Monthly Archives: February 2010

by

Song of the Day #574: Ke$ha – ‘TiK ToK’

After missing so many pop star hitmakers over the years I feel like I’m finally in the right place at the right time to discover Ke$ha. Of course, I just found out that her hit song ‘TiK ToK’ actually came out in August of last year, so I guess I’m not as hip as I thought.

But her debut album, Animal, was released just a few weeks ago. I don’t own it, nor do I plan to, but I know who she is and that’s a start. I’m also immensely grateful to her for knocking Susan Boyle off the top of the charts after the Scot’s impressive run. I don’t know why I harbor such disdain for Susan Boyle, but I can’t deny that I do.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #573: ‘Can’t Get There From Here’ – R.E.M.

One of the unintended consequences of my theme weeks is that I’m quick to rule out artists I’ve already covered when pulling songs for the non-theme weeks. So a band like R.E.M., which I covered in a theme week over a year ago, hasn’t been featured on the blog since. And that just ain’t right.

So I’m going to make an effort to revisit some of my favorite bands a song at a time in the non-theme weeks from now on. I’ve now covered enough ground that repetition of artists is unavoidable. And I can think of few better bands than R.E.M. to revisit song-by-song. They have so damn many good ones.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #572: ‘Baseball and Beatles’ – Mark Elliott

Note: Today’s SOTD comes courtesy of guest blogger Amy, who recently took a family trip to Music City:

When we recently went to Nashville, we knew the one definite stop on our agenda was to visit the Bluebird Café. We didn’t know any of the artists playing the only night we would be able to attend, but that was okay. The point of our visit was to be in a place that housed some great singer/songwriters before they were “discovered” (such as Taylor Swift), as well as the working musician who plied his trade from town to town, in venues just like this one.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #571: ‘Glass, Concrete & Stone’ – David Byrne

Took a little break over the weekend (hope you’re enjoying the Dylan series) but I have one loose end to tie up on the David Byrne front.

Three years after Look Into the Eyeball, Byrne returned with one of his strongest albums, 2004’s Grown Backwards. The album is ambitious and yet mostly low-key, favoring acoustic guitars and soft rhythm sections to the wild experimentation of previous albums.

Not that he doesn’t experiment… Byrne tackles two straight up arias, one in French and one in Italian, the former a duet with Rufus Wainwright. Hearing Byrne’s quirky whine wrapping around those melodies is both shocking and moving.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #570: ‘The Times They Are A’Changin” – Bob Dylan

First, let me say Happy Valentine’s Day to those of you who celebrate the holiday (my wife and I don’t, because every day is Valentine’s Day in our house, baby!). And more important, happy birthday to my daughter Fiona, who turned four today.

I dedicated a song to her last year so I don’t feel guilty about sticking with the Dylan theme this go-around. And if there was a song about hilarious, adorable, sweet, maddening little girls on The Times They Are A’Changin’, you can bet I’d pick it.

But there isn’t. So I’m going instead with a song that reminds me of my own childhood. Or my own adolescence, anyway.

Continue reading →