history person, this is just a wonderful song to pull apart line by line, and it's got such a fantastic song to go along with it.

2 - Ah, Mary, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

I knew that my #2 song would be a Grace Potter song, but it took me a little while to figure out which one. I went with the first one that I heard, Ah Mary, a sort of protest song that pulls you in nicely with Grace's fantastic voice before cranking it up a notch exactly a minute in as it turns to something you'd expect from some of their idols, like Neil Young. Their studio version seems to be a little subdued - go see this live for the full effect.

1 - Boy With A Coin, Iron & Wine

And my number one song of the year - Iron & Wine's Boy With A Coin. Like Grace Potter's album, there were a bunch here that could take the #1 spot, but there's something here. Maybe because this song stands out so much from Sam Beam's other songs and typical sound, or maybe because it falls into a fantastic beat and rhythm, this song just completely blew me away when I first heard it.

There you have it, the top 10... er... 12 songs of the year. Here are the ones that didn't quite make it:

Dreamworld, Rilo Kiley
Sea Legs, The Shins
Down The Line, Jose Gonzalez
Rumors, Josh Ritter
The Pretender, Foo Fighters
Dashboard, Modest Mouse
Keep The Car Running, Arcade Fire
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Pressure Suit, Aqualung
Sci-Fi Kid, Blitzen Trapper
Eh Hee, Dave Matthews

There were others, but overall, fantastic year for music. Let's see what's next.

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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.

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

Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!

A fitting album for Veteran's Day, Corb Lund's latest album, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! is coming out tomorrow in Canada, and later on this month in the US, and is a fun concept album - it focuses for the most part on the military, and the use of Cavalry in warfare, as seen in a couple of songs here, most notably, I Wanna Be In The Cavalry, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier, and even right down to a version of Taps.

This is a fantastic album. I'm not a fan of most country music out there, but this has the feel of The Decemberists rather than Brooks & Dunn. The lyrics are thoughtful, interesting and deep, especially revolving around the songs about war. The title track is by far the best on there, and is interesting to me as a student of history. And by no means is this an album about Civil War era warfighting - he covers all the territory, from Gengis Khan, all they way up to the current conflict with the use of horses in Afghanistan by the US Special Forces, as well as mentions of World War II, Vietnam, as well as the typical eras that you might think of this sort of thing.

The music here is very well done. The music is rich, with a deep country and folk sound that reminds me quite a bit at times of the really good Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot, who's also done some fantastic narrative, historical songs. These guys use a really good mix of instruments, ranging from mandolins, electric guitars and tight drumwork.

You can listen to the entire album at their myspace page.

Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! - Corb Lund
Student Visas - Corb Lund

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Veteran's Day

This is a holiday that probably doesn't get the support that it should. I'm currently working for the Masters in Military History department at the Norwich University Graduate School, and no matter what your political obligations or beliefs, we owe a lot to these guys.

Here's two of the best songs that I know about soldiers:

The War Was In Color - Carbon Leaf
Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! - Corb Lund

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Some New Artists

Over the past couple of weeks and months, I've come across a couple of new groups that've really grabbed my attention. We've got indie, folk, alternative and country all represented here.

Vampire Weekend

I've seen these guys rumbling around in the blogosphere for a little while now, and I suspect that we're going to hear a lot more from them in the very near future, as they will be releasing their first, self-titled album January 29th of 2008. They've already released an EP on iTunes, called Mansard Roof, which is quite good. These guys have a very fun, distinctive sound - sounds very caribbean to me for some reason, which is funny because of their name. They've got a bit of a European tour going on now, and will be coming back to the US shortly.

Ladies of Cambridge - Vampire Weekend

Visit their webpage: http://www.vampireweekend.com/

Jess Clemons and the Coopertive

Grace Potter was one student who came out of my high school with a very bright future in music - Jess Clemons seems to be following the same track. This is the second recent singer that I've come across that I know personally. While I'm sure that she's going to be compared a bit to Grace Potter, and while there are similarities, I think that her sound is much closer towards the folk range, towards Alison Krauss or Nancy Griffith. She's got a really good voice here, and I think she's got a lot of potential. She's just released her first independant album.

Well The Tide - Jess Clemons and the Coopertive

Check her out here: www.jessclemons.com

Kate Nash

Kate Nash has a very similar sound to Regina Spektor, and with a distinctive London flavor to her sound. She's got a lot of spunk and energy with her music and a wicked independant streak with her lyrics. Very catchy, great voice, etc. I'm a fan. She's just released her first album, Made of Bricks, back in August.

Mouthwash - Kate Nash

She doesnt' seem to have a webpage yet, but here's her myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/katenashmusic

Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans

I came across this guy through Mainstream Isn't So Bad the other day, and this song just sucked me in. These guys are out of Alberta, and are on album number 5. This song's on their upcoming Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! album, due out in November. Don't be detered by these guy's label as country, this song is fantastic with it's lyrics, rivaling that of the Decemberists. I love this song because it's really based in history, which is really cool to listen to. I can't wait to hear more.

Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier - Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans

Webpage: www.corblund.com

Hype - Buy