I’ve been thinking a lot about sampling lately. I’ve always been very much against the idea of sampling, as epitomized by what Puff Daddy did with ‘Every Breath You Take’ or even what Vanilla Ice did with ‘Under Pressure’ way back when. When the most memorable part of your song belongs to somebody else entirely, how is that ok? I don’t mean financially, because I know the writers of the source material are paid, but artistically.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Song of the Day #181: ‘M79’ – Vampire Weekend
Ten Best Songs of 2008 – #1
For awhile I had the Dylan song at #1. It seemed appropriate given his stature and the epic nature of the tune. But it also felt a little obvious, a little safe. So from a 46-year veteran I turned to a group of kids barely out of college who happened to put out the album that delighted me the most in 2008.
Song of the Day #180: ‘Red River Shore’ – Bob Dylan
Ten Best Songs of 2008 – #2
It might not be exactly fair to list a Bob Dylan song that was written at least a dozen years ago among my best 2008 songs, but last year was ‘Red River Shore’s first release on an album ( Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8) so I think it qualifies.
Dylan’s latest bootleg collection has enough wonderful “new” material to fill a proper album, and the fact that his discards are this good is a pretty telling fact about America’s greatest songwriter. Love him or hate him (and I know plenty of people on both sides), you can’t deny that he’s a unique and prolific talent.
Song of the Day #179: ‘It’s Over’ – Aimee Mann
Ten Best Songs of 2008 – #3
It occurs to me as I reach number three on this list that Alex’s comment about me being drawn to the melancholy is certainly borne out by this top ten list. Many of the songs I’ve already featured are downbeat and now we arrive at Aimee Mann, the queen of melancholy, with a song titled ‘It’s Over.’
Well, fine. I won’t hide from the facts. I like sad songs, for whatever reason, and here’s another one.
The decade (in movies) so far
I can’t believe we’re already half a month into 2009. I’m still trying to get used to describing this decade as the 00’s and here we are a year away from sewing it up and entering the 10’s.
We’re also a year away from the inevitable ‘Best of the ’00s’ lists, so I figured I’d go ahead and get a head start on mine. The past nine years have delivered some wonderful films and it’s going to be extremely tough narrowing them down to ten.
For starters, I’ve done the not-as-tough job of winnowing my favorite films since 2000 down to a list of 20. At the end of 2009 I’ll add any standouts from this year to the list and do the hard work of highlighting just ten.
Meet Me In Montauk 