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Song of the Day #4,847: ‘Right On Time (Live)’ – Brandi Carlile

Back in April, I did a quick deep dive into the six album releases by Brandi Carlile. At the time, her next album had been teased but not announced. Well, it arrived this month.

In These Silent Days is Carlile’s first album since the widely celebrated 2018 release By the Way, I Forgive You. That album won multiple Grammys and led to a star-making live performance on the award show’s main stage. Since then, Carlile has penned a best-selling memoir, befriended and performed a tribute to Joni Mitchell, and palled around with the Obamas.

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Song of the Day #4,846: ‘Yodel’ – Nellie McKay

‘Yodel’ is a sweet little track from Nellie McKay’s 2006 album Pretty Little Head. It is also, apparently, something of a collector’s item.

I found the track on YouTube, where the lone comment, by a fellow named Jaimes Palacio, reads:

“You are the hero of my day! Thank you for putting this out there because SONY, AMAZON and ITUNES are all f**king us and only releasing the 16 song truncated version. Unless, you want to send $150.00 (or more) on a 2 CD package on Amazon…”

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Song of the Day #4,845: ‘Too Low For Zero’ – Elton John

Here’s the title track from Elton John’s 1983 album Too Low For Zero, a comeback record for him following a string of poorly received releases that spanned nearly a decade.

This album also marked a reunion with lyricist Bernie Taupin, who had been sidelined for other collaborators during that dry spell. There’s no question that Taupin is a crucial ingredient in Elton John’s best work.

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Song of the Day #4,844: ‘Tom Petty T-Shirt’ – The Bacon Brothers

Rounding out my week on actors who moonlight as musicians is a band that has put more effort into this than all the rest combined. The Bacon Brothers, fronted by Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael, have been recording and touring since 1997 and have released 10 albums during that span.

Reading through the Bacon Brothers appearance schedule over the last 25 years, you have to wonder if Kevin doesn’t see this as his day job and consider his acting a little work he does on the side.

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Song of the Day #4,843: ‘Relator’ – Scarlett Johansson & Pete Yorn

Captain Marvel Brie Larson isn’t the only Avenger with an album to her credit. Scarlett Johansson, Black Widow herself, has nurtured a music career on the side for more than a dozen years now.

Johansson’s 2008 debut album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, was a decidedly indie affair, featuring 10 covers of Tom Waits songs plus one original track. The murky production and deadpan, smoky vocals turned off many critics, but the release garnered something of a cult following.

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