Tag Archives: Josh Rouse

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Song of the Day #1,605: ‘Middle School Frown’ – Josh Rouse

I’m entering my second week of songs that have personal meaning for me — a quality that is extremely rare in the music I listen to. Tellingly, many of these songs aren’t particular favorites of mine… the personal connection clearly isn’t that important when it comes to my enjoyment and appreciation of good music.

Last week’s songs all focused on the life cycle of a relationship… from adolescent romance through marriage, kids and ultimately death. This week’s songs are less unified in theme but they do seem to share a certain melancholy (surprise!) quality and most of them deal with some combination of nostalgia and regret.

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Song of the Day #1,538: ‘My Love Has Gone’ – Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse is a great example of a genome artist. He didn’t open my eyes to something new or expand my musical horizons. He just landed right in the sweet spot of my established preferences.

He’s a little bit ‘Pure Pop,’ a little bit ‘Folk Rock Derivative,’ with a dash of ‘Melancholy’ for flavor. He’s Paul Simon (both pre- and post-Graceland) crossed with a more upbeat Elliott Smith and a less glam The Smiths.

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Song of the Day #1,498: ‘Life’ – Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse has a way with closing tracks. He’s aware that an album should ebb and flow, and that you shouldn’t be able to confuse the first song with the last.

He tends to favor a quick start and a slow finish, with emotional peaks and valleys in between. This is one of just many ways to sequence an album, but it’s an effective one, and one he has returned to again ad again.

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Song of the Day #1,295: ‘Winter in the Hamptons (Live)’ – Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse, today’s randomly selected artist, has a career that is perfectly tailored to the Internet age. He has a small but devoted following who he is able to reach through studio releases as well as independent and Web-only product.

Twenty years ago, artists like Rouse who weren’t big enough names to garner much media attention were pretty much out of luck. But today, through social media, fan sites and music sharing services, they can have a legitimate career doing something they love.

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Song of the Day #895: ‘I Will Live on Islands’ – Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse has put out enough wonderful albums by now that he’s earned the right to get away with something experimental. His 2010 album El Turista was a distracting trifle that let him stretch his new Spanish-language skills and blend his laid back pop with some exotic European sounds.

While this could have been a stab at a Graceland-style major work, it was handled more like a side project, a diversion. Despite the ambitious musical melange, the songs themselves are quick pop ditties, high on sugar and low on meat.

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