Here’s a quick throwaway track from The White Stripe’s 2003 smash Elephant, the album that introduced the world to ‘Seven Nation Army,’ to the future delight of stadium-goers all over the nation.
This was the duo’s fourth studio album and the first that captured my attention. I never got into Elephant as much as the band’s next two albums but this one is certainly worthy.
2016 was the year we lost David Bowie, and so many other legendary entertainers.
But it was also the year I truly discovered Bowie. His death, just days after the release of his final album, Blackstar, prompted me to dive into his catalog and buy more than a dozen of his most-revered albums. I chronicled the process here on the blog.
Last year I officially became a Carly Rae Jepsen fanboy.
It didn’t start out that way. I first mentioned her on the blog back in August of 2012, when ‘Call Me Maybe’ was dominating the charts and she seemed destined to go down as a one-hit wonder. Hell, she might still go down as a one-hit wonder because for some inexplicable reason her subsequent releases haven’t caught on with a mass audience.
In 2016, I learned that a Paul Simon album could leave me cold.
That came as a big shock. On this very blog, I named Simon the greatest-ever songwriter. I’m one of the few people in the world who really digs Songs from the Capeman. I am programmed to not only cut this guy some slack but to pretty much love everything he does.
My appreciation for country music continued in 2016, but I’ve learned that — Brad Paisley aside — it’s isolated to the fairer sex.
Recent new releases by Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Lucinda Williams, Ashley Monroe and Brandy Clark have earned time on my playlists while Chris Stapleton is the only country dude to claim that honor.
Meet Me In Montauk 