I’m temporarily suspending Random Weekends in order to explore a musical genre I recently discovered quite by accident.
While reading a Salon.com article about The Hunger Games or Mad Men or some other popular cultural touchstone the other day, I happened upon an article about — of all things — polka music.
The Random Weekend gods have served up a meaty selection on this particular Saturday. ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ is a fine song in its own right but also has a host of interesting associations to explore.
For example, it was the final single from the band’s final album, inviting interpretations that the heartbreak it explores is The Smiths’ own demise. Is the dream of love the doomed partnership between Morrissey and Johnny Marr? Probably not, but it makes for fun listening.
The 90s were not particularly memorable for Bob Dylan.
He followed 1989’s comeback success Oh Mercy with 1990’s disappointing Under the Red Sky and over the next seven years managed only to release two albums of classic folk covers.
Half of the albums on this list of twenty represent my first exposure to the artists who recorded them.
I don’t think that’s a coincidence. So often when I discover someone new, the album that served as my introduction remains my favorite. In part, that’s because the album grabbed me for a reason, but I think it’s also something akin to the blinding blush of first love.
Ron Sexsmith’s second studio album (and third album overall) was my first introduction to his work. I bought Other Songs after reading effusive praise by Elvis Costello and about 15 seconds into the first track I knew I’d found a new favorite.
Sexsmith would go on to record increasingly better produced records but the low-key, mostly acoustic Other Songs remains one of his very finest moments.
