Tag: josh ritter

Wedding Music vol 08 : Reception

I have been married almost a full year now (almost) and yet I’m only half way through the reception portion of my wedding music.  In lieu of that, and an impending anniversary, I thought it would be best to dump a lot more on you in one batch instead of doling out four measly tracks at a time.

For those just joining these fair proceedings this is the list of songs that I played at my wedding.  If you’d like to see all the posts with all of the songs posted so far simply follow the link.  This continues the track list for songs played during cocktails and dinner.

mp3 : Jon McLaughlin – Indiana
mp3 : Sufjan Stevens – Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL
mp3 : Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – Learning To Fly
mp3 : The Strokes – I’ll Try Anything Once (You Only Live Once Demo)
mp3 : Dooley Wilson/Warner Brothers Orchestra – It Had To Be You/Shine
mp3 : Josh Garrels – Going Home
mp3 : Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A-Changin’
mp3 : Josh Ritter – The Curse
mp3 : The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby

Enjoy the music.  I still can’t believe my wife let me have carte blanche when it came to the dinner portion of music.

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Wedding Music vol 06 : Reception

With this installment of my reception background music we shall begin moving farther into the territory of “You really played that at your wedding?”  Granted, some of these songs aren’t typical wedding fodder, but they are all amazing songs.  They also all fit the mood of singer songwriter music that is both interesting and captivating while also being of a similar aural aesthetic.

Enjoy the music.  I know I did.  One of the greatest comments I received throughout my wedding and reception was a frequently repeated phrase, “This music is really good.”  It gave an already amazing day an even more special shine.

mp3 : Josh Ritter – The Temptation of Adam
mp3 : Simon and Garfunkel – Bleeker Street
mp3 : Sufjan Stevens – Chicago (Acoustic, Live at KCRW)
mp3 : The Weakerthans – Left and Leaving

If you’d like to see all of the music from our wedding follow this link.

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Josh Ritter album So Runs The World Away

Josh Ritter has a new album and I’m still confused as to what I really think of it.  I’ve put it on repeat in my car and I don’t really know what to say.  At times the album is absolute genius.  The opening three tracks are solid from the instrumental opener Curtains, through the pop folk buildup of Change of Time, and continues into what is arguably the best song on the album (maybe even the best song released this year), track three The Curse.  From this point on, unfortunately, the album takes random lefts and rights seemingly at will.  It’s as if after writing three wonderful Josh Ritter songs he couldn’t figure out what he wanted to sound like for the remainder of the album.

It’s hard to love this album as a whole because it feels like Josh Ritter couldn’t decide on who he wanted to imitate on many of his songs.  At times it feels like he’s borrowing from The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, the always present Bob Dylan, and on one track in particular (track seven, Lark) Josh literally sounds as if he’s Paul Simon.  And while, on one hand, it’s great to incorporate past genius into our present day creative process, on the other hand it’s just as important to find our own voice.  Ultimately this is what’s most confusing about this new album; Josh Ritter has done a great job of establishing himself as one of the preeminent singer/songwriters currently making music, and he did so by finding a modern folk sound that he owned, but on this album, at times, it feels as if he’s drifting away from himself.

mp3 : Josh Ritter – The Curse

If you get a chance to hear the entire album, So Runs The World Away (amazon) (itunes), listen specifically for the way that Josh continually drifts from one influence to another in a rather disconcerting way.  Probably the most offensive of the transitions comes when the brilliant track The Curse segues into quite possibly the worst track on the album Southern Pacifica.  Ultimately it’s a great album, possibly even a top ten album of the year, but it could have been brilliant if it was filled with Josh Ritter songs and not cluttered by his various ventures into aping other artists.

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