Author Archives
Song of the Day #4,525: ‘Heart of Glass (Live)’ – Miley Cyrus
One of the many downsides of COVID-19 is that it blew up my vacation plans. My family had planned a two-week trip to Hawaii that has been postponed to (I hope) next summer.
I know, a quarter million people are dead and the virus is entering its worst phase yet, so I’m not complaining! I’m extremely lucky (knock on wood) that altered plans and a brief work furlough are my biggest losses to this global scourge.
Song of the Day #4,524: ‘All You Need Is Love’ – The Beatles
In 1967, as many as 700 million people worldwide watched Our World, the first ever live international satellite broadcast. The show featured segments by 14 different countries, presenting scenes of their choice (Japan showed the construction of the Tokyo subway system, while Canada showed a rancher herding cattle).
The United Kingdom won the night by offering up The Beatles, at the height of their popularity, debuting a new song. John Lennon wrote ‘All You Need Is Love’ for the occasion, deliberately penning a tune so simple that anybody in the world could easily sing along.
Song of the Day #4,523: ‘9-9’ – R.E.M.
‘9-9’ (pronounced “nine to nine,” according to bassist Mike Mills) is a deep cut on R.E.M.’s debut album, 1983’s Murmur.
Murmur is a fascinating album because it not only introduced the jangly pop and soulful folk rock that R.E.M. would perfect, but also weird, discordant, soft-punk songs like this one that pointed to some of the odd detours the band would take throughout their career.
Song of the Day #4,522: ‘American Utopia Trailer’ – David Byrne
In this very non-traditional movie year, the best film I’ve seen so far is Spike Lee’s presentation of American Utopia, a Broadway performance by David Byrne that ran between October of last year and February of 2020. The concert film is currently available for streaming on HBO Max.
Byrne’s show features a handful of tracks from his American Utopia album, released in 2018, but also cuts from the rest of his solo career and his time with Talking Heads. In between songs, Byrne opines on the state of America, offering an expansive and hopeful vision that couldn’t feel more welcome in this dark year.
Meet Me In Montauk 