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Song of the Day #4,233: ‘Criminal’ – Fiona Apple

Jennifer Lopez’s introduction in Hustlers was one of the great moments in cinema last year, musical or otherwise. And I promise I say that as a movie fan, not a guy who enjoys watching Lopez work the pole.

By framing this moment through the eyes of Constance Wu’s character, writer/director Lorene Scafaria makes Lopez’s dance not about her sexuality but her power. She is not a sex object… she’s the subject, specifically subjecting her will on the helpless men in the audience. She commands the stage, separating men from their money just as she will later in the movie through more nefarious methods. It’s appropriate that her song of choice is titled ‘Criminal.’

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Song of the Day #4,232: ‘Komm, gib mir deine Hand’ – The Beatles

Another of my favorite musical movie moments from 2019 came in the opening sequence of writer/director Taikia Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit.

After getting a pep talk from his imaginary friend, a childlike version of Adolf Hitler played by Waititi himself, young Nazi Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) takes to the streets, enthusiastically heiling everyone he sees. Then the opening credits run over scenes of Germany in the throes of Nazi fervor set to The Beatles’ German-language version of ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand.’

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Song of the Day #4,231: ‘Peace in This House’ – Jessie Buckley

I’ve spent a month writing about the films of the 2010s, taking me right into February, so I’m not going to do my usual countdown of my favorite films of the previous year.

My top three 2019 movies (Parasite, Little Women and Knives Out) made the decade list. These films rounded out my top ten (in order): Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Irishman, Avengers: Endgame, Pain & Glory, Dolemite is My Name, and Hustlers.

I still have several films to see that could crack this list, including Waves, Portrait of a Lady On Fire, Ash is Purest White and Queen & Slim. I’ll probably be watching 2019 movies for at least a few months of 2020.

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Song of the Day #4,230: ‘So Young’ – Ron Sexsmith

This April, Ron Sexsmith will release his 16th studio album, Hermitage. The Canadian singer-songwriter has been putting out new music at a pretty good clip for 30 years now.

I joined the bandwagon 19 years ago, when an online group of Elvis Costello fans steered me to his 2001 album Blue Boy. I fell hard for that record, and as often happens with introductory albums, it remains one of my favorites of his.

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Song of the Day #4,229: ‘Those Crazy Christians’ – Brad Paisley

Here’s an interesting track from Brad Paisley’s 2013 album Wheelhouse. It’s a modern-day gospel song by a man who is a regular churchgoer himself, but it’s told from the perspective of a non-believer.

Paisley spends the song’s first four verses mocking “those crazy Christians” for their devotion, but then has to give them credit for their commitment to caring for people they’ve never even met.

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