Monthly Archives: November 2009

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Song of the Day #474: ‘Ken’ – The Negro Problem

stew_color_front_shotStew — the creative mind behind The Negro Problem, three solo albums and the Broadway musical Passing Strange (soon to be released in film version by Spike Lee) — is a fine example of somebody who practices songwriting as both an art and a craft.

I compare him to Ben Folds in that sense. These are people for whom lyrics and melodies are as natural a language as their mother tongue. They are capable of crafting a tune that plumbs the deepest emotions but also spinning off a catchy number on the fly about a roadie they saw trip backstage.

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Song of the Day #473: ‘Russian Roulette’ – Rihanna

rihannabarbOne of the first thoughts I had after hearing about Chris Brown beating up Rihanna (right after “let me get my hands on that motherfucker”) was that I couldn’t wait to hear what Rihanna would do with the whole situation on her next album. I’ve been dying for new music from her anyway, loving Good Girl Gone Bad as much as I do, but with meaty material like a public domestic violence incident to work with, she was bound to come up with something memorable.

I was right. The first single from Rihanna’s upcoming album, Rated R, has been released and it is powerful and disturbing and clearly inspired by those dark days earlier this year. Titled ‘Russian Roulette,’ the song uses that deadly game as a metaphor for an unhealthy (and, yes, violent) relationship.

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Song of the Day #472: ‘Paperback Writer’ – The Beatles

paperbackSo far I’ve written exclusively about songs that appear on The Beatles’ albums, and lord knows there are enough of those to keep these Beatles Weekends going for months. But I’m turning my attention today to one of the band’s non-album singles.

Back in the day, artists would release songs between albums, probably to keep themselves on the audience’s radar. Somewhere along the line that practice fell by the wayside and singles were treated as previews of upcoming albums. Some artists still keep up the practice — Belle and Sebastian released all of their singles with non-album cuts for years — and in the Internet age, more and more artists have taken to releasing one-off tracks on their Web sites.

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Song of the Day #471: ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ – The Beatles

paul-mccartney-2It occurred to me the other day that when Let it Be, The Beatles’ last official release, came out, John Lennon was 30 years old and Paul McCartney was 28. They had changed the face of music, written and recorded some of the highest-selling and most ground-breaking albums in history, sparked a cultural phenomenon that spanned continents… all in their 20s. Amazing.

The next thought I had is that it must be weird to live out the next two thirds of your life knowing you’ve basically already peaked. (Of course, sadly, John didn’t get that chance.) I mean, Paul knows that he can have Wings and a series of well-received solo albums and all that, but nothing he ever does in his life will approach what he did in his 20s.

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Song of the Day #470: ‘Buzzer’ – Dar Williams

promisedlandLast year, Dar Williams released her seventh full-length album, Promised Land, and this one I did buy when I found it on sale recently at a local record shop. I haven’t had a chance to give it more than a few listens just yet, so I can’t give a definitive verdict, but it’s good stuff.

On the whole, it’s poppier than her early material, using more drums than I’ve ever heard in a Dar Williams song. And that’s a good thing… my one complaint about Williams’ music is that sometimes it’s a bit too airy, too at risk of floating away on its own preciousness. These new songs feel a little more earthbound.

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