Just about every one of my songs of the day so far have been about something other than the song. Sure, I like all of those songs, but I picked them as a way to talk about other issues.
This one, though, is all about the song.
If I were forced at gunpoint to rescue only ten songs from my collection and have the rest go up in flames, I would pull my hair out trying to decide on nine of them. But without a doubt one of the ten would be Fiona Apple’s ‘I Know.’
Got an email this morning with details on Ben Folds latest release.
Date: August 4, 2008
Location: Regal Sawgrass
Now this was a pleasant surprise!
Took the day off to spend some time with the kids before school starts back up and after some pool time and Ikea time (ok, that was more for Alex and me than for the kids) Sophia and I went to see Kit Kittredge.
I don’t know anything about these American Girl dolls or books. We saw a store once in Chicago and it sort of creeped me out to see all these girls dressed just like the dolls they were carrying. I figured it was some sort of Stepford situation.
But if they’re all like this movie, sign me up. It’s delightful, sweet, poignant and clever with a mystery plotline that kept me guessing throughout. It has a cornball appeal and girl-power message that totally won me over.
Randy Newman’s latest release, Harps & Angels, hits shelves today… his first proper album since 1999’s Bad Love. He’s done a lot of soundtrack work in the meantime, of course, including some wonderful stuff for Pixar.
It’s funny, I’ve seen a lot of negative reaction to Randy Newman on internet message boards by people who think of him as some hack who churns out Disney tunes for easy cash. Clearly these people have no idea what they’re talking about.
I’m a lyrics guy.
I’ve never been into instrumental music, apart from the occasional jazz or classical album that slips through the cracks. I hate jam bands. I like verses, choruses and bridges. I like words in my music.
So I never found room for foreign language artists in my collection. I’ve enjoyed a Puccini aria or two, sure, but no international pop or rock stars. I just didn’t see myself getting into songs performed in another language.
And then I found Shakira.
