Song of the Week: "California Stars" by Billy Bragg and Wilco (1998)

The Ginger Ninja and I are going on vacation for a week starting quitting time tonight. Expect posting up until next Tuesday morning to be a bit on the light side. There may even be an automated post or two made in my absence.

In celebration of this vacation, I present to you this week’s song of the week, California Stars [7.1MB MP3] by Billy Bragg and Wilco, off their delightful and unexpected joint project of an album, Mermaid Avenue. I remember playing this song back in 2001 at full blast on iTunes 1.0 the first time I closed OpenCola’s new San Francisco office for the night and thinking “Whoa, I live in California now.” (By June, I’d been relocated back to Toronto, and that’s a story for another time.)

I also remember playing this song — again on iTunes, but a later version on a faster Mac — as the bride and groom’s first dance at Ashley Bristowe’s and Chris Turner’s wedding in Canmore at the start of 2004. That was the first time I’d travelled anywhere with Wendy, so the song brings back as many happy memories for me as I’m sure it does for Ash and Turner.

You’ve got a week to download this song, after which it’ll evaporate. Enjoy!