It feels to me like contry artist Kelsea Ballerini is on the verge of crossover stardom. I don’t think the 26-year-old Tennessee singer-songwriter is destined to reach the heights of her friend and supporter Taylor Swift, but maybe she’ll be another Maren Morris or Kacey Musgraves.
Ballerini released her third album, kelsea, on March 20. It fits firmly in the country-pop lane that Swift perfected on her first few albums, with a couple of tracks that lean a little more Top 40.
I’ve written recently about several artists who are returning with new music this year after a long hiatus. But none of those hold a candle to the Dixie Chicks.
The trio’s last studio album was 2006’s Grammy-winning Taking the Long Way, the record that addressed lead singer Natalie Maines’ controversial comments about President Bush and the absurd reaction of country music fans. While the band suffered boycotts and death threats during that episode, Taking the Long Way managed to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 and Country charts, go double Platinum, and win Grammys for Album, Record and Song of the Year.
Lucinda Williams is back with her first new material since 2016’s The Ghosts of Highway 20. I featured that album track-by-track on the blog, much to the consternation of some loyal readers.
Ghosts was a very meditative, delicate album, full of sad remembrances and long guitar solos. I think the Trump years have made an impact on Williams, because Good Souls, Better Angels is the opposite — loud, angry, confrontational.
Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mom, who I haven’t had a chance to hug in a couple of months now. I hope that changes soon.
And Happy Mother’s Day to my lovely wife, who along with our two daughters has made this extended quarantine something special. I’m going to look back on this time fondly, especially when my older daughter leaves for college (coronavirus willing) later this year and we miss the chance to see her all day every day.
Fernando Meirelles’ City of God was my #1 film of 2003 and my #4 film of the 2000s. It’s a vibrant, violent immersion into Brazil’s lawless favelas, and one of the most exhilarating films I’ve ever seen.
I haven’t watched it in full for close to a decade, I’d guess, but hearing this track from the movie’s soundtrack has me wanting to revisit it. The movie it is compared to the most is Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, and it shares that film’s dark humor and rewatchability.
Meet Me In Montauk 