Monthly Archives: April 2011

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Song of the Day #1,006: ‘The Trick is to Keep Breathing’ – Garbage

Garbage’s second album, Version 2.0, just missed my recent series on flawless albums. The album sags just the tiniest bit toward the end, mostly because today’s SOTD is such a tough act to follow.

But before that come eight truly excellent tracks, varying stylistically and thematically, that taken as a song cycle match up with just about anything. The band would go on to release two more solid albums before taking a hiatus they’re still on, but nothing they’re produced compares to the opening barrage of this record.

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Song of the Day #1,005: ‘Flaws and All’ – Beyoncé

It’s been awhile since I’ve offered up a Beyoncé song. Two months, in fact, which is way too long.

‘Flaws and All’ is a track from her 2007 album B’day. Most of the songs I’ve heard from that album are beat-heavy dance tracks but this is a nice ballad tucked in between the thumpier stuff.

The idea of Beyoncé having flaws is kind of silly from my pathetic vantage point, but the truth is you know Jay-Z every once in awhile rolls his eyes and thinks “I am so tired of her shit.” She might be the most perfect human yet conceived, but she is still human.

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Song of the Day #1,004: ‘Stolen Car’ – Beth Orton

Back in the early days of the Internet, before Amazon.com was the dominant e-commerce engine, it was super easy to get deals online.

I used to buy CDs and DVDs at ridiculous prices, taking advantage of coupons, special promotions and introductory offers. I would boast about my successes, saying things like “I got the Rushmore Criterion Edition for twelve dollars, shipped.” It was always more impressive when the cut rate price included shipping.

Beth Orton’s second album, Central Reservation, represents one of the sweetest deals I ever got. I don’t even remember the site, but some company (probably long since out of business) offered a free CD of your choice just for registering.

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Song of the Day #1,003: ‘A Voice in the Dark’ – Elvis Costello

Today’s selection marks the end of the line for Elvis Costello’s studio album releases, but despite everybody’s assumptions yesterday, I’m not ready to shut down the Costello Weekends just yet.

Over the next couple of weeks I will feature some of the many B-sides and alternate tracks that Costello has released over the years. Each of the CD reissues of his albums contains a treasure trove of material — songs that wound up as other songs in vastly different forms, covers, discarded tracks that are better than the album’s they were cut from, all sort of marvelous odds and ends.

I’ll spend two weeks on those before retiring old Elvis and giving somebody else a shot.

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Song of the Day #1,002: ‘That’s Not the Part of Him You’re Leaving’ – Elvis Costello

A mere six months and 24 albums after I started the Elvis Costello weekends, I arrive at the man’s most recent album. 2010’s National Ransom picked up where Secret, Profane and Sugarcane left off, using the same musicians, similar styles and even nearly identical cover art.

But while the former album felt half-assed (by Elvis’ standards), National Ransom is a rich and resonant work — for my money, the most consistently great record he’s released since King of America.

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