Nice work by the Random iTunes Fairy this weekend, serving up two of my favorite singer-songwriters with Ben Folds yesterday and Josh Rouse today.
‘James’ is a track from Rouse’s 2003 album 1972, one of his best efforts. Inspired by the sound and style of the decade it’s named after, 1972 is a sharp and satisfying listen and ‘James’ is one of its best songs.
Today’s Random iTunes Selection comes from Ben Folds’ 2015 album So There, a collaboration with chamber music ensemble yMusic. The album contains eight pop songs as well as Folds’ three-movement ‘Concerto for Piano and Orchestra’ (which I’ll admit, I listened to only once). The songs are mostly great, though.
‘Long Way To Go’ is an interesting track, in that it seems to be about itself. When Folds sings “we got just five minutes” there are exactly five minutes left in the song. Likewise with the “just three minutes” and “just one minute” verses. So is the whole song about getting to the end of the song? Or did Folds just time things out that way as an added challenge while writing about something more universal?
Rounding out week three of the 30 Day Music Challenge is one of my favorite categories yet: ‘A Song That is a Cover By Another Artist.’ Such a wealth of possibilities here!
My default first choice is Fiona Apple’s remarkable live rendition of Elvis Costello’s ‘I Want You’ (with Elvis accompanying on electric guitar). I love that performance enough to have chosen it as my 1,000th Song of the Day, so it is therefore ineligible today.
It’s time for a little romance on Day 14 of the 30 Day Music Challenge, as we are called on to name ‘A Song That You Would Love Played At Your Wedding.’
I’ve been happily married for 20 years so I have a few options here. I can imagine I’m planning my own wedding all over again, but with 20 years worth of additional music from which to choose. I can imagine that my marriage has ended and I’m getting married again, say to Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Rashida Jones or Zazie Beetz. Or, and this is how I’ve decided to play it, I can imagine that my wife and I are renewing our vows in a celebration including our current friends and family.
Pull out the bell bottoms, because Day 13 of the 30 Day Music Challenge asks you to offer up ‘One of Your Favorite 70s Songs.’
I could cheat and name any number of songs by favorite artists of mine who happened to record in the 70s. Tracks by Randy Newman, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Billy Joel, or Bruce Springsteen would be easy picks. But that would be adhering to the letter of the law but not its spirit.
