Category Archives: song of the day

by

Song of the Day #2,826: ‘Easy Way Out’ – Plain White T’s

plain_white_tsPlain White T’s are best known (perhaps only known) for their hit single ‘Hey There Delilah.’ Looking back at Song of the Day #38, when I first posted that song, it’s amusing to see that I discovered it in an episode of iCarly about a year and a half after it was released. Guess I should have been doing the Billboard thing back then.

‘Hey There Delilah’ is such a simple, beautiful song and the other tracks I’ve heard from Plain White T’s just don’t compare. Today’s SOTD isn’t bad, but it’s not in the same league as ‘Delilah.’

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #2,825: ‘Ballad of a Well-KNown Gun’ – Elton John

tumbleweed_connection_elton_johnElton John’s third album, Tumbleweed Connection, received some of the best reviews he’d ever get. The album isn’t chock full of hits, though ‘Burn Down the Mission’ became a concert staple through the decades.

This is a concept album about the West, leaning on the country and blues genres and schewing simple verse-chorus-verse structure for a more experimental songwriting style.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #2,824: ‘Lola’ – The Kinks

kinks_lola_powermanAnother 1970 album that I own but haven’t paid much attention is The Kinks’ Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. I’m familiar with only two songs on this record: today’s SOTD, ‘Lola,’ and ‘This Time Tomorrow,’ which was featured in the Wes Anderson film The Darjeeling Limited.

Based on those songs, and the fact that I love The Kinks’ overall sound, I suspect I’d enjoy the rest of the record, too.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #2,823: ‘Tangerine’ – Led Zeppelin

led_zeppelin_iiiLed zeppelin’s third album, cleverly titled Led Zeppelin III, marked a shift in their style from harder-edged rock to a more acoustic sound. The first side, which kicks off with the hit ‘Immigrant Song,’ is a bit more electric, while the second side is extremely mellow.

The album was met with confusion and didn’t perform very well critically or commercially at first, but over time it has come to be regarded as one of the band’s better efforts.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #2,822: ‘Box of Rain’ – Grateful Dead

american_beautyWhen compiling my list of favorite 1970 albums, I was tempted to include Grateful Dead’s American Beauty. Every time I listen to this record I’m reminded just how great it is.

The problem is, I almost never listen to it. Maybe three times in the last decade. Granted, I don’t pull out Let It Be or Watertown on a weekly basis either, but I know both of those albums by heart because I did give them that level of attention at some point. American Beauty never earned its own obsessive phase.

Continue reading →