Natalie Merchant, both with 10,000 Maniacs and in her solo career, has created some of the most beautiful and emotional songs I’ve ever heard.
Her unique, emotive vocals blend so well with the well-produced acoustic piano pop. It’s music you can chill out to or cry to. Today’s Random SOTD is a great example.
Rounding out my “freebie list” of the five women I can take to bed without objection by my wife is English actress Nathalie Emanuel, who at 26 is the youngest of the group.
The fourth name on my freebie list is not Jimmy Fallon, but rather Gabrielle Union, his partner in the sketch that serves as today’s Song of the Day.
Union has been on my radar for 15 years, starting with her supporting turn in the beloved romantic comedy Bring it On.
Ah Rashida Jones, you beautiful tropical fish. If this list were in order, the multi-talented Jones might well occupy the top spot.
The daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton, Rashida Jones is a writer, director, actress, singer, songwriter, Harvard grad, and social and political activist — as funny and smart as she is beautiful.
My second freebie list entry (though these are in no particular order) is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the English actress who broke out in 2014 with excellent performances in the underrated films Belle and Beyond the Lights. Mbatha-Raw is back this holiday season playing the wife of Will Smith’s character in Concussion, a film about the NFL’s coverup of serious medical issues.
