I’ve heard plenty of praise for The Black Keys but I haven’t really responded to their music. I appreciate the artistry on the two albums I’ve heard (Brothers and El Camino) but, to quote Woody Allen, nothing hit me on a gut level.
Today’s random SOTD, however, is a pleasant surprise. It’s the first Black Keys song to appeal to me both emotionally and musically.
The Random iTunes Fairy was definitely in an Elvis Costello mood today. The first spin of the dial turned up an alternate version of Imperial Bedroom‘s ‘Kid About It,’ which already had its moment in the Random Weekend spotlight in April of 2013.
My second try landed on ‘Tokyo Storm Warning,’ one of a few epic tracks on 1986’s Blood & Chocolate.
As I approach my year-end lists of the best songs, albums, movies and TV shows of 2015, it’s appropriate that today’s Random iTunes Selection comes from one of my favorite albums of 2014.
Jenny Lewis’ The Voyager was second only to Miranda Lambert’s Platinum on last year’s album list, and her song ‘Late Bloomer’ topped my list of the best songs of 2015.
I haven’t done an in-depth analysis of Random Weekend selections (though I’d love to) but I have a feeling that Beck is overrepresented.
Yes, he is relatively prolific. I own nine of his albums and 99 of his songs. But I feel like he shows up in the random mix more often than those numbers would suggest.
The Random iTunes Fairy must have seen my mention of Counting Crows’ 2002 album Hard Candy a couple of weeks ago and gotten in the mood to hear it again.
There isn’t a weak track on this album, easily the band’s best work. In fact, every track is so good I’m hard pressed to name a favorite. Maybe ‘Miami’ or ‘Up All Night.’ The title track or ‘American Girls.’ The plaintive ‘Carriage’ or drunkly melancholy closer ‘Holiday in Spain.’
Meet Me In Montauk 