It’s funny that this iconic Johnny Cash song, his first #1 hit and the one that inspired the title of the celebrated biopic, was written not about June Cash but Johnny’s first wife, Vivian.
I guess he didn’t find it so easy to be true after he met June.
Jenny Lewis’ 2014 album The Voyager was my second-favorite album of that year and in my top ten for the decade so far. Just mentioning it here has me wanting to cue it up in my car — I think I’ll do that.
Despite my love for that album, I haven’t spent a lot of time revisiting Lewis’ other solo efforts, including 2008’s Acid Tongue, on which today’s Random SOTD appears. My guess is I’d appreciate this album even more in light of The Voyager.
Another film checked off my 2016 to-see list. Pete’s Dragon came highly recommended by my nephew Daniel, who named it his favorite film of last year (though it might be battling Hidden Figures for the spot as of the last update).
It is indeed a worthy film. Daniel’s mother used the term “lovely” to describe it, which he took as an insult but I think is spot-on. It’s effectively touching and thrilling by turns and if it doesn’t climb into the upper echelon of classic family films, well, why should it have to?
I’ve crossed two more movies off of my 2016 to-see list: Hidden Figures and Green Room. You’d be hard-pressed to find two less similar films.
The former is a very by-the-book, emotionally satisfying tale of three Black women who broke ground as NASA scientists in the 60s. The latter is a brutal thriller about a punk band trapped in a nightclub by a group of vicious white supremacists.
Yesterday, I lauded the wonderful network and cable shows I enjoyed in 2016 but I neglected to mention the ones I streamed. Well, that’s because there weren’t any for most of the year.
I’m only halfway through the new season of Mozart in the Jungle, a show I absolutely love. [NOTE: Since writing this, I finished the season.] I’m thisclose to starting Stranger Things but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I’m a season behind on Orange is the New Black. I hear great things about Bojack Horseman and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt but, well, see all of the above.
Meet Me In Montauk 