Category Archives: song of the day

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Song of the Day #2,731: ‘Kill Em With Kindness’ – Selena Gomez

selena-gomez-revival-preview-250x250Best Songs of 2015 – #11
‘Kill Em With Kindness’ – Selena Gomez

2015 was another strong year for women. Six of my top ten albums are by female artists, including records in the pop and punk genres that I normally avoid.

One of those solid albums is Revival, Selena Gomez’s “comeback” record (to the extent that a 23-year-old can be in need of a comeback). This is her second solo album (she released three others leading a band called The Scene, though those records rested on her shoulders as well).

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Song of the Day #2,730: ‘Blank Space’ – Ryan Adams

ryan_adams_1989Best Songs of 2015 – #12
‘Blank Space’ – Ryan Adams

When I reviewed Ryan Adams’ song-for-song recreation of Taylor Swift’s smash hit 1989, I predicted that ‘Blank Space’ would end up on my best-of song list two years in a row by two different artists. Good call.

Adams turns the track into a gentle, breathy ballad, sad where Swift’s (also excellent) version is slightly taunting.

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Song of the Day #2,729: ‘Time’ – Josh Rouse

josh_rouse_embers_timeBest Songs of 2015 – #13
‘Time’ – Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse has built a nice career through unorthodox means. Not many singer-songwriters head to Spain after their most successful album to learn a new language and start recording in it.

I don’t suspect that fame is a primary concern for Rouse. He just wants to make his music and earn enough from it to live and eat. He records for his own label and sells his albums primarily through his own and affiliated websites.

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Song of the Day #2,728: ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ – Coldplay

coldplay_head_full_dreamsBest Songs of 2015 – #14
‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ – Coldplay

I recently wrote about my off-and-on relationship with Coldplay, stating that none of their albums has fully grabbed me since 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head.

Their 2015 release, A Head Full of Dreams, didn’t exactly buck that trend, but it is a solid listen. It’s the band’s “fun” record, following 2014’s break-up album Ghost Stories. It’s a sunny and buoyant collection — a cool glass of lemonade on a warm summer day.

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Song of the Day #2,727: ‘Parachute’ – Chris Stapleton

chris_stapleton_travellerBest Songs of 2015 – #15
‘Traveller’ – Chris Stapleton

Like the rest of the world, I was introduced to Chris Stapleton through his performance alongside Justin Timberlake on the Country Music Awards.

Stapleton has such a rich, powerful voice that it’s a mystery why he has toiled away as a writer of hits for other artists without earning much attention as a performer himself. But that all changed in November.

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