Song of the Day: Solange - Stillness Is the Move

This track made my favorite songs of 2009 and is a great reinterpretation of the original by Dirty Projectors. Outside of the fact that she's Beyonce's sister, I'm not that familiar with Solange, though I did listen to her most recent album. It was pretty good, but I can only imagine the possibilities if Dave Longstreth wrote all her songs.

Song of the Day: Bob Dylan - Seven Curses

I didn't get into Dylan until college, when I borrowed my dad's Highway 61 CD. It didn't take long until I owned about 20 Dylan albums, but none was a bigger surprise than the Bootleg Series, Volumes 1-3 box set. There's a reason he's often referred to as the best singer/songwriter of all time - his outtakes are better than most artists' best songs.

There are so many great songs on these "bootlegs." For me, "Seven Curses" is one of Dylan's best songs, outtakes or not, because of two things: how great his voice sounds, and the story he tells. Some of his lyrics can seem like stream of consciousness, which usually works to perfection, but this one stands out to me because of the linear story.

Song of the Day: R.E.M. - Uberlin

I've documented my love of R.E.M. before (and I just made a pun), but I didn't really get into my waning interest of each successive post-Bill Berry album. All of these albums have highlights (well, barely for Around the Sun (I just had to look up the name of the album if that gives you any idea)), but I'm tired of hearing that each subsequent album is their best in 10 years, a return to form, or some cliched variation thereof. I found Accelerate to be passable but not close to approaching their best, and perhaps it's because I went into it with these aforementioned positive reviews in my mind.

When I heard the first song off of Collapse into Now, R.E.M.'s 2011 record, I was not impressed. I read the usual hubbub about how great the record was, but I was disenfranchised to the point where I thought about not buying the album - an idea that even 10 years ago would have been unthinkable.

Well, it turns out it's still pretty unthinkable, and a trip to Amoeba for some other records made it impossible to withstand the pull. So I took the album home, listened to the first side and was pleasantly surprised. Then I listened to it a few more times, and found myself thinking this is, in fact, a very good album. I think the key reason for me was that it wasn't R.E.M. trying to rock out, and Accelerate seemed to want to prove that the band still could. But at this point I'd rather hear R.E.M. try to recreate Automatic than Monster, which is probably why the song on Collapse that really stuck with me is today's song of the day, "Uberlin."

Song of the Day: Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie

Pulp Fiction made this song for me. Besides playing during the opening credits, Kool & the Gang also make an appearance in one of the best lines in the film, with Jules telling the Wolf that "it's Kool & the Gang" (rather than just saying "it's cool" - ok it's funnier in the movie). This is a great funk song, with horns, staccato guitar and an awesome bass line.

Song of the Day: Soundgarden - The Day I Tried to Live

Because I was enthralled with "grunge" thanks to Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Screaming Trees, etc, buying Superunknown was a no-brainer. I didn't know Soundgarden's earlier albums, and this one was much heavier than any albums by those aforementioned bands, despite "Black Hole Sun" becoming a huge pop hit. I'm not sure today's song of the day epitomizes the heaviness, but it definitely showcases Chris Cornell's pipes, which unfortunately have not been put to good use in his post-Soundgarden career. Thank god for reunions?

Playlist: March 2011 blog songs

Song of the Day: Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers - Milk Me [live]

This is taken from one of my favorite live albums, Live at Max's Kansas City, and it epitomizes what rock and roll should be - sloppy, enthusiastic, dirty and loud. You can hear contemporaries like New York Dolls, as well as the blueprint for early Guns 'N Roses. The only band of the last 10 years that I can think of that can match Johnny Thunders for sloppy, drunken revelry combined with good songs is The Libertines. If you know of any others, hit me up in the comments.