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Song of the Day #2,123: ‘I Know (Live)’ – Fiona Apple

fiona1A couple of weeks back, I posted a week’s worth of songs that fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff listed as essential in the Rolling Stone Guest List column.

Naturally, I wondered which five songs I would pick if asked to contribute to the same sort of list. This week I’ll give my answer.

There is no such thing, for me at least, as a top five, top ten or even top fifty “favorite songs” list. My favorites are fluid depending on my mood. A burst of pop adrenaline might sound like perfection one day and overkill the next. So I wouldn’t consider this a list of favorites.

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Song of the Day #2,122: ‘Sober’ – Pink

pink_funhouseThis past week I dedicated a lot of time to the crop of pop divas who dominate the charts. But I’d trade every one of them for Pink, who doesn’t sell as many records but produces much more resonant music.

I’ve been meaning to buy (do I have to say “download” these days?) Pink’s early albums because I’m a huge fan of her most recent releases, Funhouse and The Truth About Love. Usually when I latch on to somebody’s new material I start digging back into their earlier work but I haven’t gotten around to that with Pink. Gotta do that.

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Song of the Day #2,121: ‘Washington Square’ – Counting Crows

crows_saturday_nightsIt’s been more than six years since Counting Crows’ last album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, the double-disc disappointment on which today’s SOTD appears.

I’m not counting the 2012 release Underwater Sunshine, a collection of covers, because, well, it’s a collection of covers.

Five albums in 21 years? That doesn’t seem right. I do see, on Wikipedia, that the band has been in the studio recording their next release so maybe we’ll see something from them in 2014.

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Song of the Day #2,120: ‘Adventures in Pop Psychology’ – Neon Trees

neon_trees_pop_psychologyFollowing this week’s collection of videos by an assortment of pop divas, today’s clip feels like an appropriate way to wrap up.

Neon Trees, of ‘Everybody Talks’ fame, has released a short promo clip for their new album, Pop Psychology, in which Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus show up in cartoon form.

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Song of the Day #2,119: ‘I Blame Myself’ – Sky Ferreira

sky_ferreira_blameOur next controversial video comes from Sky Ferreira, the 21-year-old Los Angeles indie rocker.

Her clip for ‘I Blame Myself’ has been criticized for using black men as “props” and perpetrating negative stereotypes.

I just can’t muster much outrage over this sort of thing. A week after L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling was caught on tape saying truly hateful things about the African-American men who make his league to successful, I’d say that’s where our vitriol should be directed.

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