“Blankets” – Craig Finn. This is the first time I’ve really enjoyed one of Finn’s solo songs. It may make me reconsider his entire solo catalog. But I’ll likely just got back and listen to classic Hold Steady tracks.
“Heart Attack Kid” – Ben Kweller. Kweller disappeared for awhile. This is a pretty solid return.
“Devil May Care” – Son Volt. Jay Farrar is always gonna Jay Farrar.
“F the NRA” – The Coathangers. No explanation needed.
“Kiss” – Prince. I didn’t have a video lined up so I just randomly scrolled through my Spotify catalog until something caught my eye. I remember how mind blowing this song and video were. Around the World In A Day was nothing like Purple Rain, and this track showed that Parade was going to be nothing like either of them. For all the accolades we heap on Prince’s career, I think the most amazing thing about his peak – 1983-1987 – was that every album in that stretch went in a completely different direction. Another thing I noticed while looking at the track listing for Parade was that Prince was never afraid to load up side two. I feel like Parade is kind of a forgotten album. But that side two is amazing.