Elvis Costello released a new album a few weeks ago, and I still haven’t listened to it all the way through.
There’s a sentence I didn’t think I’d ever write.
Once upon a time, a new Elvis Costello album was a major event in my life, like a Christmas day that happened every three or four years. But somewhere along the line, I stopped getting excited about Costello’s new music.
When singer/actor Meat Loaf died last month at age 74, reportedly from COVID-19 complications, I was intrigued by the references to his 1977 album Bat Out of Hell as one of the top-selling records of all time.
Indeed, the prog rock opera is the fourth best-selling album worldwide, behind only Michael Jackson’s Thriller, AC/DC’s Back in Black, and Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to The Bodyguard.
And here I am, purportedly a music fan, having never heard it.
To help appreciate the astounding popularity of Michael Jackson, consider that 1979’s Off the Wall sold more than 20 million copies worldwide… and it’s his fifth best-selling album.
What’s nuts is that the four albums Jackson released before this one, all between 1972 and 1975 on Motown Records, barely made a dent. Those records, recorded by a teenaged Jackson in a style very much like his work with the Jackson 5, showed few hints of the R&B/disco juggernaut to come.
I split Lucinda Williams’ discography into four periods.
You have the early years, from 1979-1992, featuring straightforward folk pop/rock and her most radio-friendly tunes and vocals.
Then there’s the span from 1998-2003, which saw her stretch into more challenging song styles and favor raw emotion over more polished performances. 1998’s Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, still her masterpiece, bridges the first two phases.
The newly 16-year-old Fiona finishes sharing her favorite orchestral pieces…
“Last but definitely not least is ‘Porch.’ A product of the great Alan Silvestri, ‘Porch’ somehow brings together a 2-and-a-half hour movie in just 64 seconds.
Arguably one of the best endings to a movie since The Empire Strikes Back, Avengers: Infinity War sends you off with the troubling sight of Thanos getting his wish to watch the sun rise on a grateful universe, while ‘Porch’ plays in the background.”
Meet Me In Montauk 