Once every three months I list the best of what I heard in albums/songs/remixes for the quarter. I do this to personally keep up with all the awesome music I hear, as it ultimately helps me at the end of the year when I do my overall listing for the previous twelve months. I also do it to introduce you cool cats to tunes you may have missed independently.
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.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
270. The Shins – New Slang
I heard all the brouhaha about Garden State and the hype surrounding this band, but I didn’t actually see the film until I met my good friend Kim in college. I believe it is still one of her favorite movies, and it is one that I enjoyed immensely, though I haven’t watched it since. I managed to get my hands on a copy of Oh, Inverted World back in high school, and, honestly, I didn’t really get it. Sure, the songs were pretty and soft, but I was initially bored. And dumb. It took repeated listens and a few years for me to appreciate it; what a brilliant little debut from a band that would, along with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, probably be the first in the new indie-Internet age to become too popular too quick.
