I keep waiting for these Random Weekends to turn up something truly horrible or embarrassing, a song so pathetic that is forces my loyal readers to second-guess my value not just as a music lover but as a human being.
Hasn’t happened yet, which I guess speaks well of my music collection. But I’m only a month or so into this, so I know that moment is lurking out there.
I’ve always looked at music appreciation as something akin to a scholarly pursuit. I feel it is my duty as a music lover to seek out the cultural touchstones that have shaped popular music over the decades.
I might not like everything I encounter, but at least I’ll earn that opinion. That’s the reason I own several Joni Mitchell albums despite my distinct aversion to listening to any of them — I had to know what I was going to be missing.
My latest Random Weekend song comes courtesy of John Wesley Harding. ‘The Devil in Me’ is a nifty little power pop take on the themes The Rolling Stones mined so memorably in ‘Sympathy For the Devil.’
I last featured a John Wesley Harding song a little over a year ago and at the time I predicted I’d revisit him five years later. So thanks to iTunes’ random algorithm, I’m four years ahead of schedule.
Today’s Random Weekend selection is making up for a past sin.
When I spent a three weeks last year walking through Bruce Springsteen’s discography an album at a time, I skipped one in order to fit the series into the allotted time frame. That album was We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, Springsteen’s 2006 collection of classic folk songs.
Today, that record gets its due.
My first random selection this weekend is the title track from Fiona Apple’s third (and most recent) album, Extraordinary Machine.
It’s been seven years since this album was released and Apple’s fans are still waiting on new material. This woman certainly can’t be accused of flooding the marketplace. According to a recent tweet by Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid, a new Fiona Apple album is due sometime this year. But I’ll believe that when I see it.
Meet Me In Montauk 