I’ve always sort of looked down on artists who don’t write their own songs. One of the first things I do when I buy a new album is check the liner notes to see who’s credited. Often a performer will have a co-writing credit along with three or four others and I wonder what exactly his or her contribution was to the process.
Why should I believe the words being sung if they’re just that — words being sung — and not the heartfelt thoughts and feelings of the person singing them? Aren’t these performers just pretty vessels spouting the melodies and poetry of behind-the-scene Cyranos?
I don’t have a whole lot to say about this song other than I really dug it back in college. Also, I think the addition of a violin to any rock song is a wonderful thing.
Nellie McKay is an artist I feel I should like even more than I do. She is fiercely talented, super smart, quite witty and has a gift for melody. Her debut album, Get Away From Me, is chock full of inventive and addictive tunes that are right up my alley.
I have a Jude Cole CD in my collection — A View From 3rd Street — that I inherited from my wife. The faded booklet and dated cover art make it look like it’s a couple of decades old, and that’s exactly how I thought of it when we first merged CD collections all those years ago.
I started the Song of the Day series way back in July with 
