Today’s SOTD is my fourth Random Weekend selection from Carrie Underwood’s 2005 debut, Some Hearts, and the second in the last three months. If it weren’t for Random Weekends, I would never hear a note from this album.
‘I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore’ is the record’s final track and the only one co-written by Underwood. It contrasts her new life of fame and fortune with her modest upbringings in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma.
It’s funny how fast new music comes and goes. I remember buying and enjoying Paul McCartney’s 2013 album, New, his first collection of original material in six years. I played it a lot that year. I don’t think I’ve played it once since.
At the time, the album was hailed as McCartney’s best in years. I haven’t listened to much of his solo work, so you won’t get an argument from me. But even McCartney’s best album in years isn’t quite good enough to break into my regular rotation.
Today’s featured song is the third Random Weekend selection from Pavement’s 1992 album Slanted and Enchanted.
Because I own the 2002 Luxe & Reduxe version of the record, all of the selections so far have been from the bonus material and not the album proper. They’ve also all been pretty bad.
Today’s random SOTD is the opening track on Josh Rouse’s 2007 album Country Mouse City House. It was co-written with his wife, Paz Suay (whom my wife considers a dear friend after they chatted for five minutes at a Josh Rouse concert in Asheville, North Carolina).
‘Sweetie’ beautifully captures the feeling of a young romance, ripe with possibilities. Two lovers “laughing in circles” and dreaming about sleeping on rooftops and riding bicycles — it sounds like the perfect European vacation, which makes sense given that the album was written in Spain.
‘The Angel’ is a quiet piano ballad that kicks off side two of Bruce Springsteen’s debut album, 1973’s Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Half of the album’s tracks featured a full band while half were performed solo, this one being an obvious example of the latter.
Springsteen was very proud of the song and (for some reason) vowed never to play it live, though he caved and played it in a London show in the mid-90s, then again as part of a live performance of the full Greetings album in 2009.
Meet Me In Montauk 