Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
170. Dwight Yoakam – Give Back the Key to My Heart
No question the 80’s and 90’s were the prime years for Yoakam in terms of success, but after having his turn at the spotlight, he ventured deep into the crossroads realm, taking a more traditional approach to his brand of honkey-tonk. While most dug deeper into the cinematic country-pop Nashville world, Dwight stayed around Hollywood, acting and making indie records. One of the highlights of his work this past decade is this Doug Sahm cover, recorded for the Imus Ranch Record in 2008; it’s just good ol’ DY doing what he does best.
Including this one, an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon that is the Gathering of the Juggalos.
Today, Consequence of Sound released their Top 100 Albums of All Time list, and it’s pretty damn impressive, if you ask me. Take a gander.
Finally, Pitchfork had a pretty cool article on the new trend in indie album covers – amateur retro photography. Think the latest from Vampire Weekend and Crystal Castles.
We all know Kelis as the girl that brought all the boys to the yard via her milkshake, but you wouldn’t correlate her past with her present after hearing her latest effort Flesh Tone. Most critics have mentioned, when reviewing this new album, that Kelis recently went through a bitter divorce and had a child. She has been branded as a new woman, with a renewed purpose and a complete musical makeover.
And that’s all pretty much true. While we certainly can’t predict the future sounds this starlet will bring us (whose musical tendencies are sporadic, unpredictable, and always exciting), this time around she has traded in the slick post-R&B style for a Euro-pop, space-age approach. And because the songwriting is pristine and the hooks are focused, it totally works. The lyrics are poignant, emotional, and obviously dedicated to her new love – her child. And while the words are sentimental, the beats are overpowering. Never has a sweet dedication to one’s baby been so damn danceable.
Perhaps it’s my jaded cynical old age catching up with me, but lately I have been exposed to some things in the pop culture world that really irk me. And as a form of self-therapy, I’d like to share them with you today.
Occasionally I browse the pop music world/charts/blogs and see what the kids are listening to. Sometimes I am pleased with what I find, most of the time I am not. This is a journal of my discoveries. Continue reading
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
180. Ok Go – Get Over It
Before they were Internet phenoms jumping around on treadmills, OK Go was a brilliant, quirky power pop group tearing up the mainstream rock radio airwaves. “Get Over It,” the band’s debut single, is quite possibly the loudest, brashest, angriest thing they’ve ever done. And while they’ve maintained their knack for punchy, catchy songs, this track is a raucous introduction from their best album.
