Song of the Day #286: ‘Like a Rose’ – Lucinda Williams

lucindaThe YouTube availability of Lucinda Williams’ music is a mixed bag. Her whole early career is there for the taking, as well as her most recent album. But there’s a two-album stretch of songs that is blocked at every turn. I mention this because I’m straying a bit from the one album per day pattern in order to fill in those gaps.

So today’s song is another from Williams’ classic self-titled album. That record is probably best known for yesterday’s song, ‘Passionate Kisses,’ as well as the sublime ‘Side of the Road,’ which I featured on this blog last October.

Continue reading

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

ghostsI hold out hope for Matthew McConaughey.

Yes, he has become more famous for shedding his shirt than for his acting, and yes, he has released a string of tired romantic comedies that smack of little but a paycheck grab.

But he has also expertly portrayed two iconic characters in two of my all-time favorite movies: Wooderson in Dazed and Confused and Buddy Deeds in Lone Star. Those performances alone earn McConaughey a free pass for life. And his funny turn in last year’s Tropic Thunder is a sign that he might still have some interesting work ahead of him.

Continue reading

Song of the Day #285: ‘Passionate Kisses’ – Lucinda Williams

lucwillIt was eight years before Lucinda Williams put out another album. Eight years! Whether that was due to choice or bad luck, I don’t know, but when she finally did release her follow-up to Happy Woman Blues, it was well worth the wait.

Lucinda Williams is one of those albums with a reputation that far exceeds the success it enjoyed when released. There’s a famous saying about the Velvet Underground’s first album that only 100 people heard it but every one of them was inspired to start a band. And I think the same could be said of this album.

Continue reading

Song of the Day #284: ‘Sharp Cutting Wings (Song for a Poet)’ – Lucinda Williams

happywomanbluesThis week’s featured artist is the great Lucinda Williams, a talented singer-songwriter who has made her mark in multiple genres, from folk to country, rock to (sort of) rap.

If I had to choose one word to sum up Williams’ work, it would be ‘honest.’ Her music is gritty and direct, void of artifice. Nothing she has done, good or bad, in a career spanning more than 30 years shows even a hint of pandering or record industry influence.

Continue reading

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

wolverine1Every time I see an X-Men movie I spend the next several days pondering which mutant power I’d most like to have. Shape-shifting, perhaps, which could come in handy in any number of circumstances. Invisibility… definitely a contender. Telepathy would certainly be intriguing.

Wolverine’s power is perhaps the most appealing on its face — healing powers that grant him (near) invincibility and eternal life. The adamantium skeleton and claws are a bonus — installed in him, as we witness in this film, by power-mad military man William Stryker (Danny Huston). But his real power is that he can’t be permanently injured.

Continue reading