Well, the first full week of school is wrapping up. There was some more grumpiness in the mornings as the week progressed. But mostly things have gone well. We’re already super busy in the evenings. And I’ve had a nice, lazy week around the house, thus the dearth of posts.
But I’ve still saved some articles worth sharing. This week’s list is music-heavy. Let’s dive into the links, shall we?
First up, two music lists to get your blood boiling (perhaps).
Rolling Stone shared their list of the 100 Greatest Song Writers of All Time. It’s a typical RS list: heavy on artists who did their best work in the magazine’s earliest days[1] and light on hip-hop.
Going in a different direction, after Straight Outta Compton’s release last week, Steven Hyden decided to rank the all-time best side one, track ones from debut albums. Unlike Rolling Stone, his list is a lot more inclusive of varying genres. I like it, although I can certainly argue with a few choices.
News about two music projects I’m very excited about.
First, Frightened Rabbit announced they’ve wrapped up work on their fifth album. It should be out in early 2016, with at least a single likely to debut before year’s end.
FR had been my favorite current band since I first discovered them in 2008. The War On Drugs edged past them last year with Lost In The Dream, an album I still listen to at least part of every week.
Bands are always optimistic about unheard albums. They always talk about the “exciting new directions” the recording process took them. Still, I’m even more excited about FR LP5 after reading this interview with Scott Hutchison.
Frightened Rabbit on new album: “No one knew what the fuck was going to happen.”
And then there’s Ryan Adam’s latest project. The hyper-productive Adams – who has released a fantastic full length and at least four EPs in the past year – has been working on a song-for-song cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989. He’s been posting snippets on Instagram and Twitter. Those brief bits sound terrific. And, supposedly, Taylor is on board with the project. So we may have a Ryan Adams version of the most popular album of the past year soon. What a time to be alive!
Taylor Swift Shares Excited Statement About Ryan Adams’ 1989 Covers Album
Here is an absolutely fantastic profile of Stephen Colbert, as he prepares to take over CBS’ Late Show.
The Late, Great Stephen Colbert
I enjoyed this story of a Kansas City native who lives in New York about how she defended her home town team in Yankee Stadium.
A Confession: How I Came To Comprehend The Greatness Of The Kansas City Royals
Former SNL writer Paula Pell shares a few of her favorite skits that she helped create over the years. That Debbie Downer one makes me laugh so hard I cry every time I see it.
Legendary Saturday Night Live Writer Paula Pell Picks Her 8 Most Important Sketches
And finally, this allegedly contains every great line from Seinfeld, conveniently mashed into one clip. OK, there are a lot of great lines missing. Still fun to watch.
- I think it’s weird that RS has such a strong institutional memory. I know there are still some long-time writers there. But there also have to be a ton of writers who came of age in the 80s and 90s now, right? Yet the same icons from the 60s inevitably top any list like this they publish. ↩