Song of the Day Jun 6-12

Jun 6 2024

A little history of this song..... Brother the Cloud      by Eddie Vedder

Today's Song of the Day 2022's 'Brother the Cloud ' is an intensely personal song for its author and singer Eddie Vedder. its emotional lyrics discuss dealing with loss, which begs the question — was it written about Chris Cornell of Soundgarden? Vedder and Cornell had a longstanding friendship that dates back to 1990 when the Soundgarden singer was working on an album called "Temple of the Dog". Cornell died by suicide in May of 2017. Vedder didn't speak publicly about Cornell's death for a long time. In fact, he didn't really open up about the subject until an interview he did on The Howard Stern Show in late 2020. "I've had to be somewhat in denial," he admitted, noting that their bond wasn't only rooted in music. "I was just terrified of where I would go if I allowed myself to feel what I needed to feel or what I was instinctively wanting to feel or how dark I felt like I was gonna go." Or is the song about Eddie's brother Chris, whom he lost in a climbing accident in 2016? "That one took me down so hard — and my brothers and my mom — I seriously didn't know if I was going to get out of that one," the singer recalled. Ultimately, the song explores the emotional upheaval caused by the loss of a close companion and is about losing someone so close to you that you consider them" like a brother." I chose it because it is so different than his other material.

Enjoy!!

Jun 8 2024

A little history of this song..... Future Me Hates Me    by The Beths

The Beths are an Indie-Rock band based in New Zealand formed in 2014 by it's 2 principals: lead guitarist Jonathon Pearce and primary lyrricist and lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes. The band has just recently been getting quite a lot of attention form Music critics and AOR radio stations alike. Today's Song of the Day 'Future Me Hates Me ' comes of their 2018 debut album of the same title. Rolling Stone critic Eli Enis wrote of Elizabeth Stokes and The Beths that much of the lyrical content on the album deals with "Stokes' reluctant attitude toward romance, and the anxiety that stems from overthinking her feelings". At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a score of 83, based on 11 reviews. Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork wrote that it was "one of the most impressive indie-rock debuts of the year ... tight, hook-filled songwriting filled with energy and attitude, paired with lyrics that cut to the bone and a sense of confidence that betrays the record's at-times slackened vibe. In the end you be judge... an interesting pop song about whether Stokes' willingness to let her guard down and expose her heart to love and joy.

Jun 10 2024

A little history of this song..... You're the One   by Greta Van Fleet

Greta Van Fleet is an American rock band formed in Michigan in 2012 by twin brothers Josh and Jake Kiszka. Today's Song of the Day 'You're the One ' is Greta Van Fleet's second single from the band's 2018 debut studio album "Anthem of the Peaceful Army." 'You're the One ' is a laid-back rocker that mixes acoustic and electric guitar. The band says that they were heavily influenced by Dylan and the Band, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez during this period of time in their career. The song's lyrics depict a passionate love story, with the narrator expressing a strong desire and longing for someone they have in their thoughts constantly and yearns for that person to come back into his life as he feels like he can't go on without her. So, nothing too deep about this song in terms of it's meaning but a band that has a high energy level and one that has consistently put out great material since their formation. The video below is from their 2019 SNL appearence.

Enjoy!!

Jun 12 2024

A little history of this song..... Ride Like the Wind   by Christopher Cross

I was searching for a song on YouTube to complete this Playlist and in clicking around I came across 'Ride Like the Wind ' which I probably hadn't heard like in 20 + years. And I was blown away by the guitar "chops" that Christopher Cross posesses! I never knew he was such a great guitar player. Watching the video gave me a whole new respect for Cross' 'Ride Like the Wind .' When you watch the video below with Michael McDonald you'll see what I mean. During the 80's I never gave Christopher Cross his due props but he is one of the most underrated artists of the modern Rock era.... Especially as a guitarist. I never realized how good the solo is until now. You can't hear it on the recorded track only when he performed Live in Concert. . What were the engineers thinking not puttig a solo like this on the LP? Here's a n interesting fact that you may have forgotten, but did you know that Christopher Cross was the first artist ever to win a Grammy in their 4 Main Categories, namely:  Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. Billie Eilish is only other artist In Grammy history win all 4 of those to accomplish this feat. If you're like me, you too probably haven't heard/seen this video in years, but sit back and relax 'cause you're in for a real treat with this one. I think it's a great song to close out Vol. VIII.

If you're interested, Michael McDonald has a book out ("What a Fool Believes") that hit No. 7 on the NYT BestSeller list earlier this month about his 40+ years in the Music Buisness. Definitely worth a read.

Enjoy!!