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.
Best Songs of 2015 – #5
‘I’m Not the Man’ – Ben Folds
Ben Folds’ latest solo release, So There, is more of an EP than a proper album. Half of the record’s running time is dedicated to a three-movement concerto for orchestra and piano, not exactly my cup of tea.
The eight proper pop songs are also performed with a chamber orchestra and while the music is lovely, the lyrical content on a few of them leans toward the frat-boy sensibility Folds is sometimes guilty of indulging.
Swedish electropop star Robyn doesn’t seem to know how to capitalize on her success. In 2005 she released a self-titled album (her fourth) that broke internationally and landed her on the charts as well as countless critics-best lists.
Five years after that she released a pair of EPs (Body Talk 1 and 2) that were equally well-received. But in both instances, she faded away rather than taking advantage of the spotlight.
Today’s random selection comes from a 6-song CD sampler put out by Lost Highway records called T For Texas, T From Tennessee. All six artists (including Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson and Robert Earl Keen) are from Texas, so I’m not sure where the second half of the title comes from. This CD was packaged with one of Lyle Lovett’s recent albums — maybe Natural Forces.
