The timing of these last two posts is purely coincidental. How was I to know that in the month since I wrote about New Edition’s “Home Again” that I’d be laid up in the apartment for four weeks and that Bill Withers would pass away? Alas, here we are, and my first two posts of… Read More “Hope She’ll Be Happier” by Bill Withers (1971)
“Here, My Dear” is the opening song to (and title track of) the album I consider to be Marvin Gaye’s greatest. This isn’t the popular opinion. Hell, there are a lot of folks who don’t even know Here, My Dear exists. After all, it sold poorly upon release and generated no hit singles despite following… Read More “Here, My Dear” by Marvin Gaye (1978)
“Give Me Tonight” brings sadness to the dance floor as well as any Robyn song (and we all know, the Swedish pop diva is the queen of clubland heartbreak.) The first verse of this electro classic finds Shannon strolling through the park. She overhears a couple in the process of breaking up. A girl is… Read More “Give Me Tonight” by Shannon (1984)
How much do I want to get into my feels right now? Let’s just say that my romantic history has made me very well versed at “fading into the background”. I have a habit of being interested in/dating people who are not entirely available, whether because of distance or other primary commitment. Also, because I… Read More “Fade Into The Background” by Ne-Yo (2008)
BIIM certainly knew their way around a mopey ballad. “Doin’ Just Fine” is probably their best (depending on how overplayed I feel “End of the Road” is on any given day). I was going through my first real breakup when this song was released, so it holds a very special “sad song” space in my heart. However, there… Read More “Doin’ Just Fine” by Boyz II Men (1997)
Me and my friend Ed were talking on the train ride home last night about being friends with exes and trying to maintain that relationship after they’ve started seeing someone else. Not easy. Especially if you are still single. The whole “oh, I wasn’t good enough for you…who is this other asshole?” thought process comes… Read More “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn (2010)
John Mayer probably faced a lot of pressure to intro his second album (the excellent Heavier Things) with a radio accessible track. “Clarity” is an example of sliding in through the side door as opposed to the typical artist’s album strategy of sledgehammering the door down with the very first song. “Clarity” is defiantly chill.… Read More “Clarity” by John Mayer (2003)
1993′s Both Sides marked the end of America’s fascination with Phil Collins as anything other than a marker of the ‘80s. It was the first of his albums to not go multi-platinum or spawn a top twenty pop hit. Both Sides also was Phil’s second divorce album, with the first being 1981′s Face Value. Perhaps America… Read More “Can’t Turn Back The Years” by Phil Collins (1993)/JOE (2001)
Five Star Jamz 