Earlier this year, Beck released a sequel (in spirit, if not title) to 2002’s gorgeous break-up album, Sea Change. Morning Phase has the same sad acoustic ambiance of its predecessor, but it is concerned more with mortality and self-fulfillment than heartbreak.
Tift Merritt makes her first appearance on this list, but not her last, with 2012’s Traveling Alone.
This album has a more laid-back, acoustic vibe than her previous work. One thing I love about Merritt is that every one of her records is distinct in sound and mood while remaining undeniably true to her general sensibility.
Continuing my countdown of the best albums of the decade so far, I arrive at Paul Simon’s 2011 comeback record, So Beautiful Or So What.
Simon released only two album in the 00’s: You’re the One in 2000 and Surprise in 2006. The former was half-great and the latter a general disappointment. Before those records, it’s just 1997’s Broadway experiment Songs from the Capeman and the sublime Rhythm of the Saints way back in 1990.
Not very prolific, Mr. Simon.
In a case of perfect timing, I discovered Superfruit’s medley of all 13 track of Taylor Swift’s 1989 just as I was posting my own review of the album.
So I’ll wrap up this not-random weekend with their take on the record, which is predictably awesome. Maybe not up to the level of their Beyoncé medley, but excellent nonetheless.
I’m taking a break from Random Weekends in order to get in a quick review of Taylor Swift’s 1989. Swift’s music has generated enough discussion on the blog that I feel I owe it to my loyal readers to chime in on this latest batch.
1989 is, as everybody knows by now, Taylor Swift’s “pop” album. Though she has always flirted with pop in her music, even when she was a bona fide country artist, she has fully embraced the genre here.
