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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Meet Me In Montauk 