Tag Archives: Is It a Crime?

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Song of the Day #6,245: ‘Is It a Crime?’ – Judy Holliday

Continuing my appreciation of the films of Vincente Minnelli, I’ll start this week off by celebrating the many great actors who appeared in his films.

It would be madness to not start with the ladies. Minnelli worked with a laundry list of Hollywood’s great actresses, and often highlighted their gifts in a way no other director could. His subject matter and themes were too wide-ranging to put him in the ranks of traditional “woman’s directors” like Douglas Sirk, but his films were certainly showcases for amazing female talent.

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Song of the Day #5,633: ‘Is It a Crime?’ – Sade

Early this year, I finished up my Decades look at 1984 by featuring Sade’s debut album Diamond Life. A year later, the band (and the woman it’s named after) returned with Promise, an equally successful follow-up.

I don’t know this album as well as its predecessor. I’m familiar with the hits — ‘Is It a Crime?,’ ‘The Sweetest Taboo,’ and ‘Never as Good as the First TIme’ — and they’re all wonderful. The rest of the album coasts along on a similar jazzy vibe, though the songs don’t measure up to those high points. That wasn’t the case with Diamond Life, which is all bangers, start to finish.

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