In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Bob Dylan was told about a critic who said that Justin Bieber couldn’t sing any of the songs on Tempest, Dylan’s new album. Dylan replied, “I couldn’t sing any of his songs either.”
That exchange captures what’s great about Dylan’s output over the past two decades.
The man’s voice is shot, no question. He has never had much range, but he sounds like Bono on his early albums when compared to his recent work.
It’s been a very good year for new music releases, particularly if you’re me.
New albums from Ben Folds Five, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright, Bob Dylan, The Shins, Tift Merritt, The Wallflowers, Garbage, Lyle Lovett and Bruce Springsteen, all in one year? Talk about a dream lineup.
I’ve hardly had any time to discover new artists because I’m so busy listening to new music by my favorites.
I discovered My Morning Jacket after the release of 2008’s Evil Urges, a masterful collection of southern-fried funk and psychedelia that simply blew me away.
A lot of fans were apparently turned off by Evil Urges, expecting something closer to what the band delivered on 2005’s Z, their critical and commercial breakthrough.
I bought Z, figuring if I loved their new “disappointing” release I’d certainly love what fans considered their best work.
Today’s randomly selected Song of the Day comes from what has to be the unlikeliest hit soundtrack album in history.
The Coen Brothers’ 2000 film O Brother Where Are Thou? was set in the Depression-era Deep South and billed as a loose adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. It was even nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, despite the fact that both brothers admit to never having read the Odyssey.
I unearthed many other bands and solo artists who would apparently fit right into my musical genome.
I’m not going to dedicate songs to all of them — at least not right away — but I’ll list six of them here: Gram Parsons, Antony and the Johnsons, Iron and Wine, Ray LaMontagne, The National and Hope Sandoval.
