Bright Eyes "First Day Of My Life"

My wife didn't know the name Monsters Of Folk.  So when they played at Newport Folk a few years ago, she didn't realize that Conor Oberst was going to be on stage.

When he started singing "First Day Of My Life" it caught her off guard.  She knew the song, but to hear him singing it live, sincerely and unexpectedly, it brought out a well of emotion.  She still ranks Conor-Oberst-making-her-cry as one of her all-time concert highlight.

And if I didn't already associate the song with mushy, touching love-stuff, I saw the video for the first time ever, this week.

Maybe you'll have your own Conor-Oberst-making-you-cry moment.

Happy Valentine's Day.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Alison Krauss "Paper Airplane"

Maybe it's a function of having a baby.

Or maybe this happens every year (and I have just forgotten, because I'm so damn tired, due to having a baby).

I was putting together a list of all the albums we put into rotation on mvyradio in 2011, for our annual Top 25 poll, and I couldn't get over the number of records---BIG records---that feel like they've been around for years, but have actually only been out for 12 or fewer months.

Lucinda Williams "Blessed"?

R.E.M. "Collapse Into Now"?

Bright Eyes "The People's Key"?

All released this year.

The Grammy-winningest woman in history puts out her first record in 7 years, and it's so far in the rearview mirror that I didn't remember that I came out in April?

That's the sign of a good year. That's the sign of a year so full of great releases, that even great records get pushed to the back burner.

You can check out the list of all albums we played in rotation, and vote for your top five. Voting automatically enters you to win CD copies of The Top 25 Of 2011.

Thanks for your help!


See the video on Youtube.