The most unexpected new release this year has to be Ryan Adams’ song-for-song cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989. It’s such a delightfully random project, like a piece of fan fiction come to life.
It also turns out to be a very good album in its own right. Adams is faithful to the melodies and lyrics of Swift’s originals but gives each his own stylistic spin, mostly slowing them down and trading pop rock for folk rock.
It’s not just my 13-year-old who comes up with recommendations for new music. My 9-year-old does it as well.
Fiona’s latest discovery is a track called ‘Reality’ by Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies. The lead vocals of this track are by a Dutch singer and actor named Janieck Devy. I couldn’t find any real information about either of them online. Leave it to Fiona to serve up something this obscure.
I’ve always said that pretty much any Lana Del Rey song could be a James Bond theme. Her music is so lush and seductive, so retro romantic, that it’s made to play against floating silhouettes of guns and naked women.
It’s no surprise, then, that the Bond producers asked Del Rey to write a song for their latest film, Spectre. They wound up passing on her contribution in favor of Sam Smith’s ‘Writing on the Wall’ (big mistake, IMO). Today’s SOTD is assumed to be the track she wrote for the film (Spectre is the 24th Bond movie, and the musical and lyrical content are certainly in the ballpark). It would’ve worked like gangbusters.
After a dry spell for new music, I’ve recently picked up three very good and very different releases. I’ll feature a song from each this week.
First up is Ben Folds, who last graced us with The Sound of the Life of the Mind, his reunion album with Ben Folds Five. Since then, he has delved into classical composing and his new disc, So There, features his first fully instrumental work.
This performance by Bob Dylan of his classic protest song ‘Masters of War’ took place at Brandies University in 1963. The concert took place just weeks before the release of Dylan’s second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, before he became a star.
These tapes were unearthed decades later during some house cleaning by the son of Rolling Stone co-founder Ralph J. Gleason.
Meet Me In Montauk 