Lana Del Rey is simultaneously one of the most underrated and overrated artists working today.
When she first emerged, she was dismissed as a vapid model pretending to be a musician. Her stiff SNL performance was excoriated to an absurd degree.
At the same time, her lush and dreamy songs have been raised to the level of high art by some critics and legions of fans.
Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter died in his sleep on Easter Sunday, nearly 30 years after he was freed from prison.
Carter was incarcerated for 19 years for a murder he didn’t commit, after being convicted by an all-white jury based on the testimony of two criminals who later recanted.
Carter’s story was dramatized in the 1999 film Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington, and more memorably in Bob Dylan’s 1975 song of the same name, the opening track on Desire.
On a film podcast I listed to recently, the hosts discussed Sight & Sound‘s decision to no longer let critics combine The Godfather and The Godfather Part Two into one entry when submitting their “ten best films of all time” lists.
It’s no doubt the correct decision. It’s patently unfair to let two masterpieces join forces in facing off against individual films. But they tell such a potent and tragic tale together that you kind of want to bend the rules and just go with it.
k.d. lang is one of those performers who elevates any material she works on. Her voice is reason enough to listen, no matter the song.
My favorite album of hers remains Absolute Torch and Twang, lang’s wonderfully titled 1989 release. As the title suggests, that record is a perfect blend of her country and crooner sides.
Jack Antonoff’s final Rolling Stone Guest List selection is a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
I must confess to a complete ignorance of Cave’s work. I feel like I’ve heard the name more times than I can count, often cited as an influence by artists I admire, but I’ve never taken the time to explore the man’s music.
I’m grateful to Antonoff for giving me that opportunity.
