Not too long ago, a new Belle and Sebastian album would have been cause for a massive celebration in these parts. I’ve counted the Scottish indie band among my very favorites since I first heard their music in the late 90s.
I was thrilled by all of the band’s (non-soundtrack) studio releases through 2015, when Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance dropped and continued their run of smart, sensitive baroque pop.
Today’s Random Weekend selection is a live bonus track from whatever reissue of The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty I have in my iTunes library.
I tried to find the exact one on YouTube and encountered several official releases of live performances of ‘Candyman,’ plus dozens of unofficial clips. The sheer volume of live Grateful Dead content is overwhelming.
This track is from Brad Paisley’s fifth studio album (not including a Christmas release), appropriately titled 5th Gear. The 2007 release kept up Paisley’s pattern of good-humored romps blended with more thoughtful tracks.
For my money, this album represents a bit of a lull between Paisley’s three best records — Mud On the Tires and Time Well Wasted on the early end, and American Saturday Night as the follow-up.
Concluding my ranking of the songs from Miranda Lambert’s new album Palomino…
#3. ‘Scenes’
Opening track ‘Actin’ Up’ was released early, so Palomino‘s second song was my first new taste of the album, and I was instantly smitten. ‘Scenes’ sets up the record’s theme beautifully, painting a picture of a woman escaping her problems by hitting the road and “moving right along to the next scene.” Its sexy groove is one of the dominant sounds of Palomino.
Continuing my ranking of the songs from Miranda Lambert’s new album Palomino…
#6. ‘Pursuit of Happiness’
This charming bluegrass number finds Lambert embracing the restlessness of a life on the road. She has often been compared to Dolly Parton, and the sweet vocals and old-school twang of this track definitely call Dolly to mind.
Meet Me In Montauk 