This morning I woke up with a song from the Gypsy Soundtrack in my head, or more specifically, Buster Bluth Buster Bluth dancing to (Ethel Merman's version if I remember right) "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy. I've always been a fan of Gypsy since I was a kid, and the selection of this song for the character of Buster was brilliant. Anyway, I can't find the (hilarious--and poignant) dance Buster does to the song, but here's Ethel singing "Rose's Turn" from Broadway.
Like most people of a certain age, I've been a fan of the Beatles as long as I can remember, and specifically Paul McCartney (the cute Beatle, as my mom always calls him) post Beatles for many years. Oh sure, Paul has written a few goose-eggs, but so has Bob Dylan (most of the 80's). Anyway, Paul's new album is one of his strongest efforts in years and the first single off the album, New, is a song most people will enjoy. Below is the lyrics video for the song. About 3/4 of the way through the video is a shot of Paul laying a guitar pick on Elvis's grave. My brother and I happened to be in Memphis the same day Paul visited Graceland (I really wanted to go to the concert that night but we didn't have time). The bottom video is Paul singing "New" acoustically and demonstrates that Paul McCartney is still "the cute Beatle."
Sometimes redemption doesn't turn out the way you want it, but it doesn't make it less sweet.
I finally watched "Crazy Heart" last week, and it's a movie that actually exceeded my fairly high expectations. The story is about an alcoholic country singer/songwriter who gets a second shot at life.
Although the supporting acting is all solid, Jeff Bridges astounds in this role. Reportedly, he was told to be the "6th Highwayman" and he evokes memories of both Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. Playing a drunk suits "The Dude," and Bridges is completely available as an alcoholic who still has a way with women. The film ultimately is a character study, with the supporting actors acting as foils for Bridges.
A film about a singer-songwriter wouldn't be complete without music, and the music in "Crazy Heart" is stellar. From Colin Farrell as a believable country artist (Ferrell could have easily been a Nashville star) to Jeff Bridges singing exactly like you think he might. The movie would fall flat if the songs themselves were lousy, but most of them are solid and a couple are even memorable ("Fallin' Feels like Flyin'" and "The Weary Kind"). Ryan Bingham (the composer for many of the movie's songs) is one to watch.
Although the film is gritty, it's one I'd recommend.
When buying music, I prefer cd's to buying mp3's online. However, Amazon has a new promotion of 50 albums a month for $5 each that's a cheap way to expand a music catalog. The 50 CD's aren't the bottom of the bargain bin. There's no Weird Al Greatest Hits Volume four here. No, rather there's a pretty diverse of new stuff, classics that range from Nat King Cole to Yo Gabba Gabba! There's Bowie, the latest Jay-Z Album and even a decent selection of recent Indy Rock Albums. Some of my recommendations are:
Cash: The Best of the Sun Years If you don't own any Johnny Cash, the most influential and groundbreaking music of his career happened while he recorded at Sun Records. This album has 25 singles (25 singles for 5 bucks!) and covers the classics as well as lesser known music. Here's a 23 year old Johnny Cash singing one of my favorite songs from the Sun Years:
Blitzen Trappers "Furr" One of my favorite albums from 2008 is Blitzen Trappers, "Furr." Many of the tracks on this Indy-Rock album would be at home on a '70s folk-rock album. Here's Blitzen Trappers performing the title track on Conan:
The Gaslight Anthem:"The '59 Sound" I adore this album. I've been listening to it regularly for a year, and it's still one of my "go to" albums. The Gaslight Anthem is from Jersey-and sound like the progeny of Springsteen, but it totally works for them. If you haven't heard this album yet, check it out!
Amazon's Promotion
Other album highlights are: The Heartless Bastards "The Mountain"-Perhaps the Bastards weakest album, however it still showcases the lead singers incredible rock god voice The Crane Wife by the Decemberists is a classic
