Song of the Day: Jimmie Dale Gilmore - Blinding Sun

I first saw Jimmie Dale Gilmore in The Big Lebowski (he may or may not have been over the line), but it was another film, Noah Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming (note this is not the one with Will Ferrell) that made me a fan of his music. Gilmore has a unique voice (to say the least), and he's a great songwriter, but my favorite song of his isn't actually his - it's a cover of a Mudhoney track, from a Sub Pop split in the mid '90s (where Mudhoney also covered one of his tracks).

Song of the Day: Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around the Block

I was completely and utterly obsessed with The Hour of Bewilderbeast when it came out. Shortly thereafter, I visited London and felt a connection to the album that was even beyond what I had originally experienced, and it remains one of my favorite albums of all time. Sadly, the album may also represent the biggest shock to the system in regards to everything that came after it; that is, if Bewilderbeast is a 10.0 to me (in the parlance of Pitchfork), Have You Fed the Fish? is probably a 6.0, and everything after is sub 4.0. I can't really put my finger on why his debut is that much better; sure, the songs are probably superior, but there is an innocence and an experimentation happening there that's largely absent from the later records.

Take today's song of the day, "Once Around the Block." There are three guitars, multi-tracked harmonies and vibraphone (I think), yet it still engenders a home recording feel to it. To paraphrase a lyric from the song, I wish Badly Drawn boy could take a left, a sharp left and another left, and return to making albums of this quality.

Song of the Day: Corinne Bailey Rae - Enchantment

I don't know what provoked me to pick up a couple of 45s by Corinne Bailey Rae, but I'm glad I did. In fact, it's not the A-sides from her first album that have enticed me, but rather the B-sides. One of them features Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You" as a slow jam, and the other features this gem of a song (the A-side is "Like a Star").

Song of the Day: Sea Wolf - You're a Wolf

This song is from a split 7" with a band called Eulogies. I've heard good things about Sea Wolf but haven't checked out any of their (his?) proper albums. This is a great song, and I'm pretty sure I've even heard it in a commercial (which obviously means it's good?)

Song of the Day: The dB's - Moving in Your Sleep

I picked this song because I needed something slow and quiet this morning, not realizing that the title actually expresses how I feel right now. I've sung the praises of The dB's before, and while this song is more ballad than power-pop (and thankfully it's not a power-ballad), it reinforces my love for this band.

Song of the Day: The Verlaines - Heavy 33

Here's another track off the No Alternative compilation, which I've mentioned a couple times before. I know nothing about this band, but I love this song.

Song of the Day: Radiohead - Exit Music (for a Film)

Everybody's talking about The King of Limbs and whether they should be talking about The King of Limbs (see AV Club, Village Voice). Personally, I need at least a few spins before I can come to some sort of opinion about an album. Of course, that opinion will often change dramatically over the course of more listens - I've changed my mind about a record, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, more times than I can count. Many factors can influence a change of opinion - age, where I hear the album, hype, my mindset, and "vegetables."

My first exposure to Radiohead was, of course, "Creep." So when The Bends was released a couple of years later, I was reticent to give it a second thought, despite hearing some good things about it. I finally did give in, and it was (and is) fantastic.

So when OK Computer was released, I didn't need much persuasion to buy the album. I had heard "Karma Police" and seen the video on MTV (yes, I'm dating myself), so I already had some idea it was going to be great. But it wasn't until I was in Boone, NC visiting some friends that I heard the album during an induced epiphany, if you will, and it utterly and completely blew me away. OK Computer is a fantastic sounding record (especially on vinyl), and every song (not every track - I'm looking at you, "Fitter Happier") could be my favorite on a given day.

The sonic detail on the album is amazing, and the details are what keep me coming back. Take today's song of the day, "Exit Music (for a Film)" and listen to how, at the end of every verse, you can hear Thom Yorke finish the word with his lips smacking ("...from your sleep") or his tongue touching the front of his teeth ("drying all your tears"). The cymbals coming in, then the drum roll, the sound effects, Thom wailing "in everlasting peace" - yes, I'm obsessed, but this is a song and an album worth obsessing about. So I'll get back to you on The King of Limbs - but maybe not for 14 years.