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Song of the Day #5,332: ‘Nobody Like U’ – 4*TOWN

Continuing my look at the movies of 2022 that did not make my top ten list, today I’m giving a little love to the year in animation.

I missed a couple of the higher profile releases — namely, Minions: The Rise of Gru and The Bad Guys — but I did manage to catch a nice selection of animated films, including all of the Oscar nominees.

In addition to the wide range of themes and stories explored in these films, I was particularly impressed with the variety of animation styles. Those who dismiss these movies as “cartoons” are missing out on some of the most creative and visually impressive cinema around.

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Song of the Day #5,331: ‘Marea (We’ve Lost Dancing)’ – Fred again.. feat. The Blessed Madonna

Continuing my look at the movies of 2022 that did not make my top ten list, today I’m going to focus on international films.

This will be a quick post because I haven’t seen nearly as many foreign language films as I’d like this year. That’s partly because the streamers have not made them as readily available as in previous years. In fact, three of the five movies nominated for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award currently have no U.S. distribution, in theaters or otherwise.

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Song of the Day #5,329: ‘Death or Glory’ – The Clash

I haven’t featured a song from The Clash’s classic album London Calling since July of 2009, way back at Song of the Day #357. I guess the Random iTunes Fairy thought that was too long.

London Calling is indeed a great album, considered one of the best of all time by many critics. It has the urgency and directness of great punk music but the ear candy melodicism of pop radio. It’s not an album I revisit often but it’s one I always enjoy when I do.

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Song of the Day #5,328: ‘Up the Hill Backwards’ – David Bowie

‘Up the Hill Backwards’ is the second track, and fourth single, from David Bowie’s 1980 album Scary Monsters.

This was Bowie’s first album following his critically-praised but commercially-challenged Berlin trilogy, and it had a more mainstream sound than its predecessors. First single ‘Ashes to Ashes’ gave him his second #1 hit in the UK.

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