Monthly Archives: March 2010

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Song of the Day #608: ‘I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine’ – Bob Dylan

It’s easy to break Bob Dylan’s career into segments: we’ve already noted the shift from the political to the personal and the shift from acoustic to electric, both of which were examples of Dylan changing his musical direction. Now we come to a shift that was caused by an unplanned event changing him.

In July of 1966, just two months after the release of Blonde on Blonde, Dylan was in a serious motorcycle accident. Though the extent of his injuries remains unclear, the more lasting impact was emotional. Dylan ceased touring, withdrew from the limelight and concentrated on his life as a family man.

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Song of the Day #607: ‘How Come You Don’t Call Me?’ – Esmée Denters

Over the years I’ve linked to a number of amateur musicians who sing and play their hearts out on YouTube in the hopes that somebody out there will notice. I recently stumbled upon one who managed to turn a popular YouTube channel into a career.

Esmée Denters is a Dutch singer-songwriter who started posting songs (covers, mostly) on YouTube in the summer of 2006. She caught the attention of an artist manager who arranged an audience with Justin Timberlake. A smitten Timberlake signed her to his own label and had her open for a leg of his international tour.

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Song of the Day #606: ‘Rude Boy’ – Rihanna

Rihanna’s Rated R is a decidedly dark and downbeat affair, but one song bucks that trend. ‘Rude Boy,’ the latest single, is a raunchy dance-hall come-on that checks any trace of inner pain or turmoil at the door.

Rihanna has pushed her sexuality front and center in the promotion of Rated R, taking the album’s title to heart. It’s as if the 22-year-old wants to prove that the past year has forced her to grow up in all sorts of ways. Or else she just wants to use her ample, um, assets to sell more records. Either way, I’m not complaining, though I sometimes have the urge to cover her with my jacket and walk her home.

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Song of the Day #605: ‘Crash and Burn Girl’ – Robyn

Here’s an album I haven’t thought much about since I bought it a couple of years ago. But like many of my “forgotten” CDs, it’s a consistently rewarding listen.

Robyn is a Swedish performer who had some success internationally in the late 90s as a teenager. She fell off the map after that early success and eventually made her comeback in 2005 by forming her own label and releasing a self-titled album. The new material had an electro-pop and hip hop feel to it and was reportedly influenced by Madonna’s later work. It received a U.S. release in 2008, which is when it came to my attention.

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Song of the Day #604: ‘Red Red Red (Unreleased Version)’ – Fiona Apple

In early 2005, leaked versions of Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine began showing up on the Web. These songs were recorded in 2003 and produced by Jon Brion, who had produced Apple’s previous album. However, the new album had no release date and the rumor was that the studio had shelved the disc fearing the songs weren’t commercial enough.

That was a very frustrating and exciting time to be a Fiona Apple fan. There was much outrage over her supposed treatment by her label, complicated by the complete silence from the artist herself. And then the songs began to trickle out, so that every day for a few weeks a trip around the Web might result in a new uncovered gem. Eventually, by hitting the right sites, fans were able to piece together their own version of Extraordinary Machine, adhering to a song sequence that had also been leaked (by whom remains unclear to this day).

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