Top Songs of 2012 – #15
Kicking off my countdown of the 15 songs I enjoyed most this year is a cut from Glad All Over, The Wallflowers first album in seven years.
Generally, I was disappointed in this album. It didn’t meet the high standards of the band’s previous work, nor of Jakob Dylan’s two solo albums. It’s a bit generic in a way the band has avoided on most of its work.
Here’s an odd little song from Randy Newman’s 1988 album Land of Dreams.
This album, the only studio record Newman released between 1983 and 1999, is a bit of a mixed bag. It starts off with his most autobiographical work — several songs that describe his childhood in New Orleans.
Better known are the late-album tracks ‘It’s Money that Matters’ and ‘I Want You to Hurt Like I Do,’ each with Newman’s typical satirical edge. Also featured is ‘Masterman and Baby J,’ Newman’s ill-advised parody (I think) of a rap song.
Today is my 40th birthday. It happens to fall on one of my Random Weekends, so I’m spared the pressure of having to select a song appropriate to the occasion.
On car trips with my family, I will often say something like “the next song that comes on the radio will describe the rest of our lives” or “the next song that plays sums up my relationship with your mother.” The many times the resulting song makes no sense whatsoever are completely erased by the few times it’s hilariously perfect or perfectly hilarious.
You have to assume that when the producers of Skyfall, the latest James Bond flick, started discussing the new opening song that Adele was the very first name on their wish list.
I can’t think of a better marriage of voice and material — Adele was born to sing a Bond song. And she delivered a beauty, more than worthy of the great film director Sam Mendes delivered.
My wife has a knack for discovering new songs through commercials.
A few years ago it was Nick Drake’s ‘Pink Moon,’ featured so memorably in that night drive Volkswagen ad. Then it was Phoenix’s ‘1901,’ in another car ad (Cadillac). And this year she came through with ‘Too Close,’ the Alex Clare track that accompanied a commercial for Internet Explorer.
