When I first started the Song of the Day thing almost two years ago, my wife asked me if I thought I could really write something relevant about a new song every day. Was there really that much to say?
At the time, two or three songs in, I wondered the same thing. And my initial answer was that once in awhile I wouldn’t bother writing my thoughts on the song… I’d just throw it up there and write something like “this one’s funky and you can dance to it.”
As befits an album called The Basement Tapes, pulled together as a collection of odds and ends recorded by friends who didn’t know if they’d ever see the light of day, the songs on this double album are all over the place.
About a quarter of the tracks are written and performed by The Band, and recorded apart from the Dylan tracks, but those songs maintain the same vibe as the rest. I’ve read some negative comments about The Band’s material on the bobdylan.com message boards but I’ve always been a fan of their work on this album. I see the mix of sounds and styles as appropriate for a collection like this.
I’m always amazed by the release schedule of Bob Dylan’s early career. As somebody who is used to waiting three or four years between my favorite artists’ albums, I can’t even fathom what it must have been like to have a new Dylan release available every six months or so.
And not just new releases, but new releases containing his best material. I already documented that 18-month span that saw the release of Bringing it all Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. And this weekend I’m writing about the second in another trilogy of spectacular albums, these released within a 12-month period.
Every once in awhile, my wife (an English teacher) will seek my help in compiling a lesson plan. It’s usually a fun exercise for a couple of reasons: one, I don’t have to actually teach the lesson or grade any of the resulting work; and two, her requests usually revolve around music.
Like most people, high school students really respond to music. It’s easier to get their attention out of the gate with a song than with a poem. Ideally, music can serve as the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.
Lauryn Hill’s ‘Every Ghetto Every City’ is a song I suggested to Alex once when she was looking for a good introduction to autobiographical poetry. As an example of lyrics dropping you into a specific time and place it’s hard to beat this song.
Today’s song comes courtesy of a request by my lovely wife. I don’t get a lot of requests here on Meet Me In Montauk but I take seriously the ones I do get. A blogger unresponsive to his audience is no kind of blogger at all.
For those of you who didn’t realize I take requests, now’s your chance. Post the song you’d like to hear in the comments section of this entry and I promise to feature it as a future Song of the Day. If you’re feeling adventurous, post more than one.
Meet Me In Montauk 