Balarama Music

Carbon Leaf Countdown #21: Blue Ridge Laughing

{Feb 10}

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Coming in at #21 is one of Carbon Leaf’s finest folk compositions. From Ether-Electrified Porch Music, it’s “Blue Ridge Laughing.”

I bet you think I’m going to say I love the guitar in this song. Heck, I say it for every other song on the countdown. Well, it’s pretty great, but no, that is not what I love about this song. The story really gets me. I don’t want to sleep on the music though. It really does set the stage for such a poignant story & message, folky and all. The string arrangement has to be the best addition to the song. Wait, second best – don’t sleep on the bass breakdown of course. Of course, the guitar’s amazing as usual and the chorus really kicks it into high gear. Yes, the music is really great and does stand-out on Ether-Electrified Porch Music, but that story… More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #22: Tip Toe

{Jan 31}

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Perhaps the biggest surprise of the countdown clocks in at #22. It’s an Amazon exclusive to Nothing Rhymes With Woman: “Tip Toe!”

I’m actually really, really excited this song made the countdown. I thought it stood no chance because it is not that well-known of a Carbon Leaf song being an Amazon-exclusive bonus track of their 2009 album. Then votes started coming in and it got into the top 50. Then more votes came in and it kept climbing up. Before I knew it, it was the end of the countdown and somehow “Tip Toe” ended up at #22. 22! Well-known or not, I think it’s a really strong statement to just how good of a song this is. It’s not an overly complicated song either. More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #23: Block Of Wood

{Jan 31}

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A more laid-back folk sing-a-long clocks in at #23. From Love Loss Hope Repeat, it’s “Block Of Wood!”

As I said, the song is an extremely laid-back folk song that almost reminds me of a folk song your grandfather teaches you over a bonfire in the backyard. As Barry croons, the drums pat away, and the guitars strum, I can almost smell the embers burning in front of my nose. It sure helps matters with the lyrics telling the story of a family gone awry, but it’s the melody and the strong vocal work that make this a strong addition to the Love Loss Hope Repeat album. Seeing it live really accentuates that old-timey, folk feeling of the song. Huddled around their Grand Ole Opry mic, they gather around with the washboard in tow for the percussion and sing away like it’s 1940 and you’re waiting for the radio broadcast that night. Oh, the fire has to be there too. More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #24: Attica’s Flower Box Window

{Jan 31}

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At #24 is the crazy folk tune from Shadows In The Banquet Hall. It’s “Attica’s Flower Box Window.”

This song is just a hot mess. A hot mess of vocals, lyrics, folk melodies, soaring guitar lines, random percussive instruments, and contradictory bass lines. This really is one of those songs you need to put on some headphones for and just blast the volume all the way to 11. You’ll really hear all the subtle & random things going on during the song and it really accentuates the loveably weird inflections Barry puts on some of the lyrical lines. More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #25: Shine

{Jan 31}

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I couldn’t think of a more appropriate song to kick off the top half of this countdown. At #25, it’s “Shine!”

Now that’s a guitar hook. How can we talk about “Shine” and not mention that guitar hook…or that guitar statement rather? Of course, it wouldn’t be Carbon Leaf without a cool little folk rhtyhm to fill in the space between. I know I’m just repeating the same stuff over and over again by this point, but the guitar work in Carbon Leaf is absolutely ridiculous and this song is no excuse. I would like to say that that’s not my favorite part of the song though. The vocal work, especially the backing & call-and-response, is just an immense amount of fun.

Seriously, what happened to call-and-response singing? I know it’s Beatle-esque and sometimes outdated, but I’d be hard pressed to find many modern songs better at it than this. Of course, who wants wooing call-and-response lyrics? Shout it! Shout it like it means something! Like I said, the vocals in this song are ridiculous and the lyrics really help it get there. “I’d like to change the world/it’s easier than changing me.” That’s honesty right there and with the way it’s sung, makes it one of the more memorable Carbon Leaf lines around. I really don’t have much else to say. Listen to the first 30 seconds and you’ll see what we’re all talking about with the song.

Song: Shine
Album: Echo Echo
Year: 2001

Carbon Leaf Countdown #26: Under The Wire

{Jan 31}

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Love Loss Hope Repeat finally peaks its head into the countdown. At #26, it’s “Under The Wire!”

There are so many simple things about this song that make it great. First let’s talk about the obvious: the drums! All he is doing them is over and over again as the verse progresses, but Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ if it isn’t enough to make you stop and pay attention. Of course, the drum work through the chorus is fine too, but there are very few simple things that musicians can do that really capture your undivided attention as well as really make a song. As the guitar strums along and the steel guitar wails in the background, you just wait for that drum to kick in and give everything that much more weight, that much more importance. God, I could never be a drummer. Every song would be about doing as little as possible to see what I could get the audience to feel…and I’d fail….worse than Creed. More

Carbon Leaf Countdown #27: When I’m Alone

{Jan 31}

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I wish I could say this is the biggest surprise of the countdown, but we still have some surprises up our sleeves. At #27,

Surprise or not, the song does hold a spot in my heart and is a track I look forward to Indian Summer. As I infer it, the narrator sings about using music to cure his depression as love is lost yet again. Love lost or not, who hasn’t used music to cure whatever funky mood they’re in? Whether it’s blaring The Clash when you don’t feel like going to work or playing a family one’s favorite tunes after they pass, it really is going to cure your ailing condition. With every song I learn the words to, with every album I quickly digest, and with every new band I obsess over, I get closer to knowing that laughter isn’t the best medicine. Music is. Of course, you could blare some Lonely Island and get the best of both worlds, huh? More