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Song of the Day #4,498: ‘The Best Thing That I Had Goin” – Brad Paisley

My #4 album of 2003 is Brad Paisley’s third studio album, Mud on the Tires. This was one of the first Paisley records I bought after discovering him through 2009’s American Saturday Night, and it remains my second favorite of his (again, after American Saturday Night).

This was the album where Paisley fully embraced his unique oddball persona. He serves up a few earnest love songs, a few traditional country ballads, a few joke songs, and a few complex instrumental tracks, and somehow makes it all fit together in one package so it makes sense.

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Song of the Day #4,497: ‘Clarity’ – John Mayer

This is the 20th John Mayer song I’ve featured on the blog, yet the first from his 2003 album Heavier Things (my #5 album from that year).

I’m actually surprised by both of those stats. Mayer has occupied a huge place in my personal listening time, in no small part because he is one of the very few artists beloved by multiple members of my family, and yet he has made up less than one half of one percent of my posts here. And among those 20 songs, I’m shocked that I didn’t find room for anything from the excellent Heavier Things.

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Song of the Day #4,496: ‘New Frontier’ – Donald Fagen

‘New Frontier’ is a standout track from Donald Fagen’s acclaimed 1982 album The Nightfly. This was the second single released from the album and it reached #70 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The previous single, ‘I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)’ made it to #26.

This swinging tune depicts a young man in the 60s holding a party in his parents’ bomb shelter. It uses JFK’s promise of a “new frontier” as a symbol for the romantic yearning of youth, toeing a line between satire and bittersweet sincerity.

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Song of the Day #4,495: ‘The Lottery Song’ – Harry Nilsson

Here’s a delightful track from Harry Nilsson, from his 1972 album Son of Schmilsson. This album was the follow-up to 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson, his most successful release.

While the former album contained a few hits (including ‘Coconut’ and ‘Without You’), this one was a bit more eccentric and produced just one single (‘Spaceman’).

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Song of the Day #4,494: ‘Bright Future in Sales’ – Fountains of Wayne

Oddly, my #6 album of 2003 might be even higher on this list if it were a few songs shorter. Fountains of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers starts off with a bang but ends up fizzling out.

But, oh, what a beginning! The first six tracks (‘Mexican Wine,’ ‘Bright Future in Sales,’ ‘Stacy’s Mom,’ ‘Hackensack,’ ‘No Better Place’ and ‘Valley Winter Song’) make up one of the greatest runs I’ve ever heard. Smart, hooky power pop peppered with a couple of melancholy ballads, that stretch is a display of pure songwriting genius by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger.

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