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Song of the Day #5,358: ‘Apartment for Sale’ – Lydia Tár

Continuing the countdown of my favorite 2022 movies…

Best Films of 2022
#5 – TÁR

I was so ready to dislike TÁR.

I missed the film during its initial theatrical run and by the time I got around to seeing it at home I had been subjected to an endless stream of online praise by an often-annoying fanbase.

I also heard a steady drumbeat of predictions that Cate Blanchett was on her way to her third Oscar while never-nominated Michelle Yeoh would have to settle for second place. That didn’t sit well with me either.

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Song of the Day #5,357: ‘Fuck You (Le Castle Vania Remix)’ – CeeLo Green

Today’s SOTD was a bonus track on CeeLo Green’s 2010 album The Lady Killer. It’s a remix of hit single ‘Fuck You’ by Atlanta DJ Dylan Eiland, founder of EDM project Le Castle Vania.

I’ve never understood or cared about remixes, especially ones that don’t do anything radical with the original song. ‘Fuck You’ is perfectly crafted in its original form, making this sort of tinkering completely unnecessary.

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Song of the Day #5,356: ‘The Life’ – Alicia Keys

Today’s random track appeared on Alicia Keys’ 2001 debut album Songs in A Minor.

Buoyed by singles ‘Fallin’,’ ‘A Woman’s Worth’ and ‘How Come You Don’t Call Me,’ the album was a huge hit, eventually going 7X platinum and earning five Grammys for Keys, including Best New Artist.

‘The Life’ is rather simplistic, lyrically (“when it rains it pours,” indeed) but the the music has a nice Sade-esque groove.

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Song of the Day #5,355: ‘Be My Baby’ – The Ronettes

Continuing the countdown of my favorite 2022 movies…

Best Films of 2022
#6 – Barbarian

In this age of ubiquitous social media, advance press, and spoiler-filled trailers, it’s almost impossible to be surprised at the movies anymore.

The sad epitome of this dynamic came with Spider-Man: No Way Home, where not only was the participation of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield spoiled months in advance, fans even pieced together some of the film’s dramatic beats by analyzing the trailer.

I’m sure it’s possible to go into a new movie with zero advance knowledge if you try hard enough, but for somebody who consumes entertainment culture as much as I do, it rarely happens.

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Song of the Day #5,354: ‘Lucky You’ – The Lightning Seeds

Continuing the countdown of my favorite 2022 movies…

Best Films of 2022
#7 – Aftersun

Writer-director Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun is a movie that leaped in my estimation after a second viewing because the first time through I didn’t know what it was about until the end.

I suppose some could call that a problem with the movie. Or was I just too obtuse during my initial watch to spot the breadcrumbs Wells was sprinkling throughout?

Either way, I’m a firm believer that movies are best appreciated after multiple viewings, and Aftersun is built for return visits.

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