Monthly Archives: October 2008

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Song of the Day #98: ‘New Lace Sleeves’ – Elvis Costello

It’s pretty amazing that, if you set aside the theme-week duet with Lucinda Williams, I’ve written about 96 songs without featuring a solo Elvis Costello tune. Elvis is the king of my music collection. I have pretty much everything he’s ever recorded, from the early post-punk Attractions albums through his experimental Beatles-esque stuff, on to the chamber music and Burt Bacharach detours and back to his recent return to his rock-and-roll roots.

He’s the most prolific and fascinating songwriter I know and an artist whose love of music — all kinds of music — is infectious. In many ways, loving Costello means not just being a fan but a student. A student of language and a student of sound.

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Song of the Day #97: ‘Pullin’ Back the Reins’ – k.d. lang

One of these days I’ll get around to compiling a list of my favorite albums, and I’ll make it a long list… 50 or so. Maybe a hundred. Because here I am 97 songs into this Song of the Day series and I keep stumbling upon not just songs but albums that absolutely floor me.

Yesterday it was Sarah McLachlan’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Recent weeks have highlighted songs from such great albums as Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, Aretha Franklin’s I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lucinda Williams’ self-titled debut and Beck’s Sea Change. All completely different, all completely great.

Today I turn the spotlight on k.d. lang’s masterpiece, Absolute Torch and Twang.

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Song of the Day #96: ‘Possession’ – Sarah McLachlan

I like a lot of female artists, but one sub-group I’ve never been a huge fan of is the Lilith Fair crowd. I know this isn’t an entirely fair characterization of Lilith Fair, because acts of all sorts have played there, but you know what I mean… those crunchy-granola types like Paula Cole, Jewel, Shawn Colvin, etc.

Now Sarah McLachlan is probably the godmother of Lilith Fair but she’s on my good side because she released one of the finest albums in my collection, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, back in 1993.

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Song of the Day #95: ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ – Frank Sinatra

I grew up on a steady diet of Frank Sinatra, courtesy of my parents, two of his biggest fans.

His voice, and so many of his songs, instantly teleport me back in time 25 years. Some songs — specifically anything on his Sinatra Sings For Only the Lonely album — trigger my memory so powerfully that I can literally smell my mother’s cooking and feel the coziness of our North Miami home when I hear them.

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