Wow, this is two months in a row that I'm posting my Song of the Day update on the first day of the following month. I know what you're all thinking -- this guy has no life! And you're right. (Well, I actually, I have brief lull in work this morning, and I figure I'd better get to it while the getting is good. But also, I have no life.)
The voting wasn't even close this month in terms of the top spot, which is another reason I feel confident is getting to this early. So pull up a chair, and I'll tell you all about it.
For new readers, this blog entry refers to the monthly Song of the Day list on the Sputnik Music website. Each month, one user hosts the list and names a theme. Everyone then recommends songs in line with this theme, and people rate the various song recommendations. The list of April songs can be found at Sputnik Music Song of the Day - April 2021.
1. The theme for this month was Sing Along, meaning anthemic songs and songs people like to sing along with.
2. We had full participation again, meaning thirty different Sputnik Users each got to pick one song a piece. I would have actually liked to have recommended our old friend Tony Hightower's brilliant little number, "So the Hell What," but it's not posted anywhere on YouTube for me post a link to so the other Users could hear (and rate) it. (I think it might not be on Spotify either, but I forget for sure if I checked. We basically all use YouTube, bandcamp or Spotify, so if a song isn't up on at least one of them, it's not eligible.) I did consider going with Halley DeVestern's "Glow in the Dark Baby Jesus," but it's got a country/blues kind of vibe, and that never seems to score well with the other Users. So in the end, I played it safe and went with Patti Smith's "Summer Cannibals," which scored a very respectable average rating 3.77 out of 5. Unfortunately for me, it was a high-scoring month, so I wasn't even close to the top spot. Sorry Patti. Maybe next time. Patti Smith - Summer Cannibals
3. I thought it was a very solid month's worth of songs, and my average rating for the month was 3.05 out of 5. I actually had a three-way tie for my personal top spot of the month, with three different songs rated at 4 out 5: Don McLean's classic, "Vincent"; another classic, 1981's "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers; and yet another iconic track, "Last Caress" by the Misfits. All three of these tracks scored higher than a 4 out of 5 with the group at large. Don McLean - Vincent; The Stranglers - Golden Brown; Misfits - Last Caress
4. However, this time out, the winning recommendation was Fugazi's "Waiting Room", thanks largely to the fact that five different Users gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 score (and another gave it a 4.8). I gave it a respectable score myself, but I thought all of the 5's it received was kind of insane. But what can you do?
5. Once again, you can find all 30 of the tracks that were recommended for April up on YouTube. And here's a link to the full month's playlist, because I'm such a helpful guy: April 2021 Song of the Day YouTube Playlist
So that finishes off April. Hopefully, now that the warmer weather is here (and many of us have now been vaccinated), people will have the chance to get and about. Stay safe, y'all!
