‘New Frontier’ is a standout track from Donald Fagen’s acclaimed 1982 album The Nightfly. This was the second single released from the album and it reached #70 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The previous single, ‘I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)’ made it to #26.
This swinging tune depicts a young man in the 60s holding a party in his parents’ bomb shelter. It uses JFK’s promise of a “new frontier” as a symbol for the romantic yearning of youth, toeing a line between satire and bittersweet sincerity.
Here’s a delightful track from Harry Nilsson, from his 1972 album Son of Schmilsson. This album was the follow-up to 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson, his most successful release.
While the former album contained a few hits (including ‘Coconut’ and ‘Without You’), this one was a bit more eccentric and produced just one single (‘Spaceman’).
Oddly, my #6 album of 2003 might be even higher on this list if it were a few songs shorter. Fountains of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers starts off with a bang but ends up fizzling out.
But, oh, what a beginning! The first six tracks (‘Mexican Wine,’ ‘Bright Future in Sales,’ ‘Stacy’s Mom,’ ‘Hackensack,’ ‘No Better Place’ and ‘Valley Winter Song’) make up one of the greatest runs I’ve ever heard. Smart, hooky power pop peppered with a couple of melancholy ballads, that stretch is a display of pure songwriting genius by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger.
Keep It Together is the fourth studio album by Boston-based alternative band Guster, and my #7 album of 2003.
After three records on which the band stuck to its signature sound of two acoustic guitars and a set of bongo drums, this album saw the trio introduce traditional drums and bass to the mix. While the move was met with skepticism by some fans, it resulted in their best album.
Lucinda Williams’ seventh studio album, World Without Tears, is my #8 album of 2003. This record was Williams’ follow-up to 2001’s plaintive Essence, and it finds her in a very different mood.
Much of World Without Tears is relentlessly bleak, touching on sexual abuse, drug addiction, domestic violence and historical atrocities. Fun!
Meet Me In Montauk 