Here’s a cute little ditty from Josh Rouse’s 2007 album Country Mouse, City House. That record marked the end of era for Rouse… it was the end of his acoustic folk pop sound. His next album, 2010’s El Turista, was performed half in Spanish and entirely in a world music style.
Basically, he transformed from Paul Simon of the 70s to Paul Simon of the 90s, but without the same excellent results.
The other day I was thinking about R.E.M. — that one could argue they called it quits about five albums too late. Certainly they released some worthy music in the post-Bill Berry years, but nothing that stands up to their best work.
I was reminded of that thought when this Dixie Chicks song popped up as today’s random selection. I don’t know if the Chicks have officially called it quits (Wikipedia suggests they haven’t) but their last album, Taking the Long Way, was released seven years ago and counting.
Four years ago Rihanna missed the Grammys ceremony because she had been brutally assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown just hours before it started. This year she was seated next to him, cuddling like newlyweds.
That’s likely the image of Rihanna that will stay with people following this year’s show — the mixture of anger, pity and disgust it evokes is just too powerful to overcome.
Ed Sheeran was somewhat on my radar prior to the Grammys, thanks to my niece, who played this song for me on her laptop a few months ago.
But it was nice to be reminded of it during Sheeran’s lovely acoustic performance of the track alongside Elton John last week.
Sheeran looks like a fat Weasley brother but he has an appealing, whispery voice that suits this material perfectly.
Another memorable Grammy performance came courtesy of Jack White, who released his first solo album early in 2012 after fronting what seems like a dozen different bands.
A solo Jack White album isn’t really as novel an idea as it might seem… pretty much everything he touches belongs to him, regardless of the other players. But the first single, ‘Love Interruption,’ has a really nice low-key, sultry vibe that sets it apart from much of his work.
