Song of the Day #5,228: ‘Late Night Pilgrim’ – Tift Merritt

Continuing my look at 2004, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.

#2 – Tift Merritt – Tambourine

Gateway albums — your first exposure to an artist — usually take on special meaning. It’s hard to shake the warm feelings you have toward a record for introducing you to a new favorite.

Tambourine was my introduction to the brilliant and sadly unheralded singer-songwriter Tift Merritt. And while it isn’t my top-ranked album of hers, it is a fantastic recording that lands just shy of my top spot for 2004.

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Song of the Day #4,762: ‘Are You Still in Love With Me?’ – Tift Merritt

My father’s birthday fell in the middle of the week, which paired him up with my Rock & Roll Hall of Fame post on Joan Jett. Not a bad place to land.

My mother’s birthday is today, a Random Weekend day, which provides me with one of those opportunities to spin the wheel and honor her with a mystery track.

This last happened on June 20, which was both Father’s Day and my older daughter’s birthday. The Random iTunes Fairy served up a Billy Joel song that day, a nice treat for both of them.

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Song of the Day #4,726: ‘Write My Ticket’ – Tift Merritt

I was surprised to see that today’s random track is only the second song I’ve posted from Tift Merritt’s 2004 sophomore album Tambourine. Even more surprising is that the first time was just last summer, when another of its songs showed up on a random weekend.

My love for Tift Merritt is well-documented on the blog, and I have featured her more than 40 times, yet somehow only two of those posts come from this album, the first of hers I heard.

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Song of the Day #4,578: ‘The Things That Everybody Does (Live)’ – Tift Merritt

Concluding the chronological presentation of my 25 favorite songs…

Easy From Now On‘ – Miranda Lambert (2007)

The last time I posted Miranda Lambert’s ‘Easy From Now On,’ during a series on my favorite female vocalists, frequent commenter Dana suggested that Lambert was “this year’s model” and that “with time and perspective” I might not list her in my top ten.

That was a little more than a decade ago.

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Song of the Day #4,418: ‘Your Love Made a U-Turn’ – Tift Merritt

Today’s Random Weekend track is from Tift Merritt’s sophomore album, 2004’s Tambourine. This song is a cover of a rare cut by James Carr, a 60s soul singer best known for his recording of ‘The Dark End of the Street.’

This album was my first exposure to Merritt, who went on to become one of my favorite artists. I got Tambourine a few weeks before seeing her open for Elvis Costello, and the combination of this great album and her live show made me a fan for life.

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