"Where At Least I Know I'm Free"

For all 12 of you loyal fans of this blog, you know from time to time I write about various beers I try. From Allagash to Sam Adams Seasonal's, from Blue Moon to Shipyard Pumpkin...I've tasted some pretty awesome beers. The weirdest thing happened the other day though. I tried Budweiser. Have you guys ever heard of this stuff? I mean, I'll tell ya. One sip and I was bleeding red, white, and blue.

I've heard a little about this beer before. I think I remember seeing a commercial during a Super Bowl at one time with these big horses with hairy white feet pulling a Budweiser truck, but I thought that was just an ad for horses. I mean seriously, who really advertises during the Super Bowl anyway? Just loser companies, right?

My friend Danny Noschese introduced me to this beer the other day over a few games of Golden Tee at our local watering hole in South Boston. We got a bucket of cold Budweiser bottles and literally, the second I opened the first one, I heard Bruce Springsteen singing "Born in the USA" from inside the bottle. Not only was Bruce singing at the top of his lungs, but suddenly everyone morphed into a Giants fan at the bar and brought out their portable grills. We started tailgating in the middle of the bar, cooking dogs, flipping burgers, tossing the pigskin around. Noschese went for a long fly pattern and ran directly into Uncle Sam who was on line at the bathroom. The place literally erupted into the greatest party I've ever seen. I was proud to be an American and a Giants fan, simply from opening a cold Budweiser bottle.

This beer unites people. It tastes like spring water with a hint of freedom; the after taste a combination between Apple Pie and the 4th of July. Fireworks erupt as you take each sip, as you truly know this is America...and this is a Budweiser.

Apparently this stuff has been out for years. My dad used to drink it with his white tee shirt on and jeans while singing Badlands and Glory Days around 114 Grandview. I didn't know that was Budweiser. I just thought it was an adult beverage with a weird name that made you smarter.

I can't recommend Budweiser enough. If you find yourself in a quandary at your local pub, or you're standing in the walk-in fridge at your nearest beverage mart debating what to buy, just listen for Springsteen. He'll be waving the American flag with his Desert Storm T shirt on, and he'll lead the way. If Lee Greenwood walks in behind you and points at the barkeep and just puts 2 fingers up, he means a few things. He'd like two Budweiser's and he's flashing the peace sign, because he is indeed Proud to be an American, where at least he knows he's free...to buy Budweiser.

Happy New Year folks. Cheers.

3 Month's, No Posts / James Vincent McMorrow

I took a small, involuntary hiatus from blogging for some reason. I have no clue why. I left Citysearch and started a new job working for the Gilt Groupe, specifically Gilt City up here in Boston. Really cool site, inventor of the flash sale model, and one of the top start-ups in the online world. Maybe that's an excuse? Sure, I've been a lot busier, but I'm not sure that's the reason.

Wedding planning? Eh, we've pretty much nailed everything down from venues to menus, and music and booze. Everything has fallen into place nicely, so, still not an excuse to get away from writing.

Sometimes your passions get away from you and we lose a small piece of ourselves over time. Whether the guitar is sitting in the corner collecting dust, or your running shoes smell like roses, we all know that a piece is missing and we miss that void, however it's hard to get back into the swing of things. Writing a blog is simple. You sit down and start typing. Maybe I haven't been too moved by the music I've heard since my last post. Maybe I'm just bored of the music that I'm currently listening to? I don't think so. If anything, I've found even MORE artists that I want to share with people, artists that have made these new chapter transitions in my life a bit easier.

With all that said, blogs are simply logs of our thoughts, feelings, and happenings. You log your days, your nights, your new itunes purchases, and your last concerts. Sometimes, you even ramble about tasty beers you've tried. Not too hard, right? I have no excuse as to where I've been, but I'm back. "My dog ate my blog" isn't gonna work this time.

So, as an apology, please enjoy Ireland's James Vincent McMorrow. James toured with Bell X1, a band I used to work with at Intrigue Music a few years ago. Solid song foundation, Irish singer/ songwriter tunes. James' voice is impeccable. It's like he's whispering and doesn't want everyone to hear, then builds up to make sure you've been listening the entire time.

Cheers. Happy Holidays everyone.

Passenger : "Flight of the Crow"

This record has blown me away, completely. Melancholy instrumentation and really nice vocals. Check it out. "Flight of the Crow" by Passenger, a UK artist.

Haven't stopped playing all of his 4 records over the past few days, but this one stands out. It's his new one. The title track is beautiful. Simple chord changes, but strong.

Below is a widget that streams the whole record. Throw it on in the background and go about your day. You may not hear every word, but your subconscious will.

Cheers,

John Legend & The Roots: "I Can't Write Left Handed" (Bill Withers Cover)

Bill Withers is a true musical icon.  It's interesting, as I write this post from my Boylston Street office in Beantown, his classic "Lean on Me" comes on the radio.  Irony has its way of sneaking its way into your life, and right now it's singing to me.  Bill Withers is a musical genius.  "Live at Carnegie Hall" is probably one of my favorite live recordings in music.  It was recorded and released in 1973 in NYC, at the infamous Carnegie hall.  There was still a large amount of social unrest between blacks and whites at this time, but Bill took over Carnegie Hall and put together an amazing compilation of tunes that make you think, cry, and dance; 3 things we should do often.  One of his songs, "I Can't Write Left Handed," is a standout track. 

It's about a Vietnam vet who lost his right arm during the war.  The lyrics are autobiographical and filled with such an interesting view on the war, what happens while at war, and even about the guy who shot him. 

"I aint gonna live-I don't believe I'm going to live to get much older.
Strange little man over here in Vietnam I aint never seen, bless
his heart, aint never done nothing to, he done shot me in my shoulder."

Throughout the song you start to feel for the guy. In this "spoken letter" that the solder is writing, he keeps asking his mother to ask their local reverend to pray for him, as he feels he's about to die. He asks his family lawyer to get a deferment for his little brother so he doesn't get shipped out to Vietnam to potentially get hurt as well. It's such a deep, meaningful, storytelling song that blows me away everytime I hear it. On the Carnegie Hall record, you hear the entire band of 6 humming in the background while Bill tells stories and sings the tune. It has such a huge gospel feel and one that will make the room quiet whenever you play the song. Just listen to Carnegie Hall itself. You hear a few cheers and "amens" from the crowd, as if the hall was temporarily a Baptist church and Bill Withers was the reverend. It's beautiful.

Below is a really cool version done by the legendary Roots and John Legend, which was released on their record "Wake Up" which hit stores Tuesday of this week. The whole record dives into old school classics like Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway tunes. Really good stuff. Check it out.


Cheers,

Biffy Clyro : "Many of Horror"

Check out the below.  Biffy Clyro is huge in the UK....maybe he'll finally make his way to our shores.

Shout-out to my buddy Mike Mayer for showing me this tune.  It blew me out of the water.  This version is stellar, live from the NME magazine set.

Cheers,

Ronald Jenkees: "Guitar Sound"

This guy is the future of music.  Take my bet that within the next year, Ronald Jenkees will have a #1 single as a hip hop producer, a la Timbaland, Kanye, Just Blaze, and Ryan Leslie.  Ronald has tons of Youtube videos out like this, of him playing tracks off his 2009 release "Disorganized Fun."  The kid has talent.  Absolute talent.  He was two records out, both mixing a combo of electronic synth funkinees with hip hop overtones...really cool blend of sounds.

What I love most about it is that he can't read a single note of music.  I can relate to that as I think learning notes takes away from the creative process.  However, Ronald laps me by about 10x in talent.  The kid is no joke.  Watch this video and his others on Youtube.  I have a link to the right with all his vids.

Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park recently blogged about Ronald, so watch out, the kid will be huge soon enough.

Cheers,

Missy Higgins : "Where I Stood"

It's been forever, my bad, things are hectic in Beantown.  Anywhoops, check out this live version of "Where I Stood" by Missy Higgins, one of Australia's finest.  This is recorded from the KCRW studios out west; one of the best live music radio shows in the world.

This post is short and sweet, but I think the song speaks for itself.  Listen to her piano skills while singing, let alone her vocal intonations.  Beautiful.

Cheers,

Howie Day : "Ghost / Beams of Light"

Check this out.  Howie Day is the king of the loop pedal.  Watch his feet when the camera zooms out.  Look at the setup.  He has a loop station w/ effects pedals to his left for his guitar, and a loop station to his right for his vocals.  All of the effects, drum taps, delay, is done by Howie himself...on stage, live.  One of the better loopers out in music now.

Notice at the end how he goes from "Ghost" to "Beams of Light" with a simple foot tap.  He hits the tempo button on the Line 6 Digital Delay Loop Pedal (button to the far right in picture to left) and it speeds up his loops to cut time (twice the speed).  Awesome.

The most killer part is when Howie hits the Octave pedal at around the 7 minute marker.  This pedal tunes your average guitar down a full step, making it sound like a bass guitar.  Everything he does in this version is remarkable and VERY hard, since the line 6's that he uses for vocals and guitar are not synced on tempo.  He needs to precisely trigger each pedal to match the tempo of each other.  Also, if he pushes the far left button above, and say he messes up and misses a note....he can't erase it.   Newer pedals have a delete function, but not these ones.  If he hits the wrong note, the entire song is ruined since he recorded it.... Talent.

Ah, technology.

Cheers,

Eric Hutchinson - "Rock and Roll"

A lot of acoustic singer songwriters lose their edge and sound when they perform outside of the studio. It's simply what happens when a record is overproduced with bells and whistles and vocal filters, sometimes drowning out the actual tone of the singers voice.

This guy is different. Eric Hutchinson performing live is the same Eric Hutchinson in the studio. The vocals are DEAD on regardless of the venue. Below is a version of Eric singing his hit "Rock and Roll" off of his first record, "That Could've Gone Better" which was released in '03, and then re-released in 2008 when he started getting more press. This version is great because there are no bells and whistles. There isn't even a microphone. Eric is singing in a conference room of a radio station in Spokane. How awesome is that?

The vocals are identical to the record version. The guy rocks. Simple as that. He's got a cool soul feel mixed with a rhythmic, almost hip hop like delivery which is really cool to hear. It's like Jason Mraz had a baby with John Mayer, but the baby had a better sense of humor.

Shout out to Emerson College up here in Boston, which Eric went to. Great school and also produced one of the greater keyboard players who still jams, Page McConnell from Phish.

Cheers,

Bee Gees - "To Love Somebody"

Having a retrospective Thursday, so here we go. "To Love Somebody." An absolutely beautiful song written and sung by the incomparable Bee Gees, covered by two of my idols, Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice.

What an amazing tune and what a powerful performance.

Cheers,