Technically, the band Fun is not broken up. The three members — Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, and Jack Antonoff — say that they will be happy to record as a trio again when inspiration strikes, but in the meantime they are all pursuing other projects.
Ruess released a solo album in 2015 while Antonoff has become one of the most sought-after producers and songwriting collaborators in the industry. Dost is probably dying for the band to get back together.
You have to hand it to Madonna. She just released her 14th studio album in her 36th year of recording and every one of those records has sold at least a million copies worldwide. All but the last couple have sold more than five million. And all but her debut have been in the top three spots on Billboard’s albums chart (eight of them at #1).
It seems like we don’t hear from her much anymore, but her most dedicated fanbase has followed her religiously for nearly four decades. I know, because the guy who cuts my hair went on at great length about her new release the last time he had me in his chair.
My daughter Sophia turns 17 today, an age that doesn’t have the meaning of 16 or 18 but feels relatively momentous in its own right.
In fact, when I searched for songs about (or at least mentioning) being 17, I found a treasure trove. Something about the age appeals to songwriters… probably the idea of being fully immersed in teenagerdom but just on the brink of adulthood.
Before the well-timed Josh Rouse concert, I had another plan for my 4,000th Song of the Day.
I’ve always said that I don’t have a favorite song, but there is one song I know for certain has to be on any list of my five or ten favorite songs, and that is Fiona Apple’s ‘I Know.’ This heartbreaking ballad is the final track on Apple’s 1999 album When the Pawn… and it’s a stunner.
Yesterday’s post was running long, so I saved the second part of my Josh Rouse story for today.
Rouse has been married to a Spanish woman named Paz Suay since the mid-2000s. They raised two children while living in Spain for a decade, then relocated to Nashville a couple of years ago. Paz has appeared as a vocalist on several of Rouse’s albums and in 2007 the duo released an EP titled She’s Spanish, I’m American, on which today’s SOTD appears.
Meet Me In Montauk 