The family is back from our 10 days in California, and this week’s songs will stick to that theme (sort of).
I have to start with a song that’s been running through my mind for almost a week now, ever since we drove into L.A. for the second half (or third third, if you count the drive from San Francisco south) of our trip.
Blonde On Blonde is without question one of the towering achievements of Bob Dylan’s career, a two-disc masterpiece chock full of lyrically resonant and sonically fascinating songs.
The album might be best known for the monster ballads ‘Vision of Johanna,’ ‘Just Like a Woman’ and ‘Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands’ (which, at over 11 minutes, made up the entirety of Disc Two/Side B of the album’s vinyl release). But it contains just as many looser, faster-paced gems.
Sorry about the late post today. I mistakenly believed I had scheduled songs through the weekend.
But it appears I have caught up and, as Bill O’Reilly so memorably put it, WE’LL DO IT LIVE!
Today’s randomly selected track is a slow-burner from Fiona Apple’s third album, Extraordinary Machine. I’ve run out of ways to praise Apple’s musical, lyrical and vocal chops, so I’ll just let the song speak for itself.
More Fiona Apple content:
→ My Fiona Apple Deep Dive
→ A detailed appreciation of Fetch the Bolt Cutters
→ Line-by-line analysis of ‘I Know’
