Merry Christmas from Carry You Away

No matter what you celebrate, Carry You Away would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season! Thanks for a good year, we'll see you in 2009 with our best songs from 2008.

The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
O Holy Night - Troy Andrews
River - Rosie Thomas
Silent Night - Skye
Let It Snow - A Fine Frenzy
When I Get Home For Christmas - Snow Patrol
2000 Miles - Coldplay
White Christmas - Frank Sinatra
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
(There's No Place Like) Home For the Holidays - Perry Como
Silver Bells - Kate Smith

Merry Christmas!

The Best of September

My, that month went by quickly. September had some very good music here - a couple new artists, but a lot of old favorites, such as Bon Iver, The Decemberists and Snow Patrol releasing some fantastic new material.

With the fall about to blow past just as fast as September, I'm starting to think about what the best songs of 2008 were, and most certainly, will be looking over these lists and doing a recap at some point, as well as looking back over last year's favorites.

For Emma (Myspace Edition) - Bon Iver


Flume (Myspace Edition) - Bon Iver


Bon Iver released a free EP via myspace, which featured four re-worked songs from his first wondeful album, For Emma, Forever Ago. These songs have a more expanded and richer sound behind them and sound beautiful. If only they had also recorded Re: Stacks...

Make You Crazy (feat. Femi Kuti) - Brett Dennen


Brett Dennen is back after a short hiatus with his new album Hope for the Hopeless, being released on October 21st. I'm not the biggest fan of Dennen, even after seeing him in concert last year, but this song is catchy, and really seems to fit with the current state of American politics, with a lot of awareness to outside issues to a level that we haven't seen until recently. What's going on in the world can certainly make me go crazy and mad.

Blow Away - Chris Blake


I came across Chris Blake randomly earlier this month with the track Blow Away, which really captured my attention with a good beat and energy. Wave is his first album, and while I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the entire thing, it's gone onto my to-get list, because this sounds like a promising new musician.

Valarie Plame - The Decemberists


The first track off of the Always the Bridesmaid series, Valarie Plame follows with Decemberists tradition of singing about some really random things - this time, about the CIA agent who was outed by the Bush Administration that's caused them a lot of problems. You can read the initial article that started it all here.

Grounds for Divorce - Elbow


This song was featured on the trailer for a movie called Burn After Reading, the latest from the Coen Brothers. I have yet to see the movie, but this song really got my attention with its heavy beat and interesting, haunting sound. It sounds like a cool song that just begs for things to happen in slow motion.

Silver Purse - Helen Lawson


I was very impressed with Helen Lawson earlier when I reviewed her initial EP, Crossing the Bridge. Her music is lyrical, smooth and very beautiful. Her lyrics and voice here match really well, and I'll be awaiting her first LP whenever that is released.

You've Changed (Original Mix) - Lauren Flax feat. Sia


I love Sia's voice and alt-pop sound. Mixed with an electronic/techno type song, it really fits well, and this song works very well with Sia's voice and style. It's interesting to see her in a different electronica song than her other work, with Zero 7.

Shattered (Turn the Car Around) - O.A.R.


I've enjoyed listening to O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) since college. They're not a favorite, but I've loved That was a Crazy Game of Poker, Hey Girl and Mr. Moon. They're a good band for the Adult Alternative listeners, with a nice blend of rock/alt-country/folk-rock and a little reggae thrown in for good measure. Shattered is a very typical sounding song from them, but it's a solid one, with a good beat and feel.

Take Back the City - Snow Patrol


Snow Patrol is back with a follow up for Eyes Open. This song sounds like it could have made the album, but for a bit more energy attached to it. This song, along with Shattered, feel comfortable, and have a good alternative/rock sound to it that makes me think that this will be a popular radio hit when their upcoming album, A Hundred Million Suns is released. I like this sound - it's solid and sounds pretty good.

Ottoman - Vampire Weekend


Vampire Weekend is back with a new song that's sure to be very popular with the indie-hipsters. It's a pretty typical song from the group, with a quirky sound and interesting guitar work, these guys are sure to be somewhat popular until they release their next album. While I enjoy this song, I'm not sure how much longer I'll enjoy listening to it. Time will tell.

That's all for this month - October is sure to bring some very good music.

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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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Christmas Time is Here

So, I'm going to jump on the Christmas-mix bandwagon, because this is probably going to be my last post for about a week. (I still don't have the internet at my place, and I get a week off from work, where I can get away from everything and read.) So, here are some of my favorite Christmas songs, new and old. The best of the list is the one at the bottom, which was part of the now canceled show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Santa Claus is Coming To Town - Frank Sinatra
Silent Night - Skye
The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
2000 Miles (The Pretenders) - Coldplay
When I Get Home For Christmas - Snow Patrol
(There's No Place Like Home) For Christmas - Perry Como
Jingle Bells - Diana Krall
Here Comes Santa Claus - Elvis Presley
Toy Soldiers - Carbon Leaf
Silver Bells - Kate Smith
Have Yourself a Merry Christmas - Coldplay
Holly Jolly Christmas - The Format
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Watermark - Enya
O' Holy Night - Troy Andrews

After my break, we'll be back with the best song and album of the year, as well as my picks for the best new artists and some thoughts on what we'll be seeing next year. And, I've got an announcement for a huge, major feature that'll take up most of the year that I'm quite excited about. Stay tuned.

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