Top Songs of 2012 – #10
Tift Merritt’s fifth studio album, Traveling Alone, is a lower key affair than her previous releases. It is made up primarily of acoustic ballads with melodies that take a little while to seep in.
But in a few spots, Merritt and her band open up and settle into a blues-rock groove. Those songs quickly became favorites of mine, probably because they are more immediately accessible.
This week of personal songs comes to an end with a very moving track about the end of life. Tift Merritt wrote this track from 2010’s See You On the Moon about her grandfather, who lost his wife of many decades.
I’ve obviously never faced this situation myself, but it speaks to me powerfully. One of the scariest things about being in a strong, loving relationship is the knowledge that one day one of you will leave.
It’s been a very good year for new music releases, particularly if you’re me.
New albums from Ben Folds Five, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright, Bob Dylan, The Shins, Tift Merritt, The Wallflowers, Garbage, Lyle Lovett and Bruce Springsteen, all in one year? Talk about a dream lineup.
I’ve hardly had any time to discover new artists because I’m so busy listening to new music by my favorites.
Of the 35 artists I’m featuring in my musical genome series, seven are women. And of those seven, three fall into the ‘Country Plus’ category. I don’t know if that’s a coincidence or if it says something about my taste.
Tift Merritt started off as very much a country artist with her debut Bramble Rose, though hewing more toward Americana and folk than traditional country. She quickly expanded that sound on her sophomore album, Tambourine, exploring Memphis soul and R&B flavors.
My routine for picking these Random Weekend selections is to fire up iTunes, close my eyes and click the ‘next’ button. I like to hear the lucky song before I see what it is, and to see how many seconds I’ll need to identify it.
When I heard the first guitar notes of today’s SOTD, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew instantly that I was listening to the opening track of Tift Merritt’s first album, Bramble Rose — the only CD in my collection that is signed by the artist who recorded it.
Meet Me In Montauk 