Four artists in my 80s list also showed up on my 90s list — Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, U2 and R.E.M.
R.E.M. is the only one to place in the top five of both lists. It’s easy to forget, given their long slow fade, how dominant this band was for a very long time.
I think I just heard Dana’s head explode. Yes, more Smiths!
The Smiths released only four studio albums (among many compilations) and The Queen is Dead is by far the best of them. On this record, they tied everything together perfectly: the pathos, the humor, Johnny Marr’s shimmering guitar and Morrissey’s incomparable vocals.
The second Tom Petty album on this countdown, Full Moon Fever, is a collection of pop hits that’s as much fun as you can have wearing headphones. I can’t even think about this album without smiling.
Full Moon Fever is packed with wonderful surprises, from the “little freak with the lunch pail purse” who populates ‘Zombie Zoo‘ through the sweet lullaby of ‘Alright For Now‘ to Petty’s acknowledgement that he’s been to Micanopy and his middle name is Earl in ‘A Mind With a Heart of its Own.’
OK, Seal was one thing, but I find it hard to believe that this is my first time featuring Prince on the blog. But that does indeed seem to be the case.
I’m not a big Prince fan, to be sure, but I respect the man’s talent and have enjoyed his music enough to dedicate a Song of the Day to him. Just didn’t happen. Once again, my thanks go out to Mr. Random iTunes Man.
I’m not sure how big a milestone 1,400 songs of the day represents, but everybody loves a nice even number so… yay, me!
This weekend’s first randomly selected artist is Seal, who has never before graced the blog, or even been mentioned on it.
I own two Seal albums because my wife owned two Seal albums when we met. I have listened to them exactly zero times.
