2002’s Blacklisted was singer-songwriter Neko Case’s third solo album and the one that really struck a nerve with critics. This album introduced the dominant sound of her next several releases, including my favorite, 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.
Case is the whole package. She pens memorable melodies and evocative lyrics, creates soundscapes in a ghostly alternative bluegrass style that sounds like nobody else, and has one of the best voices in the game.
Here’s a track from Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album Come On Feel the Illinoise!, the second installment in his stated goal to record an album about each of the 50 states. The first was about Michigan.
He later admitted that he was joking about the project, but I continue to think it’s a wonderful idea.
Happy Anniversary to my sister, Amy, and her husband of 28 years (and more important, frequent commenter on this blog), Dana.
Best wishes to both of you for making it through another year, even as the global pandemic has robbed you of your weekly dinner-and-a-movie date nights.
And now, to celebrate the occasion, the Random iTunes Fairy will serve up a song that I hope will be either sweetly appropriate or hilariously inappropriate.
The 2000 album Maroon turned out to be peak Barenaked Ladies. At the time, the album felt like a more than worthy successor to the 1998 breakthrough album Stunt, and in my view, heralded many years of great material to come.
To be fair, the band’s next few albums contain their share of good songs. But signs of creative stagnation and tension within the band were already evident on 2003’s Everything to Everyone, the release immediately following this one.
Yesterday I mentioned that my Random Weekend selections often lead to the discovery of recent work by the represented artist. Bruce Hornsby is another example. The piano man released a new album just last year — an avant-garde fusion of jazz, classical and progressive rock titled Absolute Zero. Good for him.
I’m partial to Hornsby’s early work. You know, those 80s classics like ‘The Way It Is,’ ‘Every Little Kiss’ and ‘Mandolin Rain.’
Meet Me In Montauk 