Author Archives

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Song of the Day #4,876: ‘Snow Globe’ – Pistol Annies

‘Tis the season for Christmas albums by random artists. First out of the gate, at least in the circles I follow, are Pistol Annies with a new album titled Hell of a Holiday.

I don’t typically go for these Christmas releases, even when they come from acts I really like. Aimee Mann delivered a nice one with 2006’s One More Drifter in the Snow but, apart from a lovely rendition of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’ it didn’t grab me beyond a couple of listens. Same goes for Bob Dylan’s 2009 Christmas in the Heart.

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Song of the Day #4,875: ‘Easy On Me’ – Adele

I haven’t done the math, but on a per-album basis, is there a more successful female artist than Adele? She currently sits at #10 on the all-time sales list for women based on the performance of just three albums. Everybody above her has released at least twice as many.

Even more impressive is that she makes those numbers with seemingly very little effort. She just emerges every 4-5 years after being almost completely out of the spotlight, drops a new song, and watches it break every streaming record in the book.

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Song of the Day #4,874: ‘This Old House’ – Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn has released 50 studio albums during her nearly 60-year career, including one the 89-year-old released this past March.

It’s funny how traditional notions of retirement don’t really apply to the arts. You don’t see a popular musician hit 65 and hang up the guitar to settle down in Florida.

I guess if the money is good and you love what you do, why stop?

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Song of the Day #4,873: ‘Smoking Jacket’ – Miranda Lambert

This is the eighth song I’ve posted from Miranda Lambert’s 2016 double album The Weight of These Wings, and the fourth on a Random Weekend.

A couple of years back, I named this album the best of the 2010s, an easy call. There isn’t a weak track among its 24 songs, even as it jumps around between atmospheric ballads, traditional Americana, and country pop.

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Song of the Day #4,872: ‘Life On Mars? (Alternate Version)’ – David Bowie

Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest film, Licorice Pizza, is due out later this month, at least in limited release. It might be December before it makes it to my multiplex.

The film is a coming-of-age romantic dramedy starring two first-time actors in Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Alana Haim (of the band Haim). Rounding out the cast are much bigger names, including Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Tom Waits and Maya Rudolph. Cooper has a small but flashy role as Jon Peters, producer of A Star is Born and one-time paramour of Barbra Streisand. Beyond that, not much is known about the plot.

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