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Song of the Day #5,800: ‘Jealousy’ – Natalie Merchant

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1995…

#8 – Tigerlily – Natalie Merchant

The Decades series offer up two distinct pleasures. One is discovering music that passed me by at the time, and the other is rediscovering music I haven’t listened to for years.

Natalie Merchant’s solo debut, Tigerlily, was a lovely, low-key collection from an artist who had released several strong albums with the alternative band 10,000 Maniacs. This record didn’t have the jangly college radio appeal of her work with the band, but it was resonant in a whole different way.

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Song of the Day #5,799: ‘Secret Heart’ – Ron Sexsmith

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1995…

#9 – Secret Heart – Ron Sexsmith

I didn’t discover Ron Sexsmith in 1995 — that happened six years later with the release of 2001’s Blue Boy. But my love of that album sent me back to his earlier catalog.

This self-titled record was not Sexsmith’s debut, but it was his first on a major label. According to the artist, this disc was relegated to the bargain bin before Elvis Costello started singing his praises.

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Song of the Day #5,798: ‘End It On This’ – No Doubt

It’s been nearly six months since I last did an installment of the Decades series. That one covered the year 1985, and offered up a host of excellent albums.

Starting today, I’ll jump ahead ten years to 1995 and see if the output was as strong. That’s the year I turned 23, and I was pretty good about seeking out new music. So even though I consider the 90s a rather weak music decade overall, I didn’t have much trouble coming up with a list of 1995 albums I enjoy.

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Song of the Day #5,797: ‘Hello’ – Lionel Richie

Throwing back to the week of May 19, 1984, we find Lionel Richie’s cheesy ballad ‘Hello,’ which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.

This was the second song from the hit album Can’t Slow Down to reach the top spot, following ‘All Night Long (All Night).’ The album’s three other singles all reached the top ten, on the way to making this one of the top-selling albums of the 80s.

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Song of the Day #5,796: ‘The Streak’ – Ray Stevens

After a Taylor Swift detour we’re back to Throwback Weekends, and this is a fun one. The week of May 18, 1974, saw country/pop artist Ray Stevens atop the Billboard Hot 100 with his novelty song ‘The Streak.’

Written in response to the rise in streaking at public events, the song finds Stevens portraying both a TV reporter and the main witness to streakers at a supermarket, a gas station, and a basketball game.

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