I had a great time ticking off my 25 favorite songs over the past couple of weeks. And it was even better to see some regular readers chime in with lists of their own.
List-making is a perilous exercise that risks turning art into science, appreciation into competition. But done right, it’s an excuse to dive deeper into the things we love, to dissect the reasons, to learn more about the work and about ourselves. That’s what draws me to it.
Yesterday’s featured artist was a first-timer on the blog, but today’s is a grizzled veteran. This is the 24th Fountains of Wayne track given Song of the Day treatment, and the 10th to show up on Random Weekends.
‘The Senator’s Daughter’ is the closing track on 1999’s Utopia Parkway, an album I rank alongside Welcome Interstate Managers as the band’s best work. And as much as I love Interstate, with a gun to my head I’d probably go with this one.
When you’re on your 4,579th Song of the Day, it’s always a surprise to see an artist pop up who has not once earned a mention on the blog.
Such is the case for today’s featured artist, the British singer-songwriter David Gray. Gray earned international fame with the release of his 1998 album White Ladder, which featured the hit single ‘Babylon.’ Gray’s “folktronica” sound blended modern beats with acoustic folk songs and really hit a nerve in the late 90s.
Concluding the chronological presentation of my 25 favorite songs…
‘Easy From Now On‘ – Miranda Lambert (2007)
The last time I posted Miranda Lambert’s ‘Easy From Now On,’ during a series on my favorite female vocalists, frequent commenter Dana suggested that Lambert was “this year’s model” and that “with time and perspective” I might not list her in my top ten.
That was a little more than a decade ago.
Continuing the chronological presentation of my 25 favorite songs…
‘After All‘ – Dar Williams (2000)
Eleven years ago, when I first wrote about this song on the blog, I couldn’t find it on YouTube so I had to upload my own version. That clip has received more than 125k views since. Not exactly ‘Gangnam Style,’ but pretty impressive for a rather obscure artist like Dar Williams.
On that clip, and on the other videos that eventually made it to YouTube, you’ll find many comments by listeners that this song quite literally saved their lives. I can only imagine how heartening that must be for Williams.
Meet Me In Montauk 