Category Archives: random weekends

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Song of the Day #2,251: ‘Footdown’ – Michael Penn

mp4‘Footdown’ is the fifth track on Michael Penn’s fourth album, 2000’s MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident. And it marks the very moment when he went from one of my favorite artists to an afterthought.

That’s a lot to hang on one song, I know.

Penn’s first three albums were brilliant. 1989’s March was a glistening pop debut, featuring his only true hit (‘No Myth’) and nine other songs even better than that one. In ’92, he avoided the sophomore slump with Free-For-All, an even deeper and more rewarding record. And ’97’s Resigned continued the winning streak.

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Song of the Day #2,245: ‘Michelle’ – The Beatles

rubbersoulI’ve posted 40 Beatles songs to the blog during ‘Beatles Weekends‘ alone, plus a dozen or so others over the years, but I never got around to featuring ‘Michelle.’

The song has gotten a bad rap over the years for it’s weak French and too-simple melody. It’s an easy punching bag and a ready exhibit for those who claim Lennon was the most talented Beatle.

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Song of the Day #2,244: ‘Whirlpool’ – Seal

sealMy general ambivalence to R&B and soul music has kept me from really appreciating Seal, though I generally like what I hear.

I find ‘Kiss From a Rose’ and ‘Crazy,’ his best-known songs, excellent, but I’ve never been moved to listen to the rest of those albums, let alone seek out the other half-dozen records he’s released since.

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Song of the Day #2,238: ‘Walk On Rainbows’ – Shea Seger

shea_seger_mayChecking in on faded musical artists is like looking up former high school classmates on Facebook. It’s almost always a little bit sad.

Shea Seger released The May Street Project in 2000 to a fair bit of critical acclaim and promises of a fruitful career as a songwriter and performer.

Nobody heard from her again until 2010.

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Song of the Day #2,237: ‘Whomsoever Dwells (Dublin Session)’ – Sinéad O’Connor

sinead_oconnor_theologySinéad O’Connor got so weird and political that I stopped paying attention to her music after awhile. 2000’s excellent Faith and Courage is the last record of hers that I’ve paid any attention.

‘Whomsoever Dwells’ is the second track from her 2007 double album Theology to show up as a Random Weekend Song of the Day. And it’s as delicately lovely as the first, ‘Rivers of Babylon.’

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