Throwing back to the week of August 29, 1976, we find the Bee Gees’ ‘You Should Be Dancing‘ claiming the #1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 in its sole week atop the chart.
At #2 was soul singer Lou Rawls with ‘You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,’ his top-charting single on the Hot 100. The track reached #1 on the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts but peaked at #2 on this one.
Concluding my look at the albums of 2006…
I usually come away from these Decades series with at least one artist I plan to revisit, and for 2006 it’s The Decemberists, whose fourth album — The Crane Wife — dropped that year.
I remember hearing about this album at the time, but for whatever reason I never bought it (back when we had to buy music). So this is my first real exposure to the Portland-based indie band.
Continuing my look at the albums of 2006…
Memory is a funny thing.
When I saw that the Brooklyn-based Hold Steady released a well-received album in 2006 — their third record, Boys and Girls in America — I thought it would be a great opportunity to listen to a band I’ve heard a lot about.
So listen I did, and I really enjoyed the clever, narrative songwriting, lead singer Craig Finn’s brusquely emotive vocals, and the band’s muscular performances. It’s a gritty, cinematic treat. Bruce Springsteen on a bender.
Continuing my look at the albums of 2006…
It turns out the perfect antidote to yesterday’s Joanna Newsom experience was Corinne Bailey Rae’s self-titled debut. This collection of soulful pop is the opposite of critic bait — it’s music to water your plants to on a lazy Sunday morning.
English singer-songwriter Bailey Rae started as an indie rock performer before shifting to R&B and neo-soul. This album, buoyed by lead single ‘Like a Star,’ debuted at #1 in the UK, making her just the fourth British woman to achieve that feat with a first album.
Continuing my look at the albums of 2006…
Sometimes I have to throw up my arms and admit that I just don’t get something. Sometimes the critics call an album the best of the year and one of the best of all-time and I can barely make it through even once.
That’s the case with Joanna Newsom’s Ys, the sophomore release by the chamber folk artist. Reading the effusive praise for this album, I can’t help but wonder if it’s all an elaborate prank.
Meet Me In Montauk 