The nicest thing about Random Weekends is that they often reveal hidden gems within my music collection — songs I didn’t even know I had.
Take today’s SOTD, a deep cut on Ben Folds’ Best Imitation of Myself retrospective collection — which makes it a deep cut on an album of deep cuts.
Last week I featured Elvis Costello’s ‘20% Amnesia‘ during a theme on bad songs by great songwriters.
Frequent commenter Dana correctly pointed out that it was a weak song on an otherwise excellent album. So I figured I’d give that album, Brutal Youth, a shout-out today.
Brutal Youth is one of the highlights of the back half of Costello’s career. He released it in 1994, 17 years after his debut, and it’s insane to think that it’s been almost 20 years since it came out.
When driving I often listen to complete albums, but since I switched from a CD player to a USB drive I’m just as likely to let it play songs in random order. It’s a nice way to hear a broader selection of my music collection, songs I might not reach for otherwise.
It’s also good for blog fodder. The Wallflowers’ ‘One Headlight’ popped up the other day and inspired Monday’s SOTD post. And this morning I was treated to today’s Shakira track.
Speaking of the Breaking Bad finale, here’s the song that creator Vince Gilligan chose to wrap the whole thing up.
The opening line, “Guess I got what I deserve,” could certainly be debated when it comes to the show’s antihero, Walter White. I’ve read arguments that Walt got off too easy in the end.
But I imagine it was another line that drew Gilligan to this song: “The special love I have for you, my Baby Blue.” It was, after all, Walter’s signature blue meth that brought him all the glory and tragedy that unfolded over five amazing seasons.
I discovered this song through the promotional teaser for the final episode of Breaking Bad (that clip contains spoilers, so don’t click through if that matters to you).
I’m posting this on the Thursday before the finale, but scheduling it for the Tuesday after, so I don’t want to use this post as another Breaking Bad appreciation. By the time this sees the light of day, the show will be over, and those thoughts will be out-date.
Meet Me In Montauk 