Tag Archives: 30 Day Music Challenge

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Song of the Day #3,382: ‘Burning Love’ – Elvis Presley

Note: Because I posted my Random Weekend Tom Petty SOTD during the week, I’m using this slot for the weekday post that was bumped.

Mother’s Day was months ago, but here’s another chance to honor your mamas, as Day 20 of the 30 Day Music Challenge asks you to name ‘A Song That Reminds You of Your Mom.’

Many artists fit this bill for me, from Frank Sinatra (who, to be fair, reminds me even more of my father) to Traveling Wilburys, Carole King, Carly Simon, George Winston, Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen.

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Song of the Day #3,380: ‘Rocket Man’ – Elton John

It’s time for everybody to admit their age, as Day 19 of the 30 Day Music Challenge calls for ‘A Song From the Year You Were Born.’

In my case, that’s 1972, and I had quite a list of impressive works to choose from. Some of my favorites include Jackson Browne’s ‘Doctor My Eyes,’ The Rolling Stones’ ‘Tumbling Dice’ (and all of Exile on Main Street, for that matter), the Eagles’ ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’ (already used in this game), and Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay Together.’

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Song of the Day #3,379: ‘One Too Many Mornings’ – Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan

Day 17 of the 30 Day Music Challenge calls for a rather strange offering: ‘A Song That Features Your Favorite Artist.’

First of all, this requires me to have a favorite artist, which I think is an impossibility. My favorite artist at any given moment depends on what I’m listening to, my mood and a dozen other factors. Second, what exactly does “features” mean in this context? Is it the same as ‘A Song By Your Favorite Artist,’ in which case why not just say that? Or does my favorite artist have to be featured on somebody else’s track (in the now ubiquitous “feat.” sense)?

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Song of the Day #3,377: ‘Magic (Live)’ – Olivia Newton-John

We’re halfway through the 30 Day Music Challenge as we kick off week four, and Day 16 is a good one: ‘One Of Your Favorite Songs From a Movie.’

As with so many of these categories, this one can be interpreted in several ways. Should I pick a song that appears in a movie but wasn’t originally written for the film? Some of my favorite filmmakers have worked wonders with the “drop the needle” approach of using popular songs as score. Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese all come to mind among countless others.

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Song of the Day #3,374: ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ – Miley Cyrus

Rounding out week three of the 30 Day Music Challenge is one of my favorite categories yet: ‘A Song That is a Cover By Another Artist.’ Such a wealth of possibilities here!

My default first choice is Fiona Apple’s remarkable live rendition of Elvis Costello’s ‘I Want You’ (with Elvis accompanying on electric guitar). I love that performance enough to have chosen it as my 1,000th Song of the Day, so it is therefore ineligible today.

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