Category Archives: random weekends

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Song of the Day #4,811: ‘Waiting for a Dream’ – Rufus Wainwright

Hearing today’s random selection drift out of my headphones immediately put me back in 2004, when Rufus Wainwright’s Want Two was released. I remember lying on the floor of the same room where I’m writing this post now, lyric sheet in hand, taking in the newest release by one of my favorite artists.

Want Two was Wainwright’s fourth album, and the second part of the Want suite. Want One had quickly become one of my favorite albums and cemented Wainwright’s position in my personal pantheon. This album delivered on the promise of its predecessor while exploring new musical territory.

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Song of the Day #4,810: ‘Midnight Rider’ – The Allman Brothers Band

Today’s song is a great example of one of my favorite kinds of Random Weekend selections — a classic tune with an interesting backstory.

The Allman Brothers Band’s ‘Midnight Rider’ is one of the band’s most popular and beloved tracks. It has been covered by a host of other artists, including Gregg Allman on a solo release. His version reached Billboard’s Top 20, the highest showing for the song.

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Song of the Day #4,804: ‘Blue Ridge Mountains’ – Fleet Foxes

This is the third Fleet Foxes song featured on the blog, all from their self-titled 2008 debut. The first song showed up during a theme week on critically acclaimed artists whose appeal I just don’t get.

The second song, like this one, was a Random Weekend selection. I allowed that it was better than I’d remembered and wondered if maybe I owed the band another chance.

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Song of the Day #4,803: ‘Adelaide’ – Ben Folds

Today’s random track appeared on Ben Folds’ 2004 EP Super D, one of a trio of EPs Folds released between his first two solo albums.

The song is a tribute to Adelaide, South Australia, where Folds lived from 1999 to 2006 after marrying native Aussie Frally Hynes. Hynes was Folds’ third wife and is the mother of his twin son and daughter. Since their split, he has married twice more.

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Song of the Day #4,797: ‘Fear City’ – Elliott Smith

‘Fear City’ is a track from the 2007 Elliott Smith compilation album New Moon, which included songs recorded during sessions for the mid-90s albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or.

This album and 2004’s From a Basement on a Hill were the two major posthumous releases after Smith’s 2003 death (which was initially reported as a suicide but later classified as a possible homicide — the investigation remains open).

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