Two and a half months ago, I wrote about my quarantine goal of watching the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute. I had 11 under my belt then, including five I had already seen and six I had watched in recent weeks.
I am happy to announce that I have now accomplished my goal of watching all 25. And that includes revisiting the five titles I had already seen. Over the next month, I will present my countdown of those musicals from worst to best.
This song, by the “indietronic” New York band +/- (pronounced plus/minus), appears on the soundtrack to the 2004 film Wicker Park. A co-worker gave me a copy of that soundtrack many years ago and it has languished in my iTunes library unheard until now.
Based on the YouTube comments of this (highly annoying and forgettable) song, a lot of people really like Wicker Park. More than a few YouTube commenters call it one of their favorite movies of all time.
Elvis Costello’s 2010 album National Ransom was a return to the country rock/Americana sound he employed so winningly on King of America 24 years earlier.
I can’t say I’ve revisited this album much since it first came out, but every time I hear one of its songs I’m reminded how much I like it.
Concluding my countdown of the songs on Taylor Swift’s folklore…
#3. ‘invisible string’
One of the few songs on folklore written about Swift’s current relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, ‘invisible string’ is soul-soothing in its vision of romantic fate. It contains clever references to Swift’s previous work (“Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to LA”) and the resolution she has found with former flames (“Now I send their babies presents”). She sounds thrillingly at peace.
Continuing my countdown of the songs on Taylor Swift’s folklore…
#6. ‘this is me trying’
This, like a few other Jack Antonoff-produced folklore songs, has a pulsating bass line that reminds me of Joshua Tree U2. A very moody and effective bed for Swift’s yearning vocals and a song about romantic regret.
Meet Me In Montauk 