Martin's Musings

Picked up Ray LaMontagne‘s new CD, Till the Sun Turns Black, this weekend and I have to say, I love this album. You already know I love Ray’s cover of “Crazy” (the Gnarls Barkley song that everyone, even Billy Idol, has covered this summer) and this makes me like him even more. From the lush (can I use that word to describe Ray’s music?) and string-filled first track, “Be Here Now,” and “Can I Stay,” to the more jangly, jazzy “You Can Bring Me Flowers,” and on, this is great listening. I especially love “Three More Days,” which is soulful and catchy, and sounds like classic Joe Cocker. Till the Sun Turns Black is a beautiful album that seems to be a big jump from Ray’s last CD, Trouble (which, admittedly, I don’t own, but have heard a lot of). Consider this one highly recommended. Go pick it up and listen for yourself.

This is easily the best song of the summer. It’s a cover of the Gnarls Barkley song “Crazy” by Ray LaMontagne, who you might know from his songs “Trouble” and “Shelter.” I like Ray’s version of the song so much better than Nelly Furtado’s and even more than the original. (Did you know such a new song had already been covered so often?) Give them all a listen and tell me which one you prefer. Of course, you can just right-click on any of the links to download the files. And if you missed it the first time, here again is a link to Ray LaMontagne’s cover of “Crazy.”

Sorry for the radio silence. It’s been one of those weeks where I was busy at work and nothing outside the office was particularly blog-worthy. To wit, and to catch you up (and to get the promotion posting off the top of the site), some quick and random things:

* Got a haircut on Sunday. That was the highlight of my weekend.

* Alright, maybe not. I also went to Russo’s for the first time. And maybe it wasn’t the life-changing experience it was billed as, but I fully expect to go back often to take advantage of the lower-priced and better quality produce.

* My neighbors on the other side of my bedroom wall are rather insensitive. While I hit snooze for about an hour every morning, my reflexes are good enough that the music’s only playing for a second or two — tops — before I hit the button. They, however, let the music play at a decent volume while they hang out and get ready for the day. Thankfully, it was good music on Tuesday (92.9, which played Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and The Fray’s “Over My Head”), so I didn’t mind much, but still …

* In a related matter, I think there’s something to be said for radio karma, or whatever it’s called when your radio tries to teach you a lesson for snoozing too long. It never fails: I hit snooze one extra time and the song that comes on is something awful like Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” or Sean Paul’s “Temperature.” And yet, I never do learn, because all it means is I get 9 more minutes to sleep. I mean, really — who can get up with a bad song stuck in his head?

* And in another related matter, my favorite CD of the moment is Train’s For Me, It’s You. I can listen to it over and over, and my favorite track is the title song, which I think is a perfect wedding song.

* It’s never a good sign when, at the dentist, the hygienist gives your teeth the once-over then raises the volume on her radio, essentially saying, “This is going to hurt. I need to distract you.” Thankfully, it was just that she couldn’t hear the music. No drills were necessary, and I was largely pain-free.

* I know Superman Returns is gonna do big business this weekend. I just want to know if it’ll beat Aquaman. I plan to see Supes tomorrow night. Tonight is Pirates of the Caribbean. Woo hoo!

* I like not watching so much TV in the summer. Aside from Red Sox games and Ebert & Roeper, I haven’t really watched anything — not even my cousin David’s show. I’m trying to get into Windfall but I’m still behind by a week or two, and I’m watching season one of Grey’s Anatomy on DVD (slowly), but mostly what I’ve been doing is setting my DVR and not watching what I record. Never did see the Britney Spears or Angelina Jolie interviews, for example. I love summer, and having a life.

* Speaking of the Red Sox, it’s great to have Gabe Kapler back playing baseball. He’s my favorite Red Sox player, and not just because he gives Jewish athletes a good name. The guy’s fun to watch and his positive, can-do attitude is something I really respect.

* Speaking of which, it sure is good to be a Sox fan lately, ain’t it? It’s fun playing the Mets this week, having Pedro back in town, enjoying a 10-game winning streak, and most importantly being 3.5 games ahead of the Yankees. I’m looking forward to seeing the olde town team play in Florida this weekend. No tickets available here in Boston, but plenty still up for grabs in Miami.

* I hate when the drivers on the C line tell people to move all the way back into the train, even when there’s no room to go back any farther. But what’s worse is when we get to Kenmore, and the doors open on the opposite side of the train, meaning that all those who had gone to the very back of the train now have to move forward to let the new people on. That’s just stupid and annoying.

I guess that’s enough. As I say, nothing toooooo exciting. But at least you know I’m still here and unlike some other bloggers, I haven’t taken time off from blogging.