' ' Cinema Romantico: My Favorite Album Of 2012

Saturday, December 22, 2012

My Favorite Album Of 2012


Perhaps it goes without saying but my favorite album of 2012, far and away, was "Traveling Alone" by Tift Merritt. It is my favorite album of 2012 because.....

It might be her best album. And to be her best album automatically means its packing serious heat.

Like all of her work it sounds different from her previous albums but it still sounds entirely like her (which is not anywhere near as easy as it sounds).

I totally respect people who truly understand the value of traveling alone, embrace it and are not bothered by it.

"Sweet Spot" is my favorite song from 2012.

I too am "looking for that sweet spot where I can live the way that I want" and whenever the hell I find it I too am "gonna give it everything that I got."

She and her band taking the stage at Chicago's City Winery and ripping into "Sweet Spot" without saying a word is one of my favorite memories of the past 365 days.

"Still Not Home" is my second favorite song from 2012.

She lets me know its just fine to still not be home yet.

She ain't got no time for maudlin "Small Talk (Relations)."

I suspect she ain't got no time for maudlin "Small Talk (Relations)" because she's the sort of person who thinks "a day is something like a prayer." If that's how you view a day then discussing the stock market just ain't gonna cut it, homey.

I like when she sings about how beautiful it is to be "talking to somebody ain't got no angles" because that's how I always feel when I listen to her music - like I'm listening to somebody who ain't got no angles.

"Sometimes my heart is all I got / sometimes my heart gets in the way" too - so much so to the point that it drives me absolutely crazy even though I also know I would never want it any other way.

It reminds me that you can both know who you are and not have it all figured out.

The older I get and with each successive album the more I realize Tift understands me and who I am and how I feel better then Bruce ever did.

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