Don't Go Looking, I'm Not There

A while ago, I finally picked up the film I'm Not There, a bio topic loosely based off of the life of Bob Dylan. The movie has been highly regarded by numerous news organizations and people that I've talked to, and I can see why - it's a brilliantly filmed and scripted movie, if confusing as hell for someone not expecting a trippy, exciting ride.

The interesting thing that drew me to this in the first place was the use of six different actors (Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, and Cate Blanchett), all playing Dylan, each representing a different stage in his life. Of the six, I think that the brightest praise goes to Cate Blanchett, for her portrayal, which I found to be one of the best performances that I've seen in a movie in a long time.

The film is a journey through Dylan's life, starting with a young boy named Woody Guthrie, and ending up with Richard Gere's version, an older Dylan. Throughout, we see the changes throughout his life, and the film ends fittingly with the following words:

"People are always talking about freedom, and how to live a certain way. Course the more you live a certain way the less it feels like freedom. Me? I can change during the course of a day. When I wake I'm one person, when I go to sleep I know for certain I'm somebody else. I don't know who I am most of the time. It's like you got yesterday, today and tomorrow all in the same room. There's no telling what's going to happen."

I thought the movie was brilliant, confusing and enlightening. Most of all, the soundtrack released for the film is absolutely brilliant, with a ton of extremely well done Dylan covers by a diverse group of singers. If anything, I think that the soundtrack is just as good as the movie, with just as much character.

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Bob Dylan) - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova



Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (Bob Dylan) - Cat Power

Hype - Buy - Look

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

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

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

Oscar Nominations Released

The nominations for the Academy Awards was just released today, quite a few good selections. I'm rooting for Falling Slowly and 3:10 To Yuma. Here's the music that's been nominated:

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Dario Marianelli - Atonement
Alberto Iglesias - The Kite Runner
James Newton Howard - Michael Clayton
Michael Giacchino - Ratatouille
Marco Beltrami - 3:10 to Yuma - Bible Study

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
"Falling Slowly" - Once
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" - Enchanted
Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" - August Rush
Nominees to be determined "So Close" - Enchanted
Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" - Enchanted
Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis - The Bourne Ultimatum
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland - No Country for Old Men
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane - Ratatouille
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe - 3:10 to Yuma
Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin - Transformers