The Onion's A.V. Club has a feature called "Random Rules" where they get musician to press "shuffle" on their Ipod and offer comments on the first few songs that come up. I was looking for a regular piece for this blog and I figure if I was going to rip someone off I'd rip off the best. I now present the first Random Fridays:
Johnny Cash, "Orange Blossom Special" from At Folsom Prison in 1968
"I have to change harmonicas faster than kissing a duck." I don't know what that actually means but it sounds great coming out of Johnny Cash's mouth. This is a fun fast-paced number from Cash's most infamous live album. The harmonica is indeed the highlight due to the fact that you just don't hear a lot Cash songs where he uses one. Turns out he's not too bad.
I think I'm like a lot of people where the only country music I listen to is Johnny Cash. I should change that and maybe pick up some Hank Williams or Merle Haggard. But I don't listen to Cash becuase I want to hear that Nashville sound. I listen to him because of that unmistakable voice. If he was backed up by an orchestra of tambourines and triangles I probably would still listen to it.
Franz Ferdinand, "Come on Home" from Franz Ferdinand
This is just a great guitar record. The way the two guitars are simultaneously really rhythmic and melodic is great (although the melody for this song is helped by some keyboards). I like to think if Keith Richards and Mick Taylor were students of Gang of Four's Andy Gill it would sound like this. Alex Kapranos's voice resembles Thom Yorke's at the end. That's pretty cool.
Band of Horses, "Is There a Ghost" from Cease to Begin
I think this song is absolutely beautiful but could not get behind the rest of the album. Hey, that's why we have iTunes right? The minimal lyrics of this song gives it a really poetic feeling. You have plenty of space to imagine what the "ghost in my house" could mean. Is that lingering presence of someone who left or died when the narrator "lived alone?" Even if the lyrics are vague the song feels so direct because of the way it just build over three minutes. Permanent Link: 8:56 AM |
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