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Song of the Day #4,637: ‘Forever and Ever’ – Demis Roussos

We’re in March of 2021, and yet 2020 feels like it will never end. But it’s finally time to wrap up at least one aspect of the year from hell. Over the next two weeks I will count down my top ten movies of 2020.

For the purposes of the list, I’m using this year’s Academy Awards definition of 2020 as January 1, 2020, through February 28, 2021. That allows me to include movies that had to skip the usual “one week in New York and Los Angeles” qualifying period before opening wide earlier this year. This isn’t much different than any year, where I don’t catch up with many Oscar contenders until January or February.

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Song of the Day #4,636: ‘The Hunter’s Wife’ – Pistol Annies

Today’s track is from Pistol Annies’ debut album, and was penned and performed by Angaleena Presley, the least-famous Annie.

This tongue-in-cheek tune explores the life of a hunter’s wife, and throws in enough hunting jargon to weigh down an 11-point buck.

It got me thinking… what came first, country music’s music or its lyrics?

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Song of the Day #4,635: ‘I’m Ready to Move On / Wild Heart Reprise’ – Bleachers

I remember liking Bleachers’ debut album, 2014’s Strange Desire. This was Jack Antonoff’s first solo effort after finding success with fun., and before he became the most sought after producer by the most talented women in modern music.

‘Rollercoaster‘ is a brilliant song, and I’m quite fond of ‘Shadow,’ ‘Wild Heart’ and ‘I Wanna Get Better.’

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Song of the Day #4,634: ‘Blue’ – Joni Mitchell

I didn’t know what to expect when I embarked on this monthlong exploration of Joni Mitchell’s discography.

I knew no more than a handful of her songs very well and had zero knowledge of the ebbs and flows of her 40+ year career. I understood that she is an iconic singer-songwriter who inspired a generation of artists, but I didn’t know exactly how or why.

After dozens of hours listening to every one of Mitchell’s studio albums, I now have a pretty well-formed picture of her wild path. But I still don’t know exactly what to make of it. It is certainly a far more unpredictable and uneven journey than I imagined.

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Song of the Day #4,633: ‘Night of the Iguana’ – Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell made an unexpected return to recording in 2007, releasing Shine, an album that seems likely to be her last.

Mitchell suffered an aneurysm in 2015 which robbed her of the ability to talk and walk, though she recovered her voice and is on her way to recovering her mobility. Her old friend and lover, James Taylor, recently said he believed Mitchell, now 77 years old, could even record new music again. I wouldn’t count her out.

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