It's no coincidence that my other favorite gift is a recording from an artist also on my 11 Albums of 2006 list . Although I didn't numerically rank them, The Animal Years , by Josh Ritter , would most definitely have medaled in the the top three. That being said, when I opened up In the Dark - Live at Vicar Street 2006 on Christmas morning, I was just as excited (if not more so) than my 2 year old daughter reading the note Santa left for her next to the plate [...]
I recieved my copy of the new Josh Ritter live album "In The Dark" today. The album is as I expected great and will one of those records that you can just listen to over and over again. I also spend my evening watching the DVD which is the live recording and an interview with Josh. Watching this material really took me back to the best concert of the year here in Copenhagen. (yes better than The Knife) - come and visit us again soon - Josh. Josh Ritter - Good Man (Live) (mp3) [...]
In House #1775: Best of 2006: The Top Five Releases **LISTEN LIVE NOW!** 5- Kelley Stoltz: Below the Branches (Sub Pop) (MP3) "Ever Thought of Coming Back" (MP3) "Birdies Singing" 4- Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings t he Flood (Anti) [...]
It was 97 years ago that the first record was released. Yes in 1909, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite was slated as a four-disc set by Odeon Records with a retail price of 16 shillings — about $101. A lot has changed in 97 years; from vinyl albums to plastic CDs, from buying records in stores to dowloading them in your home; the music industry, whether advocating change or merely suffering its consequences, has been evolving year after year to incorporate new technology allowing for advancement in all aspects of music production, output, retail, and promotion. A big [...]
After weeks of agonizing (and despite a gnawing fear that tomorrow I will hear a record so good that I'll feel intense guilt for leaving it off), here's the list. I know 30 is sort of a weird number, but I really wanted to find a place for a couple of my favorite old-timers, and the line between 30 and everything below is a lot more clear than the one at 25. I may have put more work into this than I did for my thesis, so I hope you enjoy it. 30. [...]
According to the 12 X 12 music blog poll, this album is the best of 2006. For me, it's a close second. What stands out from this release, besides the nine minute epic, is the consistency of the songs and their sound. Josh and producer Brian Deck have captured something outstanding in these recordings, ex. the layers of instruments and the subtle ambient noises and the sound of the drums on "In The Dark" (which may be the best sounding drums since Neil Young's "Harvest"). This is one of those albums that will only [...]
Two thousand six, oh, what a year! From political powers shifting to crazy oil prices, this year has had a little bit of everything. On what was allegedly going to be an ?off year? for music, 2006 has proven anything but disappointing. From bringing sexy back to ?older? musicians like Bob Dylan bringing back their A-games, this year been eclectic to say the least. So, I suppose it?s about that time of the year where we hold up our contractual agreement of ?year-end listimizing? and get to the good stuff. Needless to say - it's been a [...]
I'm making a list...checking it twice... Notice the title? Although I've been fighting it for the last couple of weeks, I'm finally caving to blog pressure to post some sort of 2006 list. That being said, I'm not willing to completely bow to meet the norm. Therefor, 11 songs, not 10, and notice no adjectives such as "best," "most artistic," "creatively unique," or even "with the catchiest cover art" (although the last one sounds promising...maybe I'll work on that one next). In fact, I'm not even going to number these albums, I'm going [...]
Rappel : 50-41 40. J. Tillman - Minor Works (Fargo) (post) 39. Kris Kristofferson - This Old Road (New West) (post) 38. Marty Stuart - Live At The Ryman (Superlatone/Universal South) 37. Josh Ritter - The Animal Years (V2) Thin Blue Flame (MP3) 36. Chatham County Line - Speed Of The Whippoorwill (Yep Roc) (post) 35. Pinetop Seven - Beneath Confederate Lake (Empyrean) (post 1 et 2) The
Welcome to 12 X 12 : The First Annual Some Velvet/I Am Fuel 2006 Year-In-Music Blogger Poll. It's the obviously logical combination of music and accounting. Bruce from Some Velvet Blog rocks all sorts of goodness on a regular basis over on his site and at his radio station . We had so much fun working on our massive Girl Talk post together that we once again decided to pool our creative energies to come up with our first meta-music poll (not to be confused with a Metamucil [...]
Finals are over and Christmas is rapidly approaching - and we couldn't be happier here at RMDS. To celebrate, Joe (remember him?) and I have collaborated to create our Top 11 songs of 2006 - that we both were able to agree on. (Oh, before I forget, folloiwng our combined list will be some of the songs Joe and I specificially held close to our respective hearts). Anyways, enough with the filler: these our the songs that we conversed about endlessly on the phone over the summer, played on repeat in the dorm, and became devastated over when [...]
Mon 11th December @ The Olympia, Dublin Josh Ritter must be one of the hardest working men in music. This was the 3 rd last gig in his mammoth UK tour that has lasted from the start of January 2006 . It doesn?t end there, he is playing SEVENTEEN gigs in America this coming FEBRUARY alone. That?s about one every two days for the less mathematical of you. [...]
My Bad I know you've all checked out my favorite songs and favorite albums of 2006. And I suspect that while you were there and ruminating on what a very fine job I had done, you got to thinking, as I did, "What about Josh Ritter?" Too too, too too true! It really was such a significant omission that it's been plaguing me for days now. Well consider it amended--at least to a degree--by my singling him out here. [...]
By far the best critical review of the year in music so far has come from Jon Pareles in this New York Times article . For me, this quote from him sums up the current state of music on the 'net. "The multiplying choices promise ever more diversity, ever more possibility for innovation and unexpected delight. But they also point toward an increasingly atomized audience, a popular culture composed of a zillion nonintersecting mini-cults. So much available self-expression [...]
2006 ~ Band of Horses: The First Song 2005 ~ Arctic Monkeys: Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But... 2004 ~ The Flaming Lips: My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion 2003 ~ Beth Orton: What We Begin 2002 ~ The Roots: Atonement 2001 ~ Dayna Kurtz: It's the day of Atonement, 2001 2000 ~ Birdie Busch: Zeros 1999 ~ Cibelle: Mad Man Song 1998 ~ Gomez: Charley Patton Songs 1997 ~ The Decemberists: Summersong 1996 ~ The Be Good Tanyas: Song for [...]
The opportunity to look back on all of the music released in a given year usually helps to put things into perspective. In years past, there were clear-cut winners, a few also rans and the rest. Last year , for example, My Morning Jacket was my top pick, with all others a distant second and beyond. This year, things were different. It took a couple of weeks to really nail down this list of 25 top discs. The good news is that I was afforded another chance to really listen to a lot of great music. The [...]
I find year-end music lists a great and useful diversion, especially when I have found a common interest with the listmaker. Often I will revisit music that didn't grab me at first listen, or seek out new bands on a listmaker's recommendation. This year I listened to more albums than any year my life. Rare was the day that I didn't put at least three or four unheard CDs in my messenger bag in the morning, only to repeat the cycle the next day. After listening to so much new music, certain albums stood out among the [...]
It's a bit early this year, but I wanted to get started on my end of the year music lists so that I wouldn't obsess and ruminate over them endlessly and wind up posting them in January when 1) it will be impossible not to be influenced at least somewhat by everyone else's lists and 2) all of you will be so sick of year-end lists anyway. Also, December gets quite busy for me very soon - between work, life, and having a baby due next month, there won't be a whole lot of free time left for making these [...]
You might have noticed that for most of this semester on Wednesdays, I've been putting up a mix, whether it be on Guitar Hero , Facebook , Bagpipes , or Thanksgiving . The mix today isn't as much of a theme/event mix but it's just songs that I've been listening to and enjoying lately tied together by two songs from The Good Life's amazing album "Black Out". The mix starts with the electronica sounds of the song "Beaten Path" before inheriting some Eastern European flair with Devotchka and then breaking down to pure folky [...]
Today marks one year (!) since I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS took its first tentative steps with an initial post, and I've been contentedly rolling along ever since, gathering steam as I go. I know that downloading music (and absorbing all that I have to say here) can sometimes be like drinking from a firehose, so I thought to compile you a 20-song mix of my absolutely favorite tracks that I have featured in the first year of this blog. Some of these tunes I posted up way at the beginning when I [...]
Mainstream Isnt So Bad...Is It
DoCopenhagen
In House with Jeremy Petersen
i guess i'm floating
Heartache with Hard Work
The Late Greats
There's Always Someone Cooler Than You
I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS
Renaissance Men Don't Surf
No Clarity
BKLYN Song of the Day
Some Velvet Blog
Things I'd Rather Be Doing
largehearted boy
Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands
Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good
Beach House covers Queen
Antony and the Johnsons - "Rise"
The Bee Gees – Tragedy (Equateur Remix)
