Maren Morris is having a moment. The Nashville singer is coming off of the top five smash ‘The Middle’ (with producer/DJ Zedd) and just dropped ‘GIRL,’ her second full-length album to high sales and critical acclaim.
I didn’t spend a lot of time with Morris’ debut album, Hero, though I liked it well enough. I’m enjoying Girl a lot more.
Love the Marvel Cinematic Universe or hate it (and I love it), you have to give credit to producer Kevin Feige for pulling off such an extraordinary feat of extended storytelling.
Twenty-one movies over ten years, with the granddaddy of them all — Avengers: Endgame — due in just a few weeks. A huge slate of perfectly cast stars popping up in multiple films in either lead or supporting roles. A talented slate of writers and directors who have brought their own sensibilities to individual films while maintaining the threads that tie them all together.
It is a unique cinematic achievement.
I’ve been tied up with the latest Decades series for the past few weeks, so I never got a chance to chime in on the Oscars. Don’t worry, that ship has sailed, and I don’t plan to revisit this year’s Academy Awards at this point.
But I did want to take a minute to acknowledge one of my favorite moments from the ceremony: Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s performance of ‘Shallow.’
Through more than ten years and nearly 4,000 Songs of the Day, I have written exclusively about songs written and performed by other people. That’s a long time to spend as an observer.
Not many people know this about me, but I have dabbled in a bit of songwriting myself. And today, I’ve summoned the courage to post one of my own songs.
Nil Lara is a Miami musician who my wife and I saw live a few times back in the 90s. His early self-released albums and EPs were excellent.
Lara signed with a major label in 1995, releasing a self-titled album that collected his best work in more polished (and less effective, IMO) form. He didn’t put out another album until 2004’s Da, on which today’s SOTD is the opening track.
Meet Me In Montauk 