Best Songs of 2013 – #15
Elvis Costello has pulled a lot of tricks out of his bag over the past decade plus, really stretching the boundaries of what a popular artist can get away with.
Teaming up with The Roots? Well, to borrow a phrase from the man himself, you couldn’t call it unexpected. Not for a guy who’s put out classical, jazz and country albums over a three year span.
I downloaded Big Star’s celebrated first two albums awhile back but I haven’t had a chance to dive into them just yet.
This is a band that has influenced many of my favorite artists and yet I know almost none of their music. The few tracks I’ve heard from their debut album (#1 Record) are excellent.
The Random iTunes Fairy is giving us a little sneak peek at one of next week’s featured artists.
Josh Rouse’s The Happiness Waltz is a breezy, sun-drenched album full of songs just like this one. Most of them take the perspective of a man who has lived a full but troubled life and finally arrived at a place of peace and (as the album title suggest) happiness.
Best Songs of 2013 – #16
Phosphorescent is the stage name of Matthew Houck, a songwriter from Brooklyn by way of Alabama. He has released seven albums over the past decade, the most recent (titled Muchacho) in March of this year.
And no, I’d never heard of him either until I stumbled across this song on a website a couple of weeks ago.
Best Songs of 2013 – #17
I doubt Toad the Wet Sprocket’s lead singer Glen Phillips’ name ever comes up in discussions of great pop vocalists. The band is too much a relic of the 90s to command that much respect.
But I’d rank him right up there. His soothing but edgy tone perfectly serves the band’s rocking material and especially its ballads.
Meet Me In Montauk 