Lemme tell you about my friend Jack.
We first met when I moved back to my hometown from Chicago. There wasn’t much of a music scene to speak of, but a few of us saw the potential for a thriving arts community. There were plenty of artists around, but there was very little support for them.
One of those groups was the short-lived Merchant Ships, a post-hardcore act helmed by Jack that somehow managed to gain a huge following on MySpace. The group had already dissolved by the time I met him.
He was still in high school.
These days, the Knack is mostly remembered for just one single: the infectious, raunchy “My Sherona” that still gets airtime on every classic rock station in the country.
The last few months, in a completely unexpected move, I have developed a fascination with soft rock duo Hall & Oates. I had been somewhat familiar with their big radio hits—”Maneater,” “Kiss On My List,” “Rich Girl,” et al—but when I actually delved into their studio albums, I was surprised to find a much richer sonic palette than their radio hits suggested.
Most of the conversation around 
Generally, I’m not much of a fan of greatest hits compilations. I see little value in stripping songs from the context of their albums.