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Song of the Day #3,792: ‘You’re My Home’ – Billy Joel

Billy Joel’s compilation of live performances, Songs in the Attic, is my third favorite album released in 1981. It might have cracked the top two but I subtracted a few points because it’s a greatest hits collection of sorts.

Joel was riding a commercial high after the releases of The Stranger, 52nd Street and Glass Houses, and saw an opportunity to introduce his new fans to the music he had recorded prior to breaking into the mainstream. Rather than release the original recordings, which were performed with session musicians, he preferred to put them in new context with the backing of his talented touring band.

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Song of the Day #3,791: ‘Who’s Crying Now’ – Journey

Before I begin, Happy 18th Birthday to my nephew Daniel! If you haven’t had a chance to listen to his recent EP, Daniel Gallup, you can do so through my blog right here.

My #4 album of 1981 is the only one on this list that I actually listened to in 1981. In fact, I’m pretty sure Journey’s Escape was the first album I ever owned. It was also the first (and last) album I ever experienced in the form of an arcade game.

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Song of the Day #3,790: ‘You Know What I Mean’ – Phil Collins

Welcome to the latest edition of my Decades series, wherein I feature celebrated albums from a single year across several decades. So far I’ve covered 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002, and (most recently) 1971. That brings me to the year I’ll focus on over the new few weeks: 1981.

The first year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The year of the first test tube baby. The year Raiders of the Lost Ark came out. The year I turned nine. Of the five albums I’ll count down first — my personal favorites from 1981 — I listened to only one at the time. The rest I’ve discovered since.

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Song of the Day #3,789: ‘Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey’ – The Beatles

Today’s Random Weekend track is proof that even The Beatles’ throwaway songs were pretty excellent.

‘Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey,’ a John Lennon track from Side Three of 1968’s “White Album,” is distinctive for boasting the band’s longest-ever song title and not much else. But it does rock, and the instrumentation is spot on (listen to Paul’s wicked bass line).

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Song of the Day #3,788: ‘Love’s Recovery’ – Indigo Girls

I give Indigo Girls a lot of crap for their college-lit pretentiousness and the fact that their songs all sound alike. I don’t even know if the latter criticism is true, because I own only two of their 14 albums, but it sure feels true.

I come today not to attack but to praise. Today’s random iTunes selection, ‘Love’s Recovery,’ is a stunningly beautiful song, and the best thing on the duo’s wonderful self-titled 1989 album.

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