It’s an exciting night to be a Democrat.
Hell, it’s an exciting night to be an American.
I’m so happy the election results have gone Obama’s way. It’s so damned exciting. So now, as a preamble to Obama’s acceptance speech, here’s a musical tribute to his accomplishment, courtesy of Seal.
If you haven’t heard yet, Bruce Springsteen has posted a free song for Halloween on his Web site. It’s a bluesy riff called “A Night with the Jersey Devil” and you can download it right here. There’s also a video that you can watch at BruceSpringsteen.net. Enjoy, and again, happy halloween!
It was four years ago that I last saw Jason Mraz live. It was an acoustic show at the Orpheum here in Boston and suffice it to say, it was not a good show — or at least my memories of it are not good. So what a relief that Mraz’s show Friday night back at the Orpheum was so much better and I now have it to refer to when I think of his live performances.
You already know how much I love Mraz’s latest album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. Well, how good was it to hear so many of those tracks live. Mraz really has a beautiful voice, and it was in evidence on songs like “If It Kills Me” and a James Morrison-less “Details in the Fabric,” not to mention on “Life Is Wonderful,” “Unfold,” and others. The seven-piece band — including an impressively tight horn section — really brought songs like “Live High” and “Make It Mine” to life (not that the songs needed help, mind you).
Our seats were four rows from the stage, dead center, so we saw it all — including a couple get engaged right in front of me during the jubilant “I’m Yours.” (Yeah, the guy actually got down on one knee in the middle of the concert.) We couldn’t always hear Mraz singing (I don’t think the speakers were turned up enough), but when we did, he sounded great. I mean, picking a highlight from the 16-song set list was tough. I keep mentioning stuff he sang — “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” “Butterfly,” and “No Stopping Us” made for a fun encore — and that’s just because it was all good. I also enjoyed “The Dynamo of Volition,” even if there was synchronized audience choreography.
If I had to quibble with anything, it would be three things: One, I wish Mraz didn’t slow down the tempo of some of his more upbeat songs, like “Remedy.” I also wish he didn’t take such long breaks between each song during the first half of the show to hydrate and talk — it killed the pacing. And finally, although the show was two hours long, I wish he’d played more. Among the tracks not played were “Geek in the Pink” and, a more egregious omission, “You and I Both.” I suppose an old classic like “The Dream Life of Rand McNally” would be asking too much.
But that said, as I previously mentioned, what Mraz did sing was very good. And though he ended the show with the mellow “A Beautiful Mess,” it was simply gorgeous and it sent me out into the night on a high. So now, unlike the last time I saw Mraz live, I can’t wait to see him again.
(One interesting observation before I go, however. I remember a time when bringing a camera to and taking pictures at a concert was forbidden. Mraz encourages picture-taking; at one point, photos from the audience were projected on the screens behind him. Had I known, I would have brought my own camera. The photos above are from the Schreiders. Click here to see the rest.)
As a tribute to Christopher Columbus, I did a little exploring of my own yesterday and discovered a great new artist who I wanted to tell y’all about.
His name is Eric Hutchinson, and he’s a singer-songwriter with a funky/poppy Jason Mraz/Ben Folds/Jack Johnson/John Mayer vibe that I’m really digging.
Check out the video for his first single “Rock & Roll,” which I’ve embedded below. It reminds me of Mraz’s first single, “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry).”
If you like Hutch’s song, click here to download that track and others.
Or, better yet, head to iTunes and buy the new deluxe edition of Eric’s debut CD, Sounds Like This (in addition to Ray LaMontagne’s Gossip in the Grain, of course).
For added fun, check out Live from Daryl’s House tomorrow, Wednesday, when Eric will be interviewed by Daryl Hall, of Hall & Oates.
Sure, I may be a little late to the party — Perez Hilton has already talked all about Hutch and VH1 has already named Eric an artist that You Oughta Know — but that doesn’t mean you still have to be in the dark about him.
Check out the video and let me know if you’re digging the Hutch’s music as much as I am.
I’m a couple days early, but I’m just so looking forward to the release of Ray LaMontagne’s new album, Gossip in the Grain, on Tuesday that I wanted to get something up here now so you could spend the weekend downloading some tracks and being just as excited as I am for it. Ray’s most recent album, Til the Sun Turns Black, was one of my favorite albums of 2006 (it still is a favorite). This new one sounds even better. I mean, check out “You Are the Best Thing,” which you can download here or just listen to here. There’s a music video up at Amazon.com that pretty much nails the sultry, romantic vibe of the song. There’s another track, “Meg White,” up for previewing at Stereogum. Those two are great, but for weeks now I’ve been hooked on another track, “Let It Be Me,” which you can download here or listen to here. If you ask me, songs don’t get much more beautiful than this one. I’ve posted the lyrics below so you can follow along while the song plays. Please, do yourself a favor and run to Best Buy or Newbury Comics (or whatever your favorite music retailer is) on Tuesday and buy this album. Or, just go right to iTunes right now and pre-order it. I haven’t heard all of GitG yet, but I will promise you that you won’t be disappointed.
“Let It Be Me”
There may come a time, a time in everyone’s life
where nothin’ seems to go your way,
where nothing seems to turn out right.
There may come a time, you just can’t seem to find your way.
For every door you walk on to, seems like they get slammed in your face.
That’s when you need someone, someone that you can call.
And when all your faith is gone, feels like you can’t go on,
let it be me.
Let it be me.
If it’s a friend that you need,
let it be me.
Let it be me.
Feels like you’re always comin’ on home,
pockets full of nothin and you got no cash.
No matter where you turn you ain’t got no place to stand.
Reach out for something and they slap your hand.
Now I remember all too well
just how it feels to be all alone.
You feel like you’d give anything
for just a little place you can call your own.
That’s when you need someone, someone that you can call.
And when all your faith is gone, feels like you can’t go on,
let it be me.
Let it be me.
If it’s a friend you need,
let it be me.
Let it be me.
Update 10/11: I found it all. Click here to download the full album.
Welcome to New York.
It’s a place that’s practically empty on a Friday night, where there’s always a parking space right in front of clubs, and where high school kids can not only get into bars easily, but they can bypass the lines with ease and can be served alcohol — enough to get totally drunk.
This is the New York of Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist, where everything is seemingly just right so as to engineer the kind of “crazy” night that may lead to an unlikely and rather forced love connection between our leads Nick (Michael Cera) and Nora (Kat Dennings).
Infinite Playlist is that kind of movie, complete with a hip soundtrack, and made for a particular target audience that doesn’t really include me. Continue reading
If I had to pick a highlight of last night’s Emmy Awards — well, it probably wouldn’t be this. But Josh Groban’s medley of 30 TV show theme songs was just nutty and random enough to merit posting a clip here. After all, it’s not every day you see a serious singer like Groban reduced to such corniness.
(or … Mild August Night)
(or … I Am Letdown, I Said)
(or … Not So Good! Not So Good!)
Since I’d never seen Neil Diamond in concert, I was quite excited to see him Saturday night at Fenway Park.
And sure, I’m not the biggest Neil fan (I own his latest album but still haven’t listened to it), but I do love the classics in his repertoire, and I figured it’d at least be a fun show.
At the very least, it’d be totally cheesy to hear him sing “Sweet Caroline” live in Fenway, and I could totally get into that.
I mean, I’ve seen Barry Manilow live (three times, I believe), so how bad could Neil Diamond really be? Continue reading
If this November is going to be the first time you vote in an election, then this video’s for you. (If this is not going to be your first time voting in an election, don’t worry — you can watch too.)
http://www.cnn.com/video/savp/evp/?loc=dom&vid=/video/politics/2008/08/17/loftv.daughtry.video.cnn
Martin's Musings 