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Song of the Day #859: ‘Crawl’ – Thisway

I had a very clear recollection of where I first heard and purchased the album featuring yesterday’s SOTD (Los Lobos’ Kiko) but today is a whole different story.

Thisway’s self-titled album is one of those that may well have been conceived on my CD shelf by two other CDs. I have no recollection of how I got it or why. It’s actually a damn good album, in that 90’s alterna-band way, but where did it come from?

Thisway is a New York band that put out this one album in 1999. Wikipedia includes the rather amusing tidbit that the band “was dropped from the Reprise label soon after the September 11th attacks” as if those two events were somehow connected. I wonder if one of the band members wrote that.

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Song of the Day #858: ‘When the Circus Comes to Town’ – Los Lobos

I just realized I’ve done five straight theme weeks, so I’m going to take a break from the structure and go random this week.

First up is a Los Lobos song from their great 1992 album Kiko. This is the only Los Lobos album I own and it’s so good I don’t know why I haven’t bothered seeking out any others.

My only other exposure to Los Lobos was through their performance of Ritchie Valens’ ‘La Bamba,’ which they performed for the soundtrack of the movie of the same name, and guest spots on albums by Paul Simon (Graceland) and Bob Dylan (Together Through Life).

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V.V. Brown – Travelling Like the Light

In July, I dedicated a couple of weeks to the hottest songs of the summer — songs I ordinarily wouldn’t hear because I never listen to the radio. Among those was V.V. Brown’s ‘Shark in the Water.’

It was my favorite of the 20 summer songs I featured, and intriguing enough that I went ahead and bought Brown’s album a few weeks later. And boy, am I glad I did.

Brown’s Travelling Like the Light is the most self-assured and dynamic debut album I’ve heard in years. She has a command of her material that allows her to jump between genres and styles without sacrificing cohesion. The result is a fun and dizzy blend of retro pop, rock and soul.

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Song of the Day #857: ‘Temptation’ – Elvis Costello

When he’s on top of his game, Elvis Costello has no equal as a lyricist. His ability to twist and turn the English language, to fracture and reassemble puns and cliches with devilish glee, borders on the surreal. Particularly on his early albums, Costello’s wordplay is almost frighteningly intricate.

To quote a song on a future Costello album, he calls to mind “a chainsaw running through a dictionary.”

For all of that lyrical ingenuity, or perhaps because of it, it’s often nearly impossible to tell what Costello’s songs are actually about. Often I’ll find myself thinking, “These lyrics are amazing… if only I knew what the hell they meant.”

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Song of the Day #856: ‘King Horse’ – Elvis Costello

During my Bob Dylan Weekends, I wrote often about my Dylan Six — the six of his albums that I put on a pedestal high above the rest.

In the case of Elvis Costello, I have a Costello Three. That’s not to dismiss the other 15+ albums he’s released — many of those are classics in their own right — but three of them are simply on another level.

The first of the three, as you’ve no doubt guessed, is Get Happy!!.

Recorded in late 1979 with The Attractions and released in early 1980, Get Happy!! was a departure from the punk pop sounds of his first three albums. This was an R&B/soul record, right down to the retro album cover.

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