Today’s song of the day is hand-picked from Japanese Breakfast’s sophomore album Soft Sounds From Another Planet, released this past July. Melodic and dreamy, this title track encapsulates the feeling of closing your eyes and laying in the warm sun. Paired with layers of masterfully crafted cosmic arrangements, the depth of the lyrics hit hard as Michelle Zauner paints a tale of an abusive ex-lover. While seemingly melancholic, the theme of this album centers on healing and release, in contrast to her 2016 debut album Psychopomp, which journeyed her mother’s emotional battle with cancer. A lap steel guitar solo and floaty vocals package this track up into a perfect cozy nighttime listen.
You can listen below, along with the rest of the album:
We missed a few days there while our radio station took a retreat to Dippikill, but its nice to be able to resume this project on an important date. Lou Reed’s passing last year left a strong impact on the music scene as many prolific artists from various genres chose to show their respect to the former lead singer of The Velvet Underground. Today would have been Reed’s 72nd birthday, and he’s one of those figures that I enjoy paying tribute to as often as I can, so with that in mind today’s Song-A-Day is going to go to the track “Here She Comes Now” off of White Light/White Heat.
Happy 86th Birthday to Fats Domino! Music has changed a lot since the times when this man’s music was constantly on the charts, but the quality of his compositions remains as apparent today as it was then. Congratulations for staying strong, out Song-A-Day goes to you with your hit “I’m Walkin”.
George Harrison was born on February 25 back in 1943, and is perhaps the best example in music history of a musician gaining their voice in the creative process mid-way through their career. Today’s Song-A-Day goes to his contribution to Sgt. Peppers in “Within You, Without You”.
One of the best upcoming rappers out there still can’t drink legally in the US, happy 20th birthday to Earl Sweatshirt from Odd Future, our Song-A-Day goes to him with “Blade”.
Today’s Song-A-Day gives you some current music, this one is off of Angel Olson’s new album titled Burn Your Fire For No Witness with the song “Enemy”.
Today’s Song-A-Day goes to one of the better Ra Ra Riot songs out there in “Winter ’05”, a song about longing for your partner so that winter wouldn’t pass so slow.
Orange lamps shine by willow bay
Ice covers from the lake to where I lay
In a state
In which I dream
If you were here
Winter wouldn’t pass quite so slow
And if you were here
Then i’d have a choice to live not be alone
But instead I sit atop the crest
Looking down on the valley where the dead rest
And every morning I wake beside myself
But I digress
If you were here
Winter wouldn’t pass quite so slow
And if you were here
Then i’d have a choice to live not be alone
If you were here
Winter wouldn’t pass quite so slow
And if you were here
Then i’d have a choice to live not be alone
If you were here
Winter wouldn’t pass quite so slow
And if you were here
Then i’d have a choice to live not be alone
We celebrated Give Up on the 19th, but that date is also the anniversary of one of my lesser-known favorite albums in All Hail West Texas by The Mountain Goats. This one captured Darnielle at one of his song writing peaks, and not much else in his discography compares to the one-two punch of “Best Ever Death Metal Band in Danton” and today’s Song-A-Day: “Fall of the Star Running Back”.
Sophomore year
You rushed for an average
Of 8 1/3 yards per carry
All eyes were on you
Junior year
You blew your knee out
At an out-of-town game
Nowhere to go but
Down, down, down
Nothing but the ground
for you to fall to
By July
You’d made a whole bunch of brand new friends
People you used to look down on
And you’d figured out
A way to make real money
Giving Ns to your friends
And it felt stupendous:
Chrome spokes on your Japanese bike
But selling acid was a bad idea
And selling it to a cop was a worse one
And new laws said that
17-year-olds could do federal time
You were the first one,
so I sing this song for you
William Standaforth Donahue
Your grandfather rode the boat
Over from Ireland, but
You made a bad decision or two.
Eleven years ago today was the release of album which recently caused a reunion tour, Give Up by the Postal Service. Gibbard and Tamborello created the album by continuously mailing the product between each other, hence the group name, and the final product is adored by many pop fans even if the performance is done with computers (apparently this was an issue at the initial shows). We’re going to celebrate Give Up’s 11th anniversary with the melodic and soft “Sleeping In” as an ode to our University students who have the weekend off already.
Last week I had the strangest dream
where everything was exactly how it seemed
where there was never any mystery
of who shot John F Kennedy
It was just a man with something to prove,
slightly bored and severely confused
He steadied his rifle with his target in the center
and became famous on that day in November
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Again last night I had that strange dream
where everything was exactly how it seemed
concerns about the world getting warmer
people thought that they were just being rewarded
for treating others as they’d like to be treated
for obeying stop signs and curing diseases
for mailing letters with the address of the sender
Now we can swim any day in November
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in (Now we can swim any day in November)
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in
Don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping
The Song of the Day for February 18th is going to be “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” by Pavement, a band who had a very special 20th anniversary a few days ago for their classic album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. This one comes from the group’s debut album of Slanted & Enchanted though, and is one of the better songs that the group ever released.
Ice baby,
I saw your girlfriend and she was
eating her fingers like they’re just another meal
but she waits there
in the levee washes
mixin’ cocktails with a plastic-tipped cigar
My eyes stick to all the shiny roses
you wear on the protein delta strip
in an abandoned house but i will wait there
i’ll be waiting forever…
i’ll wait and wait and wait…
Minerals, ice deposits daily, dropped off
the first shiny robe
i’ve got a lot of things i want to sell, but
not here, babe– tortuuurreeee…
every time i sit around i find i’m shot
every time i sit around i find i’m shot
every time i turn around i find i’m shot
every time i sit around i find i’m shot
every time every time…
you’re my… summer babe
summer babe
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