NEWS: Josh Ritter re-releases Golden Age of Radio

Wow. We dropped the ball on this one guys. It's no secret that we here at WiAC have a considerable man-crush on the Idahoan balladier, Josh Ritter - and we'd usually like to consider ourselves on top of any news Ritter-related. But alas, this news is about 3 weeks late. Sorry about that guys. Anyways. Here's the details:

Josh is re-releasing his fantastic 2002 album, Golden Age of Radio, which includes a second disc of recently recorded acoustic versions of the entire album, plus 2 b-sides, plus 2 remixes by The Submarines Jason Dragonetti (these are especially good), PLUS a full color booklet and 2 homevideos, including one of Glen Hansard performing "Me & Jiggs". So basically, this isn't your typical slapped together "not-so-deluxe deluxe edition" scam. This is something I'm going to buy. And you should too.

You can stream the entire thing for free HERE, as well as grab a free mp3 of the title track. And to make up for our slacking, here's some Josh Ritter tracks that I sort of adore. Enjoy!

mp3: Josh Ritter - Rumors (Off-Broadway Remix by Jason Dragonetti)


mp3: Josh Ritter - Vapour Trail
from the album The Cake Sale (Amazon/iTunes)

PLAYLIST: Snow Is Gone!

So it finally feels like Spring here in Utah - and after last Wednesday's ridiculous blizzard (which dumped more snow on my car than I think any winter storm has) the sun feels long overdue. Yesterday my wife and I met at J Dawg's for lunch and enjoyed our polish dogs on the grass in the sunshine. It was amazing. This playlist is to celebrate that moment.

mp3: Josh Ritter - Snow Is Gone
mp3: Goodtimes Goodtimes - Sunshine Sunshine
mp3: Jon & Roy - Another Noon
mp3: Architecture in Helsinki - Spring 2008
mp3: Matt Costa - Sunshine
mp3: Harlem Shakes - Sunlight
mp3: The Format - Snails (EP version)
mp3: Mojave 3 - Got My Sunshine

Now I'll continue celebrating by studying for my LAST FINAL as an undergrad. Woot.

SONG(s): Josh Ritter (w/ String Quartet)

Last June, Josh Ritter played a show in MA with The Boston Pops that was supposed to be incredible. He followed up with two sold-out shows at Vicar Street in Dublin with a full orchestra, and is now planning to do the same in Cork, Ireland this coming July. All I can say is that I'd give anything to be in Cork that night.

Well, for all of us un-lucky folks who have yet to see Mr. Ritter with a full 24-piece orchestra behind him, he's given us a little treat. In December he went into a studio in Dublin with a small string quartet (made up of Kenneth Rice and Lynda O'Connor on violin, Cian O'Duill on viola, and Kate Ellis on cello), and came out with two beautiful versions of two already beautiful songs. Check them out below.

Also, if you're lucky you can catch Josh on his 'Teeny Tiny Spring Tour' starting in March - check here for dates.

Josh Ritter - Girl in the War (w/ String Quartet)
originally from the album The Animal Years (Amazon/iTunes)


Josh Ritter - Empty Hearts (w/ String Quartet)
originally from the album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Amazon/iTunes)


Really, truly, I think Josh Ritter is the most talented singer/songwriter out there. I just love this guy.

PLAYLIST: Happy Lover's Day

Oh the love song. A good one can reduce you to tears; a bad one can too, but only because you've lost all hope in humanity's emotional response. Unfortunately, there seems to be no end to the bad ones in the world today, so I offer this little helping of some that I think are pretty good. Enjoy. UPDATE: So apparently Blogger deemed this post unsuitable and removed it. I took down the mp3's, but if you still want a .zip of the playlist just shoot us an email at whaleinacubicle@gmail.com.

mp3: The Bird and the Bee - My Love
from the album Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future (iTunes)
These two do indie-pop love songs right, and I think they know it. For further examples, see last year's Valentine's EP, One Too Many Hearts.

mp3: Josh Ritter - Kathleen
from the album Hello Starling (iTunes)
Josh has mastered the love song in my opinion, and he's got more than a few great ones. This is from his 2003 album, Hello Starling, and you should love it - if not only for its opening line, "All the other girls here are stars, you are the northern lights!" Favorite.

mp3: Leona Naess - On My Mind
from the album Thirteens (iTunes)
This one's been stuck in my head for a couple of months now, and I think it's one of the cutest little love songs I've ever heard. Yep, I said that.

mp3: Landon Pigg - Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop
from the Coffee Shop EP (iTunes)
A little cornball, for sure. But the melody is pretty, and I really like the dream-like production.

mp3: M. Ward - Never Had Nobody Like You
from the album Hold Time (listen to it at NPR)
I'm a sucker for M. Ward's dusty ballads, and it seems like his song-writing might be getting a little less cryptic since pairing with the She (of She & Him), and possibly even a little more... romantic? You be the judge, but I think this is a pretty good casual-love-song, if that's such a thing. It's off his newest album, Hold Time (out in March).

mp3: Joshua James - You're the Cocaine
(iTunes)
I fear this might become a lost gem due to its exclusion from last years re-release of The Sun is Always Brighter - it's a tender ode to his wife that makes me a little teary-eyed just about every time I hear it. While the lyrics are pretty sweet, I think it's his delivery that really gets me.

mp3: The Submarines - Swimming Pool
from the album Honeysuckle Weeks (iTunes)
Ok, I just love this song. And the fact that these two are married and singing it together? I mean, c'mon. That's pretty adorable.

mp3: Mason Jennings - In Your City
from the album In The Ever (iTunes)
I love this little vignette, and the old-timey piano is the perfect backdrop. While it's not your typical love song, it's one of the most romantic songs I can think of.

NEWS: Yeah, you're making all the right moves

Once again I find myself apologizing for such lack-luster blogging! Only one post for all of July thus far?! Who do we think we are?! Well, please know that we still have plenty to blog about, and we'll start again shortly. My life will get significantly easier come Saturday - so look for much more musical mayhem after that.

Tomorrow, as part of Salt Lake's Twilight Concert Series, Andrew Bird and Josh Ritter will be playing a free show at the Gallivan Center, and we will of course be there. Since finding out about this a few months ago, I've mused about how much I would actually pay to see this show if I had to. Considering that last October we drove nearly 12 hours (round trip) to see Josh at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise, and that I would quite readily do the same to see Mr. Bird - I think that the effective worth of this show is ranking in the hundreds of dollars for me at this point.

Josh Ritter's performance in Boise is still one of my very favorite concert experiences to date. Not only is he one of my favorite song-writers, but when he's on stage he's all smiles and just puts on one good rock 'n roll show. In fact, every review I've ever read of his live show has said the same thing - so as much as I'd like to believe he was on fire that night at the Egyptian, the truth is that he's just a great performer. Do whatever you can to see this man live. I promise you won't be sorry.

Tomorrow will be my first time seeing Andrew Bird - but I'm fairly certain I won't be disappointed. A friend who saw him in LA last year said he was one of the greatest shows she'd ever seen. So yeah, I'm a little excited. If you're not familiar with Andrew Bird, take a listen below - he's really one of the most intriguing song-writers around right now, somehow combining violin, whistling, imaginative lyricism, and otherworldly production to create something that's actually kind of un-classifiable. We'll just call it "really really good music".

So as I go to bed tonight feeling like it's Christmas tomorrow, I hope you might find something like a stocking-stuffer in these couple songs. If they don't make you merry, heaven help you.

Josh Ritter - Right Moves

from the album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Amazon/iTunes)

Andrew Bird - Heretics

from the album Armchair Apocrypha (Amazon/iTunes)

NOTE: If you can't catch the show tomorrow, at least try to catch one of the Thursday Twilight shows this summer - the lineup is so good it's almost absurd. And don't forget, they're all FREE. Check out the lineup here.

ALBUM: Good news for people who like old stuff

Sorry it's been a few days since posting - the semester's been wrapping up and things are just kinda crazy. You know how it is.

Modest Mouse is a funny band for me. I was introduced to them in eighth grade by a good friend of mine who let me borrow This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about, and I liked it just okay. How un-indie of me, right? Since then, I've seen them perform twice, but only accidentally - the first time because Mason Jennings was opening for them, and the second because Rilo Kiley was. Both times, however, Isaac Brock & co. were pretty stinking fun, putting on a very loud, very noisy, and at times, a very moving show.

So this post is basically a shout out to the band that I will once again be seeing accidentally. This time it will be at the Sasquatch Music Festival in May with The National, Beirut, the Grand Archives etc. So I just recently pulled out 2004's Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and I've been reminded again of just how much I love that album. In 2004 I returned to college life after two years of not listening to any music at all (unless you count contemporary LDS pop as music - which I don't), and it was on a road-trip that a friend of mine decided to re-introduce me to the world of indie music with this album and Postal Service's Give Up. Both of which now hold a special place in my heart. From the echo-y opening notes of The World at Large to the indie-poppiness of Float On to the weirdness of Satin in a Coffin to the achingly sincere and very pretty Blame it on the Tetons, this is still just a really great record.

Modest Mouse - One Chance

from the album Good News for People Who Love Bad News (Amazon/iTunes)

And here's just a really great cover. By just a really great guy.

Josh Ritter - Blame it on the Tetons (Modest Mouse cover)

from the Girl in the War EP (iTunes)

ARTIST: I'm a good man

I've avoided this post for so long.
But after this weekend I just can't get Josh Ritter out of my head.
This is where it all begins and ends. My musical Alpha and Omega.

This past weekend I was in Boise at the lovely local independent music store, The Record Exchange, and reminisced about when a group of us made a pilgrimage to this very store to see Josh in concert. (Which was actually only the first of the two that day.) I won't go into details concerning the performances, or when we got to personally meet Josh, other than to say I tried my best to not open my mouth for fear of spouting worshipful scripture:

"How glorious is the voice we hear from heaven proclaiming to our ears, glory, salvation, and honor!"

No joke. Josh Ritter is the real thing. A folk hero. A man who creates songs that incorporate deep metaphors, literary allusions, and even traces of humor; while simultaneously making them deeply personal and in-tune with these crazy times.
I simply can't get enough.

Josh Ritter - Girl in the War
from the album Animal Years (Amazon)

Check out this concert and fall in love. (He smiles almost the entire time. Whats not to love!?)