‘Kimberly’ is a song from Patti Smith’s 1975 debut album, Horses. It is about a time Smith held her baby sister, Kimberly, in her arms during a lightning storm at her family’s New Jersey home.
The song has lots of great detail, unsurprising given Smith’s talents as both a poet and memoirist, and a melody that The Smiths later interpolated for their song ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.’
Here’s a track from Lily Allen’s sophomore album, 2009’s It’s Not Me, It’s You. ‘Him’ finds the Catholic-raised Allen wondering how much of an active role God plays in human life, if indeed a God exists.
In the late 00s, on this album and her debut, Alright, Still, Allen delivered cheeky modern pop with humor and style. She seemed to be kicking off a promising career.
OK, so I messed up.
I had an album slotted neatly into my #1 slot for 2004. In fact, it was a no-brainer. I was looking forward to writing about it.
Then I discovered that, contrary to the date stamp in my iTunes library, the album was actually released in February of 2005. So it will make a lovely entry after I’ve worked my way through the 5s, but it would be premature to include it now.
Continuing my look at 2004, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.
#2 – Tift Merritt – Tambourine
Gateway albums — your first exposure to an artist — usually take on special meaning. It’s hard to shake the warm feelings you have toward a record for introducing you to a new favorite.
Tambourine was my introduction to the brilliant and sadly unheralded singer-songwriter Tift Merritt. And while it isn’t my top-ranked album of hers, it is a fantastic recording that lands just shy of my top spot for 2004.
Continuing my look at 2004, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.
#3 – Rachael Yamagata – Happenstance
An idea I’ve had on the back burner for awhile is a theme week (or two) on my favorite debut albums. Lots of rich material to mine there.
An album that will no doubt make the cut is Happenstance, the first full-length effort by singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata. This is the only album I own by Yamagata, who has released four more since, and one that continues to impress me nearly 20 years later.
Meet Me In Montauk 