Bear with me on this one, but I think Florence + The Machine and Adele are having the same career.
Consider: Both acts released debut albums that were decent but unremarkable, notable for one hit single that towered above everything else on the record. Then both dropped sophomore records that surpassed even the highest expectations, reaching unexpected heights both critically and commercially.
I’m not familiar with Sia, but Wikipedia informs me that is the stage name of Sia Furler, an Australian pop/jazz singer.
Today’s track is similar to the Lana Del Rey track that started off the week — more about mood than melody. I’m not a big fan of songs that I can’t hum along to after a couple of listens.
Well, we didn’t wind up seeing The Great Gatsby as planned, so this week of songs from the film’s soundtrack will have to survive without commentary about how each was used in the film (by me, anyway… several commenters have seen the film and can chime in on that front).
Today’s selection is a cover by Jack White of the U2 track ‘Love is Blindness.’ This is one of U2’s most portentous (and pretentious?) songs, closing the album Achtung Baby on an unsettling and somber note.
My wife and I have plans to see Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby tonight. I’m not discouraged by the film’s 48% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes — that seems perfectly appropriate for a love-him-or-hate-him filmmaker like Luhrmann.
I’m sure the film will be over the top, even ridiculous, at times, but I’m equally sure it will have moments of transcendent beauty. Luhrmann’s films are always in danger of flying off the rails, but they do so spectacularly — that quality is the key to their appeal.
From one of the reissues of Elvis Costello’s Goodbye Cruel World comes this live rendition of a standout track from a much better album, Get Happy!
In an uncharacteristically brief mention in the album’s liner notes, Costello explains that today’s track — along with a few others — was recorded during his first-ever solo tour.
