by

Song of the Day #6: ‘Hold On, Hold On’ – Neko Case

I have many reasons to love Neko Case’s 2006 album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood: her amazing, husky vocals; her stellar songwriting; the production that hits a perfect balance between earnest country and gothic romance.

But Reason #1 is that it’s my 6-year-old daughter’s favorite CD. When we’re in my car, Sophia likes to rifle through my CD case and pick an album for us to listen to during the ride. Months ago she was immediately drawn to the Fox Confessor Brings the Flood disc because, well, it has a cartoon fox on it. Two songs in, she was hooked.

From then on, she didn’t need to look at the CD case. When we got in the car, she’d say “Can we listen to the fox CD?” And I’d happily oblige. We’re not talking about Barney here… this is as rich and gorgeous an album as I’ve heard in years, filled with beautiful sad songs about heartbreak and loneliness. I have to say, my kid has great taste in music.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #5: ‘This Will Be Our Year’ – The Zombies

My definition of hip, musically speaking, is a bit backward — literally. I find it far cooler to have a knowledge and appreciation of music from before your time than the stuff being released tomorrow. Like my super cool niece, who is 12 years old but worships The Beatles. That’s hip.

I’ve always considered myself rather hip in that sense. In my teens (this was the late 80s), I bought and devoured every Bob Dylan album, then tackled the whole Beatles catalog. I was into Led Zeppelin and The Who and (especially) Pink Floyd. I had a passing knowledge of The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys. I wasn’t Robert Christgau, but I was pretty hip.

Continue reading →

by

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Date: July 25
Location: Muvico Boynton Beach

I have no idea why any studio greenlit or released this movie, and I say that as a die-hard X-Files fan. We’re talking about a show that went off the air six years ago and probably should have gone off the air a couple years before that. Who on earth did they think was the audience for this movie? My wife and me and about 25 other people, based on box office returns.

But setting aside the mystery of its very existence, how is the movie itself?

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4: ‘Jealous’ – Sinead O’Connor

I was really into Sinead O’Connor when she first hit it big back in 1990. ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ was on constant MTV rotation — that mesmerizing video where O’Connor stared right at you with those big beautiful eyes and sang her heart out until she teared up — and this bald, lanky Irish woman had put out the best album of the year, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.

I remember my Dad dismising her as a flake and once when I was going on about what a talent she was, he said something like “Just wait, in ten years I bet nobody will even know who she is.” And I said, yeah… I’ll take that bet.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #3: ‘Memories Can’t Wait’ – Talking Heads

It’s said that the sense of smell is tied directly to the brain’s memory center, that an odor can place you right back in a certain time or place. In my experience, it’s the sense of hearing that works that way — specifically the sense of hearing songs.

Today’s song is the sixth track on Talking Heads’ Fear of Music, a bizarre transitional album that bridged their early art-pop records with the electrified African rhythms of their later work. I like this album but don’t love it… it’s trippy and weird and not very melodic, designed to put you on edge.

Continue reading →