SOUNDTRACK: songs from Songbook (2002).
Songbook came with an 11 song CD. I’m curious, given the way he speaks so lovingly of the songs in the book how come more bands/labels didn’t want to be included on it. The proceeds went to charity and it would just be more exposure for the artists. There were a lot of songs I didn’t know and would love to have heard (or would love to hear while I was reading). And frankly I see no downside to throwing a track on a compilation which is a collection of someone’s favorite songs. Of course, things were very different in the music world in 2002. Now, someone will just make a playlist on their iPod of theses songs, and post them to Spotify.
PAUL WESTERBERG-“Born for Me.” I’m much more of a fan of Westerberg with the Replacements, as he got a little too polished as a solo guy. But this song has a fun, shambolic quality to it (it doesn’t even sound like Westerberg singing). It wouldn’t be a favorite song of mine, but it is a nice one.
TEENAGE FANCLUB “Your Love is the Place Where I Come From” and “Ain’t That Enough.” I really like Teenage Fanclub a lot. They are one of my favorite jangly pop bands. So these two songs rank pretty high for me. Although I admit to liking their slightly more rocking songs a bit more, “Your Love” is a very pretty ballad and “Ain’t That Enough” is just gorgeous.
THE BIBLE- “Glorybound” Hornby says he knew these guys. It’s an okay song, a little too slick for me and very of its time.
AIMEE MANN-“I’ve Had It” I like Aimee Mann very much. I can’t say that I paid a ton of attention to the lyrics of this song (I didn’t know it was about touring) but I’ve always liked it—the understated yet beautiful melody and chorus are very nice.
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT-“One Man Guy” I like Rufus a lot. I don’t own any of his music, but I really like everything I hear from him. His delivery is so louche, it makes me smile every time. This song is actually one his father wrote and sang many years ago (very differently).
ROD STEWART-“Mama You Been on My Mind” Hornby’s essay on Rod Stewart is hilarious. And his defense of early Stewart is wholly believable. I, of course, know Rod from his later, laughable stuff, so I never considered his early work But this track is pretty good.
BADLY DRAWN BOY-“A Minor Incident” Sarah and I love Badly Drawn Boy, and this soundtrack in particular. Hornby’s discussion of how he Damon got to do the soundtrack is very interesting.
BEN FOLDS FIVE-“Smoke” I’ve liked Ben for years now (going to see him in two weeks). This song has always been a favorite both for the lyrics, which are great and because that weird harp-type sound is him playing the strings of his grand piano with a pick.
MARK MULCAHY-“Hey Self Defeater” I don’t know Mulcahy at all. This song has a beautiful wavery guitar and gentle vocals (it’s funny to read about Hornby rocking out when most of this disc is quite mellow).
ANI DIFRANCO-“You Had Time” I was a huge Ani DiFranco fan back in the day, but this song is unknown to me, or should I say unfamiliar to me. It’s on one of her very early albums. Perhaps it’s more that I must have ignored the piano opening, which Hornby pays close attention to and really explains it in a useful way, showing how it is more about a beautiful melody being born from chaos. And now I respect the song a lot more.
[READ: 2002 and July 1, 2013] Songbook
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written this very book in my head…. A list of favorite songs and why they are so important to me? How cool is that. I have no idea how come Hornby got to write it (I know, High Fidelity), but still, what a nice cozy assignment. And to have this book illustrated by Marcel Dzama is even cooler.
This book came out in 2002 after About a Boy (and in the year that About a Boy was being turned into a film). Hornby had recently hooked up with the McSweeney’s gang and began writing for The Believer in 2003.
I had no idea that the book was released in the UK under a different name (31 Songs) or that they also released an accompanying CD (A Selection of Music from 31 Songs) with 18 songs on it (see my comment above about CDs). Although we got fewer songs on the disc in the US, at least ours came with the book. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: DAN ZANES-Night Time (2002).
I’d only ever heard of Dan Zanes as the guy from the Del Fuegos (who probably got the biggest boost of their career when Juliana Hatfield sang about them in “My Sister”). But once we had our first child, everyone told me to check out Dan Zanes’ “kids” records. Night Time is one of our favorites. It’s often played at night (obviously) as a good bedtime CD.
I Just Read About That... 