Today’s Random iTunes Selection comes courtesy of a Josh Rouse live CD distributed for free by Noise Trade.
Noise Trade is a site that connects musicians with fans through the free distribution of music. The idea is that the audience an artist can reach through the site’s large network is worth a lot in potential future sales.
Josh Rouse can win new fans through the release of a live sampling of his earlier work, and existing fans (like me) get to download a nice little treat.
Best Songs of 2015 – #1
‘Play For Today’ – Belle & Sebastian
I had more Top 40 hits in this year’s top twenty countdown than I ever have before, so I guess I’ve earned the right to go full indie geek and give my #1 spot to an epic Belle & Sebastian song about battling depression.
What did you expect, ‘Hotline Bling?’
Best Songs of 2015 – #2
‘Want to Want Me’ – Jason Derulo
I’ve been anti-Jason Derulo for so long that I couldn’t help but put him in my top two this year. That’s how friggin’ great I find ‘Want to Want Me.’ It turns haters into lovers. It should be utilized in the Middle East peace talks.
I can’t go so far as to say that ‘Want to Want Me’ has turned me into a Jason Derulo fan — I still find most of his music absurd — but I can no longer dismiss him out of hand.
Best Songs of 2015 – #3
‘The Blackest Day’ – Lana Del Rey
I knew a Lana Del Rey song would show up somewhere in my top five. The problem was deciding which one.
Del Rey’s fourth full-length record, Honeymoon, sits atop my list of last year’s best albums because it is so remarkably consistent from start to finish. Every track complements the others. It’s an album in the old-fashioned sense, not just a collection of songs.
Best Songs of 2015 – #4
‘Can’t Feel My Face’ – The Weeknd
I featured The Weeknd’s ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ back in August during one of my Billboard run-downs. At the time the debate was over its prospects as Song of the Summer.
Forget that, it’s closer to Song of the Year.
Meet Me In Montauk 