For this year’s Christmas break, my family is heading to the great state of Texas (specifically, Austin and San Antonio). Over the next two weeks, I’ll leave my faithful blog readers with two handfuls of songs about the Lone Star State.
Author Archives
Song of the Day #3,096: ‘Funny the Way It Is’ – Dave Matthews Band
Song of the Day #3,095: ‘My First Mine’ – Pavement
Two more opportunities for Random iTunes Holiday Surprises, as both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fall on a weekend this year.
Let’s spin the dial and see what the Random iTunes Fairy serves up for today’s festive occasion.
Obscure Pavement song? Sorry, I got nothing.
Song of the Day #3,094: ‘Who I Thought You Were’ – Santigold
The movies I’ve featured this week make up slots two through six on my top ten list, following Moana in the top spot. Rounding out the top ten are Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!!, the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar! then maybe The Nice Guys and Finding Dory.
Of course I haven’t seen Moonlight yet, nor Arrival, Jackie or a handful of others with a good shot at my list. All in good time. For now, though, I’m pretty happy with my top ten in what’s turned out to be a very solid year at the movies.
Song of the Day #3,093: ‘Dollar Bill Blues’ – Townes Van Zandt
I’m thrilled to see Hell or High Water on a lot of year-end top ten lists and in the Academy Award conversation. Taut genre films like this one usually don’t get that kind of love. Even the Coen Brothers’ Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men, a similar film in some ways, had an artsy streak not present here.
Hell of High Water, written by Taylor Sheridan and directed by David Mackenzie, is a sun-baked Texas noir, a modern-day Western about two outlaw brothers robbing banks to save their ancestral home from foreclosure. Chris Pine and Ben Foster are well-matched as the brothers, and Jeff Bridges delivers a twist on his Rooster Cogburn as the Texas Ranger on their tail.
Meet Me In Montauk 