Category Archives: random weekends

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Song of the Day #5,272: ‘Miss Mary Mack’ – Liz Phair

When today’s random selection first popped up, it appeared to be a track from Liz Phair’s 2010 album Funstyle. I knew that album was a lot more experimental than her previous pop-centric releases, but this song sounded more like something from the indie pioneer’s 1993 studio debut Exile in Guyville.

Turns out this cut came from a bonus disc included with Funstyle that compiled tracks from a series of early demos Phair recorded under the name Girly Sound. Released before Guyville, these songs were captured on a four track tape deck in her bedroom.

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Song of the Day #5,266: ‘That’s Love’ – Brad Paisley

Since his 1999 debut, Brad Paisley has been reliably releasing albums every year or two. Today’s SOTD comes from his third studio album, 2003’s Mud on the Tires, one of my favorites.

I haven’t thought about Paisley in awhile, and it just occurred to me that it’s been five years since his last release. 2017’s Love and War was decent but unspectacular, and just the sort of record I’d like to see topped with a return-to-form collection of bangers.

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Song of the Day #5,265: ‘The Invisible Man’ – Elvis Costello

‘The Invisible Man’ is a track from Elvis Costello’s 1983 release Punch the Clock, his eighth studio album. Costello teamed up with pop producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley to deliver his most commercial album, hoping for chart success that had largely eluded him to that point.

It worked, to a degree. Punch the Clock was his best-selling album in several years and produced a modest international hit in ‘Everyday I Write the Book.’ That song became his first Top 40 single in the U.S., and one of only two in his entire career (bonus points to commenters who can name the second).

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Song of the Day #5,259: ‘Bright Tonight’ – Garbage

Today’s random selection is a bonus track from Garbage’s 2012 album Not Your Kind of People.

This and other bonus tracks were released as part of a “deluxe edition” of the album, a practice that became more and more common during the CD era. Deluxe editions seemed to fade a bit as CDs gave way to streaming, but I’ve seen more of them creep up lately.

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Song of the Day #5,258: ‘1492’ – Counting Crows

Today’s random selection has the distinction of being my least favorite Counting Crows song. The opening track of the band’s fifth album, 2008’s Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, ‘1492’ is a loud and graceless rock song that lacks the nuance and melodicism of the band’s usual output.

Following four stellar albums released between 1992 and 2002, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings was the Crows’ first miss. A concept album featuring one side of rockers and one side of acoustic ballads, the collection produced only a couple of memorable tracks.

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