Joshua Radin - 2006 We Were HereArtist: Joshua RadinTitle: We Were HereRelease date: June 13, 2006Format: Audio CDLabel: SonyGenre: Folk-Rock, DowntempoTotal Time: 38:53Bitrate: 192 KBsOn his major label debut, Radin evokes the sensitive folkies of the AMera-Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Cat Stevens-as much as thealternative radio variant offered up by Elliot Smith in the 1990s. We Were Here, which follows indie EP First Between 3rd and 4th, issubtle stuff distinguished by vocals that are as much whisper assoft-spoken lullaby. Heck, 'Everything'll Be Alright' is even subtitled'Will's Lullaby.' (The now LA-based Radin claims that his quietstyle stems from writing songs that would keep a rathervolume-sensitive New York neighbor at bay.) Overall, the cello-ladendisc feels more familiar than original, but makes for a soothinglisten, and de-synthesized Yaz cover 'Only You' (penned by futureErasure member Vince Clarke) is a charming addition.Tracklisting:Sundrenched WorldStar MileEverything'll Be Alright (Will's Lullaby)These PhotographsCloserTodayWinterSomeone Else's LifeAmy's SongWhat If YouOnly You.
About Joshua RadinJoshua Radin is like a lot of singer-songwriters in the age of post- Garden State pop music: an Elliott Smith/John Mayer hybrid, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in for good measure. Born and raised in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Radin attended Chicago's Northwestern University. There he majored in painting and drawing. He also befriended hip dude Zach Braff. After graduation Radin explored a series of dead-end jobs before trying his hand at songwriting and recording.
Braff took an instant liking to his pal's hushed brand of acoustic pop and featured a handful of his tunes, including the hit 'Winter,' on the actor's television series Scrubs. This, of course, led to the much-talked-about 'Zach Braff effect,' with more of Radin's work appearing on the shows Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and more. Columbia Records then came knocking and quickly dropped his debut album, We Were Here, in 2006.
Just two short years later, Radin found himself performing at Ellen DeGeneres' and Portia de Rossi's wedding. And a couple months after that, Radin dropped his sophomore effort, Simple Times.Justin Farrar. Joshua Radin is like a lot of singer-songwriters in the age of post- Garden State pop music: an Elliott Smith/John Mayer hybrid, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in for good measure. Born and raised in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Radin attended Chicago's Northwestern University. There he majored in painting and drawing. He also befriended hip dude Zach Braff.
After graduation Radin explored a series of dead-end jobs before trying his hand at songwriting and recording. Braff took an instant liking to his pal's hushed brand of acoustic pop and featured a handful of his tunes, including the hit 'Winter,' on the actor's television series Scrubs. This, of course, led to the much-talked-about 'Zach Braff effect,' with more of Radin's work appearing on the shows Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and more. Columbia Records then came knocking and quickly dropped his debut album, We Were Here, in 2006.
Just two short years later, Radin found himself performing at Ellen DeGeneres' and Portia de Rossi's wedding. And a couple months after that, Radin dropped his sophomore effort, Simple Times. Joshua Radin is like a lot of singer-songwriters in the age of post- Garden State pop music: an Elliott Smith/John Mayer hybrid, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in for good measure. Born and raised in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Radin attended Chicago's Northwestern University. There he majored in painting and drawing. He also befriended hip dude Zach Braff.
After graduation Radin explored a series of dead-end jobs before trying his hand at songwriting and recording. Braff took an instant liking to his pal's hushed brand of acoustic pop and featured a handful of his tunes, including the hit 'Winter,' on the actor's television series Scrubs. This, of course, led to the much-talked-about 'Zach Braff effect,' with more of Radin's work appearing on the shows Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and more. Columbia Records then came knocking and quickly dropped his debut album, We Were Here, in 2006. Just two short years later, Radin found himself performing at Ellen DeGeneres' and Portia de Rossi's wedding.
And a couple months after that, Radin dropped his sophomore effort, Simple Times. About Joshua RadinJoshua Radin is like a lot of singer-songwriters in the age of post- Garden State pop music: an Elliott Smith/John Mayer hybrid, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in for good measure. Born and raised in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Radin attended Chicago's Northwestern University. There he majored in painting and drawing. He also befriended hip dude Zach Braff.
After graduation Radin explored a series of dead-end jobs before trying his hand at songwriting and recording. Braff took an instant liking to his pal's hushed brand of acoustic pop and featured a handful of his tunes, including the hit 'Winter,' on the actor's television series Scrubs.
This, of course, led to the much-talked-about 'Zach Braff effect,' with more of Radin's work appearing on the shows Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and more. Columbia Records then came knocking and quickly dropped his debut album, We Were Here, in 2006. Just two short years later, Radin found himself performing at Ellen DeGeneres' and Portia de Rossi's wedding. And a couple months after that, Radin dropped his sophomore effort, Simple Times.Justin Farrar.
If you're partial to what some folks call 'whisper rock' — delicate and sometimes precious singer/songwriter based music characterized by acoustic guitars, string sections and of course wispy, hushed vocals like those of Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, Jack Johnson, Elliott Smith, etc. — then you're almost sure to fall for the songs of Joshua Radin if you haven't already. Radin's music was discovered by his friend actor/filmmaker Zach Braff who was so impressed with the aptly titled 'Winter' (it sounds wintry) that he featured it on the soundtrack to his hit television show Scrubs. A deal with Columbia Records immediately followed and Radin's recordings were subsequently groomed for other young adult based television shows like Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and Brothers And Sisters to name a few. Throughout We Were Here, Radin's slightly textured voice sounds like he was just awoken from a nap (especially on the opening song 'Sundrenched World') as his lyrics confess the complexities of living the life of a hopeless romantic. Fellow tunesmith Priscilla Ahn peppers Radin's debut with similarly fragile harmonies, helping to give the album the feel of an indie-targeted film soundtrack that sounds more Garden State than Juno. If you're partial to what some folks call 'whisper rock' — delicate and sometimes precious singer/songwriter based music characterized by acoustic guitars, string sections and of course wispy, hushed vocals like those of Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, Jack Johnson, Elliott Smith, etc.
— then you're almost sure to fall for the songs of Joshua Radin if you haven't already. Radin's music was discovered by his friend actor/filmmaker Zach Braff who was so impressed with the aptly titled 'Winter' (it sounds wintry) that he featured it on the soundtrack to his hit television show Scrubs.
A deal with Columbia Records immediately followed and Radin's recordings were subsequently groomed for other young adult based television shows like Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and Brothers And Sisters to name a few. Throughout We Were Here, Radin's slightly textured voice sounds like he was just awoken from a nap (especially on the opening song 'Sundrenched World') as his lyrics confess the complexities of living the life of a hopeless romantic. Fellow tunesmith Priscilla Ahn peppers Radin's debut with similarly fragile harmonies, helping to give the album the feel of an indie-targeted film soundtrack that sounds more Garden State than Juno.
Joshua Radin We Were Here
Oh quick, before it goes away, let's look at another example that shows the interconnectedness (dare we say incest?) of television and popular music:, who would have never even pursued a songwriting career if it hadn't been for his friendship with, star of Scrubs and introducer of to the masses. Put 's song 'Winter' on the show, a move that eventually led to a recording contract with Columbia and his debut, much to the excitement of thousands of female fans. Plays the role of the quiet, romantic, sensitive guy, obsessed with his own heart and that which surrounds it, and does it all pretty convincingly. His songs are intimate, vaguely postmodern (his frequent references to the entity of a song within the song itself) affairs about love, addressing an unnamed woman and contemplating the state of their relationship over quietly picked acoustic guitars and the occasional bowed accent. His voice is soft and airy, timid and gentle to the point of fragility (it is extremely hard to believe when he sings 'I scream that I wanna be anyone but me' in 'Amy's Song' that he's not being hyperbolic), and layered as if he were a kind of sickly, half-rate.
Joshua Radin Albums
The late singer is definitely a huge influence for (he's even thanked in the liner notes), but while was able convey emotion not just through his words but through his voice, is so expressionless (besides the occasional breathy sigh), or at least monotonous in his expression, that even the happier pieces still sound as if they're being sung upon his deathbed. And while he does have some good lines ('There's a hole in my pocket that's about her size,' 'I keep your picture in my worn-through shoes'), many of his rhymes seem a little forced, almost corny ('Photographs and brightly colored paper/Are your masks you wear in this caper,' he whispers in 'Closer'), which greatly takes away from the profundity he's apparently trying to reach. Add this to the fact that the songs all have a very similar, redundant quality to them and suddenly doesn't distinguish itself much from any other semi-talented male singer/songwriter.
Except this one is a friend of 's, which has clearly made all the difference.
Joshua Radin Simple Times
If you're partial to what some folks call 'whisper rock' — delicate and sometimes precious singer/songwriter based music characterized by acoustic guitars, string sections and of course wispy, hushed vocals like those of Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, Jack Johnson, Elliott Smith, etc. — then you're almost sure to fall for the songs of Joshua Radin if you haven't already. Radin's music was discovered by his friend actor/filmmaker Zach Braff who was so impressed with the aptly titled 'Winter' (it sounds wintry) that he featured it on the soundtrack to his hit television show Scrubs. A deal with Columbia Records immediately followed and Radin's recordings were subsequently groomed for other young adult based television shows like Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and Brothers And Sisters to name a few. Throughout We Were Here, Radin's slightly textured voice sounds like he was just awoken from a nap (especially on the opening song 'Sundrenched World') as his lyrics confess the complexities of living the life of a hopeless romantic. Fellow tunesmith Priscilla Ahn peppers Radin's debut with similarly fragile harmonies, helping to give the album the feel of an indie-targeted film soundtrack that sounds more Garden State than Juno.
If you're partial to what some folks call 'whisper rock' — delicate and sometimes precious singer/songwriter based music characterized by acoustic guitars, string sections and of course wispy, hushed vocals like those of Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, Jack Johnson, Elliott Smith, etc. — then you're almost sure to fall for the songs of Joshua Radin if you haven't already. Radin's music was discovered by his friend actor/filmmaker Zach Braff who was so impressed with the aptly titled 'Winter' (it sounds wintry) that he featured it on the soundtrack to his hit television show Scrubs.
A deal with Columbia Records immediately followed and Radin's recordings were subsequently groomed for other young adult based television shows like Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and Brothers And Sisters to name a few. Throughout We Were Here, Radin's slightly textured voice sounds like he was just awoken from a nap (especially on the opening song 'Sundrenched World') as his lyrics confess the complexities of living the life of a hopeless romantic.
Fellow tunesmith Priscilla Ahn peppers Radin's debut with similarly fragile harmonies, helping to give the album the feel of an indie-targeted film soundtrack that sounds more Garden State than Juno.
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