The Random iTunes Fairy is in a nostalgic mood this weekend. We got an early 00s track from Guster yesterday, and now here’s Jude, an artist who ascended briefly in the 90s before falling quickly to earth.
Jude’s 1998 album No One is Really Beautiful is a fun and innovative bit of alt-rock, showcasing his unconventional vocals and his knack for mixing balladry with white-boy funk.
After several weeks of predictable Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan selections, it’s nice to see another Random Weekend selection that actually feels random.
This is probably just the second time I’ve heard the opening track from Jude’s self-released 2004 album, Sarah. I downloaded the album from CDBaby.com (where it apparently holds the title of the site’s most downloaded album ever — a fact that says more about CDBaby.com than Sarah) but I was unimpressed after my initial listen.
The musical landscape is littered with the bodies of artists who once kinda sorta almost broke through but wound up fading away into obscurity. Some of them probably even continue to make a living off of their music but that doesn’t keep them out of (to borrow a Spinal Tap reference) the “Where are they now?” file.
Michael Jude Christodal, who performs as Jude, is such an artist. His first studio album, 1998’s No One is Really Beautiful, is an excellent collection of smart, contemporary pop songs. Jude toured with Ben Folds Five to support the album (my wife and I saw one of those shows at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.) and his music was a good complement to that of the trio.
Meet Me In Montauk 