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Song of the Day #1,409: ‘Going to California’ – Led Zeppelin

Best Albums of the 70s – #20
IV – Led Zeppelin (1971)

I’ve been on a roll with these decade lists, so I’m marching on (and back). Pull out your leisure suits and bell-bottoms, it’s time for the best albums of the 70s!

At first I wondered if I’d have enough material to compile a strong list of 20 — after all, I was born in 1972 and certainly wasn’t sampling the decade’s music in any meaningful way during my first eight years. Any familiarity I have with 70s music came after the fact — sometimes well after the fact.

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Song of the Day #1,408: ‘Frowne Song (Feeble Anthem)’ – Ben Folds

Before the release of his 2008 album, Way to Normal, Ben Folds decided to have some fun with his fans.

Because all albums inevitably leak onto the Internet weeks before their release, Folds figured he’d embrace that fact and leak it himself. Only he didn’t leak the actual album, but instead recorded joke version of six album tracks and put those out alongside a couple of “real” songs.

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Song of the Day #1,407: ‘She’s Mad’ – David Byrne

OK, it’s getting weird now. Here we have another instance of the Random iTunes Fairy honing in on the most popular track from the selected album.

To be fair, it’s not as if ‘She’s Mad’ was a runaway hit, but this track was the only single released from David Byrne’s 1992 album, Uh-Oh, and it had some success on the Modern Rock chart. So if a conspiracy theorist were to predict which track from Uh-Oh would be picked, this would be it.

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Song of the Day #1,406: ‘I Know What I Know’ – Paul Simon

Best Albums of the 80s – #1
Graceland – Paul Simon (1986)

All of the drama and anticipation of the last four weeks leads to this… the least surprising “Best 80s Album” pick of the batch. Sorry to be boring and predictable, but what choice did I have?

I considered ranking Graceland second just to up the excitement factor, but I couldn’t do it in good conscience. It’s too perfect, too ground-breaking, too emotionally and viscerally satisfying to deny. The only thing going against it is that it’s been the best! album! ever! for more than 25 years. At some point, shouldn’t Graceland fatigue set in?

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Song of the Day #1,405: ‘Shabby Doll’ – Elvis Costello

Best Albums of the 80s – #2
Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello (1982)

The third Elvis Costello album on this list is the one that blew my mind out in a car, to quote a song from a famous album engineered by Geoff Emerick, who handled production duties on this baroque masterpiece.

Yes, Imperial Bedroom is Elvis Costello’s Sgt. Pepper, bursting with creative energy and utilizing every trick in the studio playbook. It’s an acid trip and a carnival ride and a damn fine collection of songs to boot.

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