Monthly Archives: March 2010

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Song of the Day #619: ‘The House That Built Me’ – Miranda Lambert

It’s wonderful to witness the emergence of your children’s sense of humor. One of the great things about parenthood is having these little people around to make you laugh — from the delighted giggles inspired by a newborn’s first smiles to the proud guffaw after she makes up her first knock-knock joke that’s actually objectively funny.

Both of my daughters are funny in ways both silly and smart. My youngest, Fiona, can own a room with her oddball antics but also seems to grasp more nuanced humor, or at least that’s how it seems to me (and I’m not biased, not at all…). And my oldest, Sophia, well, she has developed into quite the comedienne. She’s sarcastic as hell, sometimes to a fault. And she can make me laugh better than anyone.

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Song of the Day #618: ‘God Only Knows’ – The Beach Boys

Being an album guy, most of my favorite songs tend to be by my favorite artists. If I were to compile a working list of my 100 favorite songs, I’m guessing the vast majority of them would be by artists who are very well-represented in my CD collection. But there would be a small but potent group of songs that rise to the top all on their own.

The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ is such a song. I do love Pet Sounds but it’s the only Beach Boys album I own and the only one I really care to own. As much as I appreciate their talent and the unique sound Brian Wilson created, I don’t feel any real need to immerse myself in their discography. It’s one of those cases where I’m content to miss the boat.

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Song of the Day #617: ‘Wrapped Up in Books’ – Belle & Sebastian

I last featured Belle & Sebastian on this blog during a theme week more than a year ago. Actually, that marked the beginning of my regular theme weeks dedicated to single artists or groups. And at the time I restricted myself to five songs regardless of the group’s discography.

As a result, I had to skip over several of the band’s albums, including 2003’s Dear Catastrophe Waitress. I think Belle & Sebastian is ripe for another theme week sometime soon, one that gives each of their albums its proper due. But for now I’ll just highlight one song from this excellent album.

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Song of the Day #616: ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You’ – Bob Dylan

A few years before Nashville Skyline was released, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash struck up a friendship that blossomed into a collaboration. Cash wrote the liner notes to Nashville Skyline, which took the form of a crackerjack poem celebrating his friend’s unique career.

Sample verse: “This man can rhyme the tick of time / The edge of pain, the what of sane / And comprehend the good in men, the bad in men / Can feel the hate of fight, the love of right / And the creep of blight at the speed of light.”

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Song of the Day #615: ‘Lay Lady Lay’ – Bob Dylan

In 1969, following the stripped-down acoustic approach of John Wesley Harding, Bob Dylan threw his fans for another loop with the straight-up country album Nashville Skyline. But the musical genre was only half of the surprise… the real bombshell was Dylan’s velvety voice, a laid-back croon that was a far cry from his oft-imitated trademark whine.

I remember being told as a kid (thought I don’t remember by whom) that Dylan had gotten into a motorcycle accident and emerged with this new singing voice. That was close to the truth, chronologically, but it gave me the creepy impression that the accident itself had physically altered his vocal chords.

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