Song of the Day: Joni Mitchell - Carey

I didn't really know much about Joni Mitchell a decade ago, but two nearly simultaneous events led me to seek out her Blue LP. One was seeing the band Travis (when they were touring for The Man Who) play "River" in concert. The other was the scene from Almost Famous where William discovers the records that his sister left him - Blue was one of those LPs.

I won't say the record changed my life - in fact, it's probably nowhere near my top 100 albums, or maybe even 500, if such lists existed - but there are quite a few memorable songs. "River" is probably the best known, but my favorite is "Carey," which has the best backing vocals of any song on the LP and is probably the most "rocking" (it's all relative).

Song of the Day: Elton John - Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Elton John and David Bowie occupy a similar space in my record collection - they both have a number of timeless, iconic songs that I can never get tired of. And they both have a ton of songs that I would prefer never to hear again.

I'm not even talking about the recent stuff that's a result of just being an artist that's been around a while. I'm talking about songs and albums released during their heyday that can't hold a candle (in the wind (yes, I went there)) to their best.

But I came here to praise Elton, not to bury him. While I knew the biggest of his hits, it wasn't until seeing what is now one of my favorite all-time movies, Almost Famous, that I heard this one for the first time. It's subsequently become one of my favorite songs, and it's led me to discover some of Elton John's other great songs (and, of course, some of his stinkers).

Song of the Day: Simon & Garfunkel - At the Zoo

I bought Bookends after seeing it prominently featured in Almost Famous, one of my favorite movies of all time (it's seen and heard when the mom played by Frances McDormand points to the album cover and notes they look stoned, the song "America" playing in the background)

I really only knew the most popular Simon & Garfunkel songs, so it was exciting to hear songs as good as "Save the Life of My Child," "Old Friends" and this, now one of my favorite S&G songs.

Song of the Day: Red House Painters - Cruiser

I got to see two great shows this past weekend - Local Natives/The Love Language (which I called the show of the year) and Mark Kozelek, leader of Red House Painters.  The latter was at Largo, host to many of my favorite shows. 

Kozelek came out with a scowl on his face - he didn't say anything to the audience, and just sat down and started tuning his guitar.  After two songs, he asked, "do I look like I'm in a bad mood?  I'm not in a bad mood" and laughed about it.  He had some great between song banter, including lambasting someone for a cell phone interfering with the speakers.

I'm not the biggest fan of Red House Painters or his other outfit, Sun Kil Moon - these groups have amazing cult followings, and one of the records I have by SKM goes for about $150 on eBay.  But Kozelek's got a really mellow voice (as also heard for a few lines in Almost Famous), and his albums are great for late night listening.  This is my favorite song of his, and one he attempted at the show when someone requested it - he just couldn't remember the words.  But it was still great.