Monthly Archives: October 2011

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Song of the Day #1,207: ‘Rebels’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Jumping back into the Tom Petty theme weeks, we arrive at 1985’s Southern Accents. This is the second Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album I consider a classic (the first being Damn the Torpedoes).

It’s not as well-regarded by Petty or the band, who disagreed about the direction of the record. It was intended to be a concept album about the south but the inclusion of several songs (including the hit ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’) diluted the theme. Tempers rose during the recording and production process to the point that Petty shattered his hand punching a wall during the mixing of one track (today’s SOTD, in fact).

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Song of the Day #1,206: ‘Duncan’ – Paul Simon

Paul Simon’s self-titled album isn’t exactly packed with hits or songs well-known to the casual fan. Its one classic Simon track is ‘Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard‘ (though that song is so great that, really, what else do you need?).

The rest of the album contains songs that I know only casually — the jazzy ‘Hobo’s Blues,’ the soft-as-a-whisper ‘Everything Put Together Falls Apart’ and the bluesy ‘Congratulations,’ which hinted at Simon’s looming divorce from first wife Peggy.

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Song of the Day #1,205: ‘Mother and Chlid Reunion’ – Paul Simon

Two years after Simon & Garfunkel split up, Paul Simon dipped his toes back into record-making with the release of his second solo record (he had recorded the little-heard, acoustic Paul Simon Songbook during the first S&G hiatus).

This self-titled record signaled a departure from the folk rock Simon had recorded with Garfunkel. He introduced reggae and latin influences to some songs and a more contemporary sheen that places this album squarely on the other side of 1970.

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Song of the Day #1,204: ‘Smoke’ – Ben Folds Five

Once in awhile I’m pleasantly surprised by my wife falling in love with a song by one of my favorite artists. Normally our tastes overlap only sparingly and the music I listen to the most tends to fall outside of her circle of favorites.

Ben Folds is of course one of my very favorites and my wife is largely ambivalent toward him. However, she is a big fan of most of Ben Folds Five’s debut album (especially ‘Best Imitation of Myself‘ and ‘Video‘) and she recognized the brilliance of ‘Emaline‘ even before I did.

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Song of the Day #1,203: ‘Superball’ – Aimee Mann

My examination of songs that utilize metaphors has brought me to an Aimee Mann track that is apparently despised by a significant percentage of her fans. I didn’t realize that until reading about it for this blog entry. I’m often surprised to find out which songs are either loved or hated by an artist’s fan base.

‘Superball’ certainly isn’t among my favorite Mann songs, but neither is it something I’d ever think of skipping when listening to her albums. Tucked between two slower songs on her 1995 record I’m With Stupid, the song works as an oddball pick-me-up.

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