I discovered My Morning Jacket after the release of 2008’s Evil Urges, a masterful collection of southern-fried funk and psychedelia that simply blew me away.
A lot of fans were apparently turned off by Evil Urges, expecting something closer to what the band delivered on 2005’s Z, their critical and commercial breakthrough.
I bought Z, figuring if I loved their new “disappointing” release I’d certainly love what fans considered their best work.
Today’s randomly selected Song of the Day comes from what has to be the unlikeliest hit soundtrack album in history.
The Coen Brothers’ 2000 film O Brother Where Are Thou? was set in the Depression-era Deep South and billed as a loose adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. It was even nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, despite the fact that both brothers admit to never having read the Odyssey.
I unearthed many other bands and solo artists who would apparently fit right into my musical genome.
I’m not going to dedicate songs to all of them — at least not right away — but I’ll list six of them here: Gram Parsons, Antony and the Johnsons, Iron and Wine, Ray LaMontagne, The National and Hope Sandoval.
I have to make an embarrassing confession. For years I’ve confused Todd Rundgren with Ted Nugent.
When I’ve read favorite artists of mine such as Ben Folds name Rundgren as an influence, I’ve thought “Jesus… the gun nut who basically threatened to kill Barack Obama a few months ago? He must have really gone downhill.”
But no, Rundgren isn’t a psycho fascist. He’s a singer-songwriter-producer who released his most popular material in the early 70s but has had a prolific career that’s still humming along.
If I get nothing out of this musical genome project but an introduction to Grant-Lee Phillips’ 2001 album Mobilize, I’ll consider it a roaring success.
While the name Grant-Lee Phillips is somewhat familiar, I couldn’t have told you a thing about him. And I had certainly never heard a note of his music, or else I’d already be a fan.
Meet Me In Montauk 