Given that my first ever Song of the Day post was about The Smiths, it’s only fitting that they find a spot on this desert island list.
I was surprised to see that, unlike every other song I’ve featured over the past two weeks, I have never written about today’s song. ‘There is a Light That Never Goes Out’ is one of the band’s most beloved songs, a highlight of their best album, The Queen is Dead.
My first real exposure to Elvis Costello was through two albums I still consider his best — King of America and Imperial Bedroom.
Those two albums contain a wealth of styles and moods, from the laid back country crooning and rockabilly of the former to the Beatles-esque menagerie of the latter. They both serve as perfect vehicles for Costello’s brilliant lyrical word salad and as entry points go, I couldn’t have been blessed with better ones.
Billy Joel’s ‘Vienna’ is a song that I tend to forget when compiling lists like this one.
But when I listen to it again, it feels like the only song in the world I’ll ever need.
It’s so beautifully written and performed, so expertly produced by Phil Ramone, and its message is so simple and profound. It’s truly perfect.
I enjoyed last week’s desert island song theme so much that I’m extending it for another two weeks.
The five songs featured this week will round out my top ten, and next week’s selections will earn honorable mentions.
This is a strong batch of songs. Any one of these — hell, all of them — could have been in the top five.
‘Home’ is a track from Tim McGraw’s great album, Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors. Just about every song on this album is a winner.
The beginning of this song has always struck me as very similar to the opening notes of Elvis Costello’s ‘You Bowed Down.’ You can compare for yourself here.
I doubt the composers of this song copied Costello, and the notes aren’t exact anyway, but it has always distracted me.
Meet Me In Montauk 