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Song of the Day #3,723: ‘Electricity’ – Silk City and Dua Lipa

Since I last wrote about Dua Lipa in April, I feel like she’s been everywhere. That’s probably because I follow her on Instagram and the Albanian pop star is very active on that platform.

Lipa has been riding high on the success of her self-titled debut album, which has sent five singles up the charts (particularly in England, her birthplace), and maintaining an exhausting tour schedule. She also must be working out a whole lot, based on the amazing shape she’s in in the aforementioned Instagram photos.

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Song of the Day #3,722: ‘Titanic Medley’ – Ariana Grande & James Corden

Is it possible to not like James Corden? In addition to his immense talent as a comic and a singer, he seems like the most genuinely nice human being on earth.

He’s so likable that, in his ‘Carpool Karaoke’ segments and other skits, he has the ability to make anybody next to him — even Justin Bieber — instantly likable too.

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Song of the Day #3,721: ‘Cowboy Up’ – Annie Bosko

Every year I look forward to a host of movies based on factors such as the director or cast, a write-up in Entertainment Weekly‘s Fall Preview, or early buzz out of the festival season.

It’s rare that a movie completely sneaks up on me, but when one does it is often the most rewarding experience. Examples from recent years include Mudbound and Tower, two powerful and expertly crafted films that started entirely off my radar.

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Song of the Day #3,720: ‘I Won’t Hurt You’ – The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

I can’t remember the last movie I loved as instantly as Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. Not even a minute into the film’s prologue, which tells the story of a boy samurai who defended the “underdog dogs” against total canine annihilation and “beheaded the head of the head of the Kobayashi clan,” I was smitten.

The prologue segues into an opening credits sequence featuring a trio of young taiko drummers performing in the center of a gymnasium. And all of this is rendered in the most dazzling stop-motion animation I’ve ever seen.

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Song of the Day #3,719: ‘Say You’re Sorry’ – Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles is so good I feel a little guilty for not listening to her more.

The truth is I hear her songs quite a bit, especially tracks from her 2007 debut Little Voice, because my daughter plays the hell out of them on long drives. But Bareilles’ second album, 2010’s Kaleidoscope Heart, is very good as well and I never play that one. And I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even know she had a third album, 2013’s The Blessed Unrest, which was nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy (it lost to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories).

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