In this week’s Childish Gambino post, a commenter brought up the dilemma of having an under-appreciated favorite artist hit it big. You’re happy for his or her success, but you kind of liked being in on a secret.
I have two such favorite artists, both of whom I’ve adored for a decade and a half. And as much as I enjoy belonging to their exclusive fan bases, I have to say I’m ready for the world to give them the attention they deserve. One is Tift Merritt; the other is Josh Rouse.
Nice work by the Random iTunes Fairy this weekend, serving up two of my favorite singer-songwriters with Ben Folds yesterday and Josh Rouse today.
‘James’ is a track from Rouse’s 2003 album 1972, one of his best efforts. Inspired by the sound and style of the decade it’s named after, 1972 is a sharp and satisfying listen and ‘James’ is one of its best songs.
I haven’t had a difficult choice to make through the first few matchups in Round One of Montauk Madness, and that won’t change today.
Peter Gabriel faces off against Josh Rouse. An art rock pioneer against a prolific but low-profile indie singer-songwriter. While I love Gabriel’s So — a bona fide classic — and enjoy tracks from his other solo records, he hasn’t consistently impressed me the way Rouse has.
Here’s one of those very rare occasions where the Random iTunes Fairy serves up two songs by the same artist on the same weekend. I can’t remember the last time this happened.
The odds of a second Josh Rouse song popping up after the first one are about 1 in a 100, given the number of Rouse songs in my library (137) vs. the total number of songs (12,425). Not exactly like winning Lotto, but certainly a long shot.
Random iTunes Weekends often serve as a reminder of how quickly time passes. Today’s selection is a perfect example.
I still think of Josh Rouse as a recent discovery, but I just realized that Nashville — the album that caught my attention as a new release — came out 11 years ago. Rouse’s debut, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, was released in 1998, nearly two decades ago, making him a grizzled veteran.
Meet Me In Montauk 