I feel like I have an adequate working knowledge of most artists considered among the greats. I own or have owned albums even by performers I don’t care for, such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
But it occurred to me recently that I have absolutely no familiarity with the man many critics and fans consider the greatest rapper of all-time — Jay-Z.
It’s funny how some of the best concert experiences involve artists playing somebody else’s music. Not that I’d want to watch a favorite act perform nothing but covers, but a couple of well-placed interpretations can really make a show.
A highlight of the recent Barenaked Ladies show I attended was a raucous late-show medley of recent chart toppers, including Taylor Swift’s ‘I Knew You Were Trouble,’ Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ and Macklemore’s ‘Thrift Shop.’ In a much different vein, Tift Merritt performed a lovely Joni Mitchell cover on piano.
The Random iTunes Fairy really likes Fountains of Wayne. Today’s post is the fifth Random Weekend selection in the past year, and the second this month.
I don’t keep stats on which artists show up the most on Random Weekends (though now I’m tempted) but I have to believe Fountains of Wayne are up there, especially as a percentage of their total songs in my library.
#1 – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – Miranda Lambert
The previous nine entries in this hindsight top ten list weren’t surprises. Every one of them was in at least the top five of the year of release, and while a couple of them leap-frogged other albums, they all pretty much landed in the same place.
Funny, then, that my number one entry didn’t even make it on a list the year of its release.
#2 – Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Here’s a case where a band’s later work helps boost my opinion of their debut.
If Vampire Weekend’s self-titled first album was the last good thing they ever did, I would still love it, I’m sure, but the band itself might have been written off as a bunch of college kids who listened to Graceland a lot and got lucky.
Meet Me In Montauk 