The random music selector in my car has been on a Tom Petty kick lately. Lots of tracks from Wildflowers, Damn the Torpedoes, Hypnotic Eye, even Traveling Wilburys.
No matter what Petty song it serves up, I’m never tempted to hit the skip button. There’s just something about his music — or at least the music of his that I own — that makes it perfect for any situation.
Joe Jackson’s Big World is an album I want to know much better than I do.
Released in 1986, it’s an album of original material that was recorded and mixed live with no added overdubs or post-production. The audience was asked not to applaud during or immediately after the performances. Stew used a similar tactic on his great album, The Naked Dutch Painter and Other Songs.
It’s always exciting to hear about upcoming music from one of my favorite artists. The neat thing about my more obscure favorites — Tift Merritt, say, or today’s featured artist, Josh Rouse — is that those announcements usually sneak up on you.
Such was the case with Rouse’s new album, The Embers of Time, due out on April 7.
MTV stopped showing music videos years ago in favor of reality TV, but thanks to YouTube the art form is very much alive.
In fact, for marketing purposes, music videos are sometimes more important than the songs they feature.
Take Carly Rae Jepsen’s new single, ‘I Really Like You.’ The song is nowhere near as catchy as her smash ‘Call Me Maybe,’ and on its own could have fallen with a thud and relegated her to one-hit wonder status.
Hozier’s ‘Take Me to Church’ was a huge hit but the sort of song one could easily see as a one-hit wonder.
It’s weird and gothic in a way not many Top 10 songs are, and I can imagine Hozier slipping into obscurity (playing for a small but fervent fan base) before becoming a staple on the charts.
