The Random iTunes Fairy has a knack for sniffing out the hits. I’m always surprised that she seems to settle on the best-known tracks from an album when randomness would suggest the deeper cuts have a better chance of surfacing.
Regina Spektor’s 2006 album Begin to Hope produced one hit, its first song and lead-off single ‘Fidelity.’ In fact, this is the only Spektor song to ever chart in the U.S. And the Random iTunes Fairy targeted it like a guided missile.
‘Suedehead’ is the first single from Morrissey’s first solo album, 1988’s Viva Hate. The Smiths had released their final album and split up the year before.
The song, about a brief fling that leads to an unwelcome obsession, wound up charting higher than any song The Smiths ever released, and higher than any song Morrissey would ever release as a solo artist.
About a month and a half ago, frequent commenter Dana noted that The White Stripes seem to show up on Random Weekends in numbers higher than blind chance would suggest.
Indeed, at that point seven of their 40 songs in my music library had made the Random Weekend cut, three times as many as you’d expect. I’m not sure how today’s selection — their eighth Random Weekend appearance — affects the math, but they are definitely up there as one of the most represented acts.
Demolition, Ryan Adams’ collection of outtakes from earlier albums, is as solid as many artists’ top tier work. Today’s track is a particular standout, a song about a man tentatively moving on after a failed relationship (he personifies the women as cities in these lyrics).
This is the second Ryan Adams song to pop up on Random Weekends since he was exposed as an alleged predator and harasser who derailed the careers of many female artists. It’s hard not to at least mention that fact, even as I appreciate his work.
Ben Folds wrote a song called ‘Hiroshima’ for his 2008 album Way To Normal. The lyrics describe a time he was performing in Japan and fell off the stage, suffering a semi-serious head injury. He continued playing as blood poured down his face.
Apparently he later returned to Japan and performed that song in Japanese, which is the version presented here. It appeared on an alternate version of Way To Normal called Stems and Seeds, which included different mixes of the original album’s tracks plus other odds and ends.
Meet Me In Montauk 