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Song of the Day #4,842: ‘Finally Out of P.E.’ – Brie Larson

Ten years before she won a Best Actress Oscar for Room and 14 years before she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one the most powerful Avengers, Captain Marvel, Brie Larson was a 16-year-old wannabe pop singer in the Avril Lavigne mold.

Larson’s one and only album, Finally Out of P.E., is a collection of generic pop songs about the trials of a 21st century high school student. It isn’t any good, but it’s charming in hindsight, given the trajectory Larson’s career took over the following decade.

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Song of the Day #4,841: ‘Superman 14’ – Kevin Costner & Modern West

My next movie star musician is Mr. Kevin Costner, who has fronted a band called Modern West since 2008. The country rock outfit has released five albums, the most recent in 2020.

While the band’s first three albums steer clear of their lead singer’s movie career, the next two are companion pieces to his TV work: 2012’s Famous for Killing Each Other [Music from and Inspired by Hatfields & McCoys] and last year’s Tales From Yellowstone.

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Song of the Day #4,840: ‘Wonderwall’ – Florence Pugh

This week I’m featuring songs by artists much better known for their acting. Most of these artists have released recorded material either solo or with a band, but today’s selection is decidedly more amateur.

Like so many teenagers of her generation, Florence Pugh had a YouTube channel — under the name Flossie Rose — where she recorded musical performances. Only a handful remain, or maybe she recorded only a handful to begin with. The songs include ‘Hey Ho’ by The Lumineers and ‘Make You Feel My Love’ by Bob Dylan/Adele.

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Song of the Day #4,839: ‘Crash On the Levee (Down in the Flood)’ – Bob Dylan

Today’s random track was recorded by Bob Dylan and The Band in 1967, as part of the casual sessions that were eventually released on 1975’s The Basement Tapes. Before that release, an alternate version of the song appeared on Dylan’s second greatest hits collection in 1971.

In much different form, and titled simply ‘Down in the Flood,’ this song was recorded by both The Derek Trucks Band and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

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Song of the Day #4,838: ‘Never is Enough’ – Barenaked Ladies

Not counting today, I’ve posted 26 Barenaked Ladies songs on the blog, a combination of Random Weekend selections and my own picks. And yet only one of those tracks is from the band’s most popular album, 1998’s Stunt.

In addition to being their top-selling album (quadruple platinum in both the United States and their native Canada), Stunt is one of their best. It blends their signature whimsy with several lovely ballads and ties it all together with their best production quality to that point.

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