"Rare" Smiths Compilation Appears on Digital Music Services

A compilation of rare songs by the Smiths, simply called Rare, has popped up on digital music services like Amazon and Rhapsody. While it hasn't been determined whether the release is Warner-approved or a bootleg that somehow infiltrated these shops, the compilation does have some interesting, hard-to-find tracks, like "This Charming Man" B sides "Jeane" and "Wonderful Woman" and a studio version of Johnny Marr's instrumental "The Draize." The set is also reportedly available on some countries' iTunes stores, but we couldn't locate it in the U.S. one. Still, hard-core Smiths fans question the validity of this release, as many of the songs are available on other bootlegs, and Rare doesn't seem to have improved sound over those release.

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Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

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