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Song of the Day #3,579: ‘Happy Now?’ – No Doubt

This is the fifth track I’ve featured from No Doubt’s 1995 album Tragic Kingdom, and the third on a Random Weekend. I wish I’d been keeping stats from the start, so I’d know if this is one of the most-represented Random Weekend albums or somewhere in the middle of the pack.

‘Happy Now?’ was written by Gwen Stefani about her breakup from band member Tony Kanal, with whom she had a 7-year relationship. How odd it must have been for both of them to perform this song (and others with a similar theme) night after night.

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Song of the Day #3,578: ‘Rivers of Love’ – Sarah McLachlan

Today’s random selection comes from the artist who originally launched Random Weekends more than six years ago — Sarah McLachlan.

‘Rivers of Love’ appears on McLachlan’s rather weak 2010 album Laws of Illusion. I’ve been very dismissive of that record, but I have to admit this song isn’t half bad.

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Song of the Day #3,577: ‘Celebration’ – Kool & The Gang

I first watched my favorite 2017 film three months into 2018, on a small seatback screen during a flight from Florida to California. Less than ideal conditions, which makes my ecstatic reaction to The Florida Project even more legit.

I have since watched Sean Baker’s film two more times under better conditions, and those viewings have only solidified my opinion that this is not just the best movie of last year but one of the best of the decade so far.

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Song of the Day #3,576: ’99 Luftballons’ – Nena

Recently I stayed home from work with a nasty cold and took advantage of the bed rest to sneak in a delightfully fun double feature.

First up was Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde, directed by David Leitch (more on him later). It’s a stylish, violent Cold War spy thriller that further cements Theron’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s most versatile talents.

I’m all excited to see her in full frumpy housewife mode in the upcoming Tully, and here she is doing many of her own stunts as an international woman of espionage, definitively answering the question of whether James Bond would work as a woman. Theron’s Lorraine Broughton would kick James Bond’s ass.

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Song of the Day #3,575: ‘Feather’ – William Wild

Ty Sheridan, the Oscar-nominated writer of 2016’s Hell or High Water, made his debut as a writer-director last year with the underseen and underrated Wind River.

Inspired by the alarming rate of sexual assault on Native American women on reservations. the film follows a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) and Fish and Wildlife hunter (Jeremy Renner) as they investigate the rape and eventual death of a young woman in the frigid hills of Wyoming.

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