Where did 2025 go?! Another year gone, and, for my 12th blogiversary, sadly one of my least productive years for this blog. As mentioned in my previous post, I have been going through a creative dry spell for the better part of the year, much to my own chagrin, but I sincerely want to change that in 2026, so I suppose that can be considered one of my New Year’s resolutions.
Despite my lack of output, one thing I have been preparing for throughout the past year was this post, for which I kept an ongoing list of newsworthy events for a retrospective. Last year, I began a new tradition of rewriting the lyrics to my beloved “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel to be instead a musical recap of the prior year, and this look-back seems like a good way to kick off what will hopefully be a more productive 2026. I couldn’t fit every little thing in; as much as I would have liked to mention Juan Soto, Dispatch, “The Shoebody Bop,” Gene Hackman, Brian Wilson, Anne Burrell, the NBA gambling scandal, Universal Epic Universe, the ostrich convoy, or the One Piece flag protests, there’s only so much that can fit in nine verses, and this is at least how I will enjoy remembering 2025.
So feel free to read or sing along to Joel’s iconic tune, and here’s hoping the next year will be even better! Happy New Year!
____________________
Chicken Jockey, Southern Spear, Generation Beta’s here, Blanket pardons, Discord hardens, NOLA truck attack. TrumpRx, Gulf renaming, Cracker Barrel logo flaming, Shutdown ends and funding pends, Zootopia is back.
Bondi Beach, Roblox, autopen, fake Botox, Vance memes, torpedo bat, leaking of a racist chat. Tilly Norwood, Claire Obscur, Sinners, Tung Tung Tung Sahur, Major mergers, Reiner, Redford, Alien and Predator.
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Alligator Alcatraz, A.I. passed what no bot has, Texas flooding, DOGE is gutting USAID, No Kings, Stranger Things, Sydney Sweeney loves jeans, One Big Beautiful Bill, 23andMe.
Blue Ghost, Karen Read, Gaza hostages are freed, Scottie Scheffler, RealIDs, Midnight Hammer, H1-Bs, East Wing, Tylenol, revolution in Nepal, Bari Weiss, woolly mice, Epstein files free-for-all!
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Francis out, Pope Leo in, Thunder, Eagles, Dodgers win, Deepseek, eggs ain’t cheap, dire wolf, Anora sweep, Elbows up, Labubu, Taylor Swift’s engaged too, Earthquake in Myanmar, yet another Avatar.
Stablecoins, ICE raids, loose monkeys, Palisades, Kimmel canceled (for a week), Hegseth really hates a leak, Horse girls, “Not Like Us,” Adolescence, Pluribus, Six-Seven, Gen Z stare, tariffs, tariffs everywhere!
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Salt Typhoon, Tush Push, firefighter ambush, Cloudflare, Demon Slayer, Mamdani elected mayor, Christians in Nigeria, blackout in Iberia, HuntriX don’t miss, GPT psychosis, Kiss cam, Jubilee, TACO, Grok, and Summerween, RFK, measles gain – what else do I have to say?
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Oh, Mary!, bye, Jo-Ann, TikTok deal averts a ban, Cloned dog, Portland Frog, Musk salute, Tea logs, Seditious Six, sandwich thrown, astronauts are back home, Superman, Fantastic Four, CECOT in El Salvador.
Sora 2, congestion tax, Arctic Frost and fibermaxx, Lisa Cook, birthday book, Louvre heist, Charlie Kirk, War in Ukraine still unchecked, gerrymandering effect, No more pennies to collect, what a year in retrospect!
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
I usually post my end-of-year list of top movies on New Year’s Eve/Day to celebrate my blogiversary. (Hard to believe this is my 11th year of blogging!) I’ll still post my usual Top Twelve list for the year, but I had an idea for something a little different this year. One of my personal favorite past posts was my poem for the movie Boyhood, in which I rewrote the lyrics to Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” using events from the 2000s when the film was set. I’ve always had a slight obsession with that song and how it conjures a musical montage of history that’s both catchy and nostalgic. (I can’t prove that Fall Out Boy took that idea for their 2023 single that did the same kind of update, but I still like my version better.)
So I decided to do another rewrite of the song, this time as a 2024 retrospective using people, things, and events from the past year. This might be a new tradition for me since I do enjoy year-end recaps and had fun compiling everything. I have an extensive list of other 2024 events that didn’t make the cut, but, while I wish I could have included the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Concord, the Dodgers, Inside Out 2, Rooster Teeth, Teddy Swims, Red Lobster’s bankruptcy, or Peanut the squirrel, I think I have a pretty comprehensive list of what made 2024 a memorable year, for good or bad. So you can just read it or sing along to Billy Joel’s iconic tune, but this is how I’ll enjoy remembering the past year. Here’s hoping for a great 2025 ahead!
_________________________
Oppenheimer, border surge, cicada double broods emerge, Fani Willis, Joro spiders, Ticketmaster suit, Hurkle-durkle, Mystic Dan, Caitlin Clark and TikTok ban, Kadokawa, Epic sagas, elephant in Butte.
Stanley cups, Fallout, Laken Riley, record drought, Palworld, pagers blow, and the Apple Vision Pro, Cowboy Carter, Joker panned, much like Willy’s Wonderland, Boeing breaking, Taiwan quaking, noncompetes are (not) banned.
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Dublin Portal, chatbot apps, Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, Dune 2 bucket, Cyberstuck it, Quiet on Set, Wheel host, Brady roast, Bidenomics, Santos, Brat Summer, so demure, Golden Bachelorette.
“Hawk tuah,” Assad fled, Charles portrait all in red, Trump on trial, Elden Ring, full eclipse and Neuralink, Heat dome, Notre Dame, farewell, Toriyama-san, Poison chess, Bangladesh, Merrily We Roll Along!
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Baby Reindeer, pink cocaine, war in Gaza and Ukraine, Glen Powell, Yoon Suk Yeol, OTC birth control, Bird flu, Moana 2, now a 15th Doctor Who, Drake-Kendrick rap war, ending of the Eras Tour.
A.I. art, Deep State, Biden had a bad debate, Paris Games, CrowdStrike. Hunter pardon? No, psych! Bluesky, Labour win, Alcaraz and Malinin, Jimmy Carter, junk fee, President immunity.
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Kamala is in the race, astronauts are stuck in space, Shogun, Raygun, ear assassination, Shotime raking in the stats; wait, who’s eating dogs and cats? “Tipsy,” Sheinbaum, Chevron Deference now gone, Deadpool and Wolverine, Hurricanes Milton and Helene, RFK, worm in brain – what else do I have to say?
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
Diddy parties, Pelicot, Luigi shot a CEO, White Sox, mPox, Walz and Vance, bump stocks, Pygmy hippos, workers strike, Tyson vs. Paul fight, Wicked, Megaflopolis, Selzer poll a major miss,
Eric Adams, Taliban, Chappell Roan and Dan Da Dan, James Earl Jones, Quincy Jones, Gaetz, X, mystery drones, Decongestants no effect, Elmo tweets a status check, Donald Trump we reelect. What a year in retrospect!
Such was the year. We made it! Through the highs and lows and each surprise, we chose To get through the year. We made it! So now, sister, brother, let’s all face another!
At the turning of the centuries, Though no one knew it then, A babe was born to save the world, Incarnate God. Amen!
But surely you have heard all this; By now it might be trite, The midnight clear, the first Noel, That timeworn silent night.
It’s easy for familiar truths, Traditions every year, To not have quite the gleam they bore When times were more sincere.
Perhaps we may have changed with time, But truths stand hard and fast. Traditions, like God’s promises, Are comfort, for they last.
Although we know them all by heart, We need reminding still, That what the carols advertise Rings true and always will. ____________________________
MPA rating: PG
To complete this trilogy of musical posts, here’s a more recent release from this year. I feel like someone, assumedly director and songwriter Adam Anders, watched The Nativity Story and thought to himself, “This would be even better as a musical” and then made it so. Journey to Bethlehem takes the well-trodden Biblical story of Jesus’ birth and injects a pop-music sensibility that both adds entertainment value while also slightly watering it down.
From the second song, in which Mary is bemoaning her expected role of marrying someone she’s never met, I thought that this was like the High School Musical version of the Christmas story, so I felt vindicated when I read that Anders co-wrote the script with Peter Barsocchini, who also wrote all three HSM movies (of which I remain a fan). So the character types and conflicts are all too familiar, yet the actors make the most of them, with Fiona Palomo as Mary and Milo Manheim (a recent Disney star from the Zombies franchise) as Joseph having an easy chemistry and excellent songs both together and solo. The soundtrack delivers on many levels, some better than others, but highlights include the opening title song and “Mother to a Savior and King,” which explores Mary’s own self-doubt. And I mustn’t forget Antonio Banderas as King Herod, who seems to be having fun mugging through his one song “Good to Be King.”
The plot of Journey to Bethlehem was clearly tweaked from the Biblical record to add peril to the climax and to better space out the musical numbers, so I can understand the decisions on a pure story basis. Yet it felt at times like I was trying to keep track of how many deviations there were from the established narrative. In this film, Herod tries to ignore Rome’s census order but is persuaded to use it solely as a means to find the mother of the foretold Messiah, leading to several close calls where it’s assumed Mary would be immediately recognized as such if she were to be caught. It was also surprising to give a redemption arc to Herod’s son Antipater (Joel Smallbone of the band For King and Country), who gets one of the best songs as well.
Likewise, the wise men, here a trio of bickering comic relief figures (Rizwan Manji, Geno Segers, Omid Djalili), come to Herod even before the census or Jesus’ birth and then leave for Bethlehem (which isn’t far from Jerusalem) to hang out with the shepherds for months perhaps so that they also are witnesses to the heavenly angel chorus. Plus, there are odd omissions, like the absence of Mary’s acceptance of the role declared by Gabriel (Christian rapper Lecrae) during the Annunciation scene or the inclusion of Zechariah’s muteness without any subsequent depiction of his son’s birth.
Yet for all the little things that nagged at me, Journey to Bethlehem is still an entertaining Christmas film, and I never got the sense that the changes were intentionally trying to subvert or undermine the meaning behind the story, which is refreshing. It also boasts impressive costumes and choreography that are far better than they would have been if this were made ten or fifteen years ago. It’s proof of how far Christian films have come. While I’m not quite sure if this movie rises to the level of a perennial classic to watch every Christmas, it’s still a laudable version of the Nativity with a soundtrack that deserves appreciation even outside its target audience.
“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” Said the bard through Juliet. It’s bittersweet Till next we meet Lest you or I forget.
But sweetness fades with waiting While bitter amplifies. By fits and starts, Two hostage hearts Will wear new love’s disguise.
And when the parting’s ended And our hearts meet again, The memory Still sweet can be But only as ‘twas then. _____________________
MPA rating: Not Rated (PG-13 seems right)
I’ll admit that October does seem a little late to start on that Blindspot series I announced back in January, but I at least haven’t waited this long to start watching them. I have already seen five of them, but my reviews have been painfully slow in coming. I need to get better at carving out time for them and not being afraid to keep them short. Since I’ve been knee-deep in writing a musical, it seems only right to kick off the Blindspot reviews with an acclaimed foreign musical called Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, or The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
Sung-through entirely in French, the film follows two young lovers, mechanic Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) and umbrella store clerk Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve), whose swooning rendezvous are kept secret from Geneviève’s busybody mother (Anne Vernon). Yet their budding romance is foiled by Guy’s being drafted to fight in the Algerian War. As Geneviève’s mother impresses on her the importance of marrying well, the young girl is faced with a difficult choice and a heartbreaking regret.
I can certainly see why The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is so beloved among cinephiles and stands as one of the quintessential bittersweet romances. While opera had its own long-standing tradition, an original, sung-through musical was quite a novelty for the time and an artistic risk that might not have paid off with lesser artists. But Michel Legrand’s haunting melodies add a tender beauty to the sung dialogue, which would be rather mundane if just spoken. A behind-the-scenes featurette was quite interesting as Legrand was interviewed about his initial struggles developing a theme for each character, an important element of musical writing. I was impressed to learn that all the actors were lip-syncing to other singers’ voices, considering how well Deneuve and Castelnuovo acted in line with their “singing.”
While the music is key to the film’s fame, even earning a Best Original Song Oscar nomination for “I Will Wait for You,” the parting song between Guy and Geneviève (also somehow getting noms for both Original and Adapted Score), the sets and cinematography deserve just as much praise. Considering director Jacques Demy’s previous two films were in black and white, the colors here are as vivid and impressive as Dorothy stepping into Oz, like an interior designer’s wet dream. The rooms and stores have brightly variegated walls that often look freshly painted, Geneviève’s yellow jacket pops against the rainy blue streets, and every choice of paint, costume, and wallpaper feels intentional for the background to accent the scene and give it an iconic look. Rarely does the use of color feel so integral to a film’s identity and success, making the lack of any technical Oscar nominations feel criminal.
If I’m being totally honest, the music tends to sound the same after a while, lacking variety that would keep the middle section from getting rather monotonous and boring. The film’s interest and emotion are highest at the beginning and end, and its final scenes especially have a superb bittersweetness that clearly went on to inspire other films like La La Land. Ultimately, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg feels like a film everyone ought to see at least once, making it a perfect Blindspot pick, but it’s not the kind of musical I’d want to rewatch often or one I would recommend to those musical-haters out there (you know who you are). Even if its narrative loses steam, it is impressive art for both ear and eye and a laudable trailblazer for musical cinema.
Best line: (Geneviève) “Mother, he’s leaving. He’ll be away for two years. I can’t live without him. I’ll die.” (her mother, Madame Emery) “Stop crying. Look at me. People only die of love in movies.”
Yes, this Top Twelve song list for 2021 is certainly overdue, but it’s still earlier than the list for 2020 last year, so it’s not that bad. Maybe I can actually get 2022’s posted in January, when I typically have in the past. My top movie lists are still pending, but I like summing up the previous year with a song list, sort of the soundtrack of the latest snippet of my life. While 2020 and 2021 were awful years in so many ways, they delivered top-tier music to keep us dancing and tapping our feet through the tears, so to speak. Many creatives used the pandemic shutdowns to dedicate time to their next projects, and they gifted us with so many outstanding songs that I struggled greatly trying to pare down the field to a mere twelve.
I’ve stated this before, but every year for me seems to stand out in retrospect based on a particular artist or artists that I discovered for the first time, one of those “where-have-you-been-all-my-life” moments as I binge their whole discography at once. Here’s my running list since I first started these music countdowns:
2016 – Florence and the Machine 2017 – Kygo 2018 – Aurora, Chvrches, RUFUS DU SOL, and Tom Odell 2019 – Saint Motel, TWRP, Kensington, Sigma, Kaiser Chiefs, etc. 2020 – Mika, Sparks, and The Orion Experience
The number of “discoveries” has grown as I’ve become more exploratory in my music listening. And 2021 was no different as I found an intense admiration for Marina (and the Diamonds), Orangestar, Autoheart, and The Birthday Massacre, all of whom released new music last year, much to my delight. While a few of my Top Twelve below made it on the charts, they once again don’t seem to match the mainstream musical tastes of the rest of the world (not much rap, you might notice). I don’t mind that, but I do wish these awesome songs and artists would get the acclaim and attention they deserve.
So it’s time to dive into the list (and the usual overabundance of runners-up). Please let me know what you think and feel free to recommend other songs I might have missed. There are usually a few I discover too late and wish could have made it on here, so I’m always on the lookout. Now to bring on the music!
12. “Snake Oil Baptism” – Diablo Swing Orchestra
I may have been going through an experimental phase when I discovered Diablo Swing Orchestra, an avant-garde metal band from Sweden (where so many of my favorite artists seem to originate). While not the weirdest song on the album Swagger & Stroll Down the Rabbit Hole, “Snake Oil Baptism” leaves the biggest impression with its huge rock choir and shifting rhythms, including a definite Led Zeppelin influence. It feels like it should be in the soundtrack of a movie’s most awesome scene. Special mention for “The Sound of an Unconditional Surrender” and “Out Came the Hummingbirds.”
11. “Dreams of You” – The Birthday Massacre
I wouldn’t have expected myself to become a fan of a dark wave gothic rock band from Canada called The Birthday Massacre, but here we are. While some of their songs go a little too hard for me, most have an enchantingly dreamy quality that I love, like headbanging in the star-kissed twilight. An early release from their 2022 album Fascination, “Dreams of You” fits that atmospheric mold perfectly, with synths and drums creating a magical soundscape. And between you and me, it’s likely another song from Fascination will make it on the 2022 list.
10. “Wild Hearts” – Keith Urban
The video may be from 2022, but Keith Urban’s “Wild Hearts” was a high point for 2021’s country scene. Granted, I’m not a huge country fan, but this infectiously catchy, feel-good anthem hits all the right inspirational notes. Definitely perfect road-trip music.
9. “Highly Emotional People” – Marina
Now to swing from hard rock to tender pop. Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land isn’t my favorite Marina album, but “Highly Emotional People” is an achingly beautiful meditation on the human need to express emotions, ranking among her most heartfelt songs. “Flowers” and “Goodbye” are similarly gorgeous entries that outshine the more bombastic singles.
8. “Butter” – BTS
It feels odd that I was never that impressed by BTS when they were growing into a Korean phenom, but their English-language songs have been genuine slam dunks breaking into American radio. “Dynamite” made it onto my 2020 list, and now “Butter” has done the same, both of them dance-worthy summer jams that are hard to resist. Special mention for “Permission to Dance” as well.
7. “One Night in Tokyo” – Beast in Black
Scandinavia, you’ve done it again. A Finnish heavy metal band called Beast in Black is also not what I would expect to be a favorite of mine, but boy, do they deliver the jams. Yannis Papadopoulos’ vocals are second to none, and the instrumental section at the two-minute mark is peak head-banging music for me. I assumed “Moonlight Rendezvous” would make it on the list when I first heard it, but “One Night in Tokyo” blew all others away.
6. “Can You Handle My Love??” – Walk the Moon
And a hearty welcome back to Walk the Moon, who placed #2 on my 2017 list and #8 on the 2019 list. I don’t know how they do it, but they always manage to come up with tunes that refuse to let me sit still. “Can You Handle My Love??” is a toe-tapping banger that should have been all over the radio, and I love how the heavy piano is complemented by the drums. Incidentally, this would be my VC’s #1 song. Special mention for “Win Anyway.”
5. “Surges” – Orangestar
There is something special about this short, fast-paced Japanese song that I can’t quite pin down. I’ve already mentioned how I love a heavy-handed piano, but beyond that, it just packs such energy and optimism into such a small runtime that I find it spectacular. After discovering this song, I must have listened to it a hundred times in the following week and never grew tired of it (I am not exaggerating). Despite being a Calorie Mate commercial, the accompanying animated “music video” is also brilliant and rather cathartic after all the COVID lockdowns.
Am I cheating here by including both a tie and a second appearance of BTS? Probably but I’ll allow it. 😉 Although Coldplay is one of my favorite bands, this is the first time they’ve appeared on my yearly song list (though they did get their own list), and they went full sci-fi with the latest album Music of the Spheres. The spacy grandeur of “Coloratura” or the digitized Latin chant of “Infinity Sign” affirm why Coldplay is amazing, but I have to go with the singles. “Higher Power” has a steadily growing energy that never disappoints, while “My Universe” is simply their best song in years, buoyed further by the cross-cultural message shared with BTS. As Chris Martin sings, “I’m happy I’m alive at the same time as you.”
3. “Feel Good” – Saint Motel
And a warm welcome back to Saint Motel, who placed at #6 in the 2020 list and #5 in 2019. They are a prime example of a band that should be HUGE, but I’m glad to be among their devoted fans. Although the full Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album was released last year, it was eclipsed for me by “Feel Good,” a stand-alone single written for the Netflix film Yes Day. Infectiously upbeat, it lives up to its name in all the best ways. Special mention for “It’s All Happening.”
2. “Into the Woods” – Autoheart
Autoheart is the musical discovery from last year that gladdens my heart the most. This British group became an instant favorite as I listened to their past piano-heavy masterpieces, sometimes haunting, sometimes quirky, and the Hellbent album was my favorite of last year. “Into the Woods” has a poignant, immersive melody, with its repeated insistence of “I feel fine” evoking a relatable denial and desperation. “I’m hopeful, I’m certain / I won’t be always hurting” – just gorgeous. Special mentions for “Older”, “Time Machine”, and “I Know That He Loves Me.”
1. “Heat Above” – Greta Van Fleet
It takes something special to outrank the previous few songs on this list, and “Heat Above” is special. Considering how often Greta Van Fleet is compared with Led Zeppelin in style and vocals, I would consider this their “Stairway to Heaven.” It feels BIG, like the kind of song that will (or should) become a rock staple in years to come. Josh Kiszka’s voice once again nails the Robert Plant-esque screams while the synth organ and timpani lend it the sound of a rock opera high point. Simply marvelous! Special mention for “Age of the Machine” and “My Way, Soon.”
There you have it, my favorite songs of 2021, however unconventional they may be. Obviously, this list is based on my own personal tastes, but hopefully there are some out there who might agree that these songs are awesome. Whether you do or not, let me know what your list would look like. The year 2021 may have continued the rather terrible trend that 2020 started, but at least we had some outstanding music to lift our spirits. As always, below is my long list of runners-up, continuing the countdown in order (#13, #14, etc.), so hopefully you’ll find some new favorites among my list as well.
“Next to Me”, “I Don’t Wanna Leave”, and “See You Again” – RUFUS DU SOL
“Follow the Light” and “Breakdown” – Dirty Loops & Cory Wong
“Night Eyes” and “Cosmicandy Girl” – The Orion Experience
“Run” and “Sunshine” – OneRepublic
“Summerland”, “What’s Wrong”, and “Hot Tea” – half alive
“Hate Myself” – Dodie
“Get Better” and “U&ME” – alt-J
“Mirror” – Sigrid
“Quiet Town” and “West Hills” – The Killers
“Christmas Truce” and “Steel Commanders” – Sabaton
“One Last Kiss” – Hikaru Utada
“Love Dies Young”, “Waiting on a War”, “Cloudspotter”, and “Holding Poison” – Foo Fighters
“Avid” – Hiroyuki Sawano (closing song for the anime 86 Eighty-Six)
“Heathens” and “Cure for Me” – Aurora
“Bitter Taste” – Billy Idol
“Stop Making This Hurt” – Bleachers
“I NEED YOU” – Jon Batiste
“Worry No More” – Amos Lee
“Be Bold!” and “Ai wo, Ima” – BRADIO
“Loretta” and “Juban District” – Ginger Root
“One Mississippi” – Kane Brown
“Easy on Me” and “I Drink Wine” – Adele
“Typhoons”, “Trouble’s Coming”, and “Oblivion” – Royal Blood
“See You Again”, “Lovers”, and “Easy Way Out” – Roosevelt
“Lose Your Head” and “Call Your Friends” – London Grammar
“Blossoms” and “Secret Worlds” – The Amazing Devil
“Back to Oz” and “Cimmerian Shade” – Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine
“Airplane Song” and “Being Alone” – DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ
“Back from the Dead” and “RATA-TATA” – Royal Republic
“Beautiful Mistakes” – Maroon 5
“Last Dance” – Stefania (Greece’s Eurovision entry)
“Visiting Hours”, “Bad Habits”, and “Shivers” – Ed Sheeran
“My Poor Heart” and “Numbers” – Andrew Belle
“Maps” – Lesley Roy (Ireland’s Eurovision entry)
“He Said She Said”, “Killer”, and “How Not to Drown” – CHVRCHES
“Diamond Ring” – Jonah Nilsson, feat. Steve Vai
“Ghost of My Past”, feat. Emily Falvey, and “Elevate” – Vicetone
“Army of One” and “Behind Your Walls” – The Offspring
“Good 4 You” – Olivia Rodrigo
“End of Me” – Billy Talent, feat. Rivers Cuomo
“South Side”, feat. Foster the People, and “R U High”, feat. Mallrat – The Knocks
“Wake Me Up” – FOALS
“Searching for My Love” – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
“Put on a Smile” and “Skate” – Silk Sonic
“Don’t Say That” – iamnotshane
“Bright Blue Sky” and “Polygon” – TWRP
“Don’t Shut Me Down” and “I Still Believe in You” – ABBA
“Ghost” and “Bit of Good (Bit of Bad)” – Star-Lord Band
“Out of Time” – Diviners, BUNT., Tom Bailey
“Voices” – Tusse (Sweden’s Eurovision entry)
“Good in Red” – The Midnight
“The Maze”, feat. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, and “Raising Hell”, feat. Ben Harper – Tom Morello
“Tout l’Univers” – Gjon’s Tears (Switzerland’s Eurovision entry)
“Cornflower Blue” – Flower Face
“Destroyer” and “Phantom” – Of Monsters and Men
“Lose You Again” and “Tears That Never Dry” – Tom Odell
“Stronger” – Sam Feldt, feat. Kesha
“Musician” – Porter Robinson
“Home” – Walk Off the Earth (from the soundtrack of Blade Runner: Black Lotus)
“Superhuman” – Tritonal & Codeko
“Do Better” – Feint
“Embers” – James Newman (UK’s Eurovision entry)
“How High” – The Record Company
“The Tipping Point” – Tears for Fears
“Billy Goodbye” – Franz Ferdinand
“Cool Enough” – Almost Monday
“Discoteque” – The Roop (Lithuania’s Eurovision entry)
“Friendless” – Nathan Wagner
“Killing Me” – Chung Ha
“Hold No Grudge”, “Helen of Troy”, and “Solar Power” – Lorde
“The Ride” – RAFAL (Poland’s Eurovision entry)
And like I usually do with these music posts, I’ll end with a short tribute to the many musical artists we lost in 2021, including Phil Spector, Jimmie Rodgers, Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Bunny Wailer, DMX, Joe Long of The Four Seasons, Lloyd Price, Samuel E. Wright, Robby Steinhardt of Kansas, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, Dennis Thomas of Kool & the Gang, Don Everly of The Everly Brothers, Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones, Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud, Jane Powell, Leslie Bricusse, Jay Black of Jay and the Americans, Graeme Edge of The Moody Blues, Stephen Sondheim, Steve Bronski of Bronski Beat, and Michael Nesmith of The Monkees. May they all rest in peace and never be forgotten. I’ve been deep into Broadway lyrics lately, so it seems right to feature the best version of one of Sondheim’s most celebrated songs.
I glance at you like Moses gazing toward the promised land, His sight the only starving sense to perish satisfied. No such content will compensate my ears, my lips, my hand, For God has deemed to make the gulf between us two too wide.
My covert dreams alone can see you near me, arm in arm, The scorn of cruel reality that jostles me awake. I cultivate my nobler traits, my eloquence and charm, Yet never do they seem enough for your transcendent sake.
I spy so many all around, in stories and in song, Who find their love without the threat of mockery or laughter. I’d whisper every secret of this lonely love lifelong If only I lived not in fear of what might follow after. ___________________________
MPA rating: PG-13
It’s so easy to associate musicals with Broadway since Hollywood usually only seems interested in adapting musicals into film if they have a reliable following that promises a decent box office. I can understand that instinct; no one wants to take a risk for a flop, especially when musicals are considered more effort with extra talents of singing or dancing required of their cast. Yet there are a host of excellent musicals out there that have never made it to Broadway, like Tick, Tick… Boom!or Frank Wildhorn’s The Count of Monte Cristo. I may never have heard of Erica Schmidt’s Cyrano stage production if not for this film adaptation, which only deepens my love of musical cinema and my desire for more like it.
Many things fell into place for the creation of this film based on a musical play based on Edmond Rostand’s classic play Cyrano de Bergerac, the original catfishing story. Schmidt’s husband Peter Dinklage played the title role on stage, along with Haley Bennett as Roxanne, and Bennett’s involvement no doubt helped convince her partner Joe Wright of Atonement and Darkest Hour to take up directing the film version. Both Dinklage and Bennett reprise their stage roles and prove how well-cast they were from the beginning, joined by Kelvin Harrison, Jr., as Christian, the soldier who loves Roxanne and is aided by the eloquent Cyrano to woo her via love letters. Instead of the traditional abnormality of Cyrano’s large nose explaining his self-loathing and hesitance to pursue his love for Roxanne, Dinklage’s short stature is used instead, yet there are only a few direct references to his height. Indeed, the songs seem to be written so that any uncommon or “ugly” physical quality could take the place of Cyrano’s nose, even down to the series of taunts he lists for himself while dueling.
Musicals come in many different forms, and Cyrano is certainly not the typical Broadway product with big showstoppers. The choreography is decent but never vies for any kind of wow factor, and some of the lyrics are less than inspired in terms of rhyme and complexity, particularly a rather drab villain song for Ben Mendelsohn. Yet the songs, provided by rock band The National, still work on a more subtle level, with layers of sensitive piano and violin seamlessly folding the musical numbers into the score. Dinklage may not have a wide range, but his baritone complements his ever-expressive face, while Bennett gets more musical highs in songs like “Every Letter” and “I Need More.” I think “Every Letter” is my favorite, achieving its goal of making the sadly outdated act of letter-writing sensual with its beautiful staging of fluttering pages falling around the three overlapping singers. I’ve listened to the soundtrack quite a bit lately, and my love and appreciation for the songs have only grown with time.
It must be said that Dinklage absolutely deserved a Best Actor nomination, and the Academy’s ignoring of him is probably the worst snub since Amy Adams was passed over for Arrival. His eyes alone convey Cyrano’s latent heartache as he pines for Roxanne, especially when he is so close to her as a friend. Heck, the film could have deserved multiple nominations – Best Actress for Bennett, Cinematography, Score, Original Song for “Every Letter” – instead of just the one nod for Costume Design. Yet despite an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, I’ve seen many articles labeling Cyrano a “failed musical” or a flop, which may be true in a purely box office sense but certainly not for the film’s quality. I don’t know what the moviegoing public wants in a musical, but their apathy toward recent movie musicals breaks my heart.
Though I may just be easier to please, I found Cyrano to be a perfect mixture of sincere and superb for any fan of tragic romance, elevated further by Wright’s elegant direction and a palpable fondness for the written word that rivals Violet Evergarden. To be honest, Steve Martin’s Roxanne was my previous touchpoint for Cyrano before this and sort of spoiled me with a happier ending than the source material had, but this Cyrano is the new gold standard for me, an exquisite film and a personal one for any sufferer of unrequited love.
Best line: (Roxanne, singing) “What is it you’re so afraid of losing?” (Cyrano, singing) “That I might lose everything if I lose the pain.”
(Best sung to the tune of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers)
If you watch this, You should know they’re gonna sing, They’re gonna sing their lines as lyrics and a tune. If you hate this, You should know it’s gonna sting, It’s gonna sting ‘cause even cynics aren’t immune.
But I like this, I like musicals galore, And by galore, I mean there’s plenty to embrace. If you don’t like this, Then it’s better to ignore, But you ignore what puts a smile on my face.
And I would watch this musical And I would watch 500 more If it means they’ll make more musicals, No matter how the haters roar. _______________________________
MPA rating: PG (mainly some innuendo)
When I choose my Blindspots at the beginning of each year, I usually don’t give any thought to how exactly I’ll watch them. With so many streaming options nowadays, there must be some way, right? When I decided to watch Sunshine on Leith, I realized that might be difficult, considering the Scottish musical was not on any streaming subscription and apparently had never been released on DVD in the U.S., meaning anything I bought would not be playable on my U.S. player. I was on the verge of having to change my Blindspot choice entirely, but thankfully I checked YouTube, where it happened to have been uploaded by some overseas saint. So note to self, maybe I ought to verify that I can actually find the movies on my Blindspot list before I announce them.
Anyway, I had a strong feeling that Sunshine on Leith would be my kind of movie. A feel-good romantic musical set in Scotland? Yes please! The closest analogue to this film would have to be Mamma Mia!, the jukebox musical that incorporated ABBA’s diverse discography into a mostly coherent storyline. This time, the featured music is that of the Proclaimers, a Scottish duo known for songs that tend to tow the line between rock and barroom folk anthems. Admittedly, I was only familiar with two of their songs, “I’m on My Way” and most famously “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” both of which debuted on the 1988 album Sunshine on Leith, from which the film gets its name.
So, unlike Scottish audiences, I had little internalized fondness for these songs since they were mostly new to me. Yet I still enjoyed the songs quite a bit, even if the performances often lack the wow factor of other musicals. It’s very much in the vein of Mamma Mia!, with characters sometimes breaking into goofy theatrics for an impromptu musical number, and the final rendition of “I’m Gonna Be” is undoubtedly the best, combining the romantic climax with the most fun choreography.
However, in combining songs that were not necessarily written to fit into a narrative, the plot is unfortunately thin. It chugs along in feel-good mode with hardly any conflict before suddenly dropping three different conflicts all at once and resolving one in the space of a single song that didn’t seem to actually address the problem. I’m genuinely impressed by the way musicals like this and Mamma Mia can combine unrelated songs into a cohesive plot; I’ve wished I or someone could do the same for some of my favorite artists, like TWRP, Autoheart, or Coldplay. It can’t be easy, but this is one case where the songs often don’t quite fit naturally, instead making the plot feel overly rushed at times, despite the good performances of actors like Peter Mullan, Jane Horrocks, and George McKay (years before 1917). And yet the songs are also the best parts, causing the non-musical sections to suffer by comparison.
I love musicals, and I liked this one, but I hate to admit that I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. It has the feel-good romance aspect, paired with elements that try to make it less like a predictable Hallmark movie, and it introduced me to some great Scottish tunes. And while I was concerned that the accents may be hard to understand, I was able to follow along without missing too much. I’d gladly watch it again, so perhaps it will grow on me like Mamma Mia! has. If they’ll actually release the darn thing in the U.S.!
It’s been a while since I posted any Top Twelve lists, but this one is particularly overdue. My lists of favorite movies of the year are usually long after the New Year, when most people post them, just because I typically take longer to watch all the worthwhile films of the year. But in the past, I have at least posted my top songs of the previous year in January, which was foiled in 2020/2021 due to a tight school schedule. Now that I am finally through with school, it’s time to revisit the great musical gifts that 2020 had to offer.
To be quite honest, I consider 2020 a rather weak year for movies but a fantastic one for music. It was hard to pare down the list to a Top Twelve, considering how many other favorites ended up in the Runners-Up. I always find it interesting how my tastes continue to diverge from what is mainstream and popular; only one of these songs ended up in the Billboard Top 10, and you can bet Cardi B and Billie Eilish are nowhere to be found.
As always, there are no doubt songs I’ve missed along the way that I hope to discover at some point. My 2019 list seemed watertight at the time, but it wasn’t until this year that I was introduced to The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” or Mika’s whole My Name Is Michael Holbrook album. Speaking of the latter, I sort of retroactively assess years by the artists I fall in love with, such as Florence and the Machine in 2016, Kygo in 2017, etc. And 2020 continued this trend, making me a huge fan of Mika, Sparks, and The Orion Experience, all of which have been around for years and deserve way more attention. (Sparks did get a documentary this year called The Sparks Brothers, which I hope to review at some point.)
While most of these songs may not have been mainstream hits, I consider all of them modern classics at this point. Hopefully, you readers will agree, but if not, let me know what your favorite songs of 2020 were. It was a tough year for many reasons, but good music can make hard times more bearable and even fun. It takes more searching these days, but I’m always grateful that great tunes like these are still being created.
12. “Can I Believe You” – Fleet Foxes
Dropped on the autumnal equinox with little fanfare, literally the day after being announced, Shore is the latest album from Fleet Foxes, and while I wasn’t very familiar with their previous work, I was blown away with this dreamy folk tour de force. It was hard to pick a favorite among songs like “Quiet Air/Gioia,” “Young Man’s Game,” and “Jara,” but I settled on “Can I Believe You,” the kind of subdued jam that sends you to another plane when you close your eyes while listening.
11. “Lights Go Down” – I Dont Know How But They Found Me
Deriving their name from a Back to the Future quote and their lead singer from Panic! at the Disco, I Dont Know How But They Found Me made an exciting alt rock debut with their Razzmatazz album. Though “Leave Me Alone” and “New Invention” got more exposure, “Lights Go Down” is the clear standout for me. Those instantly memorable synth notes at the beginning give way to a similarly toe-tapping chorus and sax solo that are simply infectious.
10. “Kings & Queens” – Ava Max
Aside from the next song, this is the only other song on the list that I actually heard on the radio. Ava Max could be dismissed as a wannabe Lady Gaga, but I’ve enjoyed her work since “Sweet but Psycho” three years ago. The catchy beat and guitar solo of this anthem of female empowerment meld pop and rock in an effortlessly appealing single.
9. “Dynamite” – BTS
Yes, this is the monster hit that topped the Billboard Hot 100 and set multiple Guinness world records, and with good reason. Since I typically spurn rap, I wasn’t much of a fan of BTS before, and it’s perhaps a little ironic that their first English-language hit and the song that won me over was written by someone else. But who could resist this exuberant pop smash, making full use of the K-pop juggernaut’s energy and harmonies and somehow landing a spot on Rolling Stone’s updated list of the Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It’s a perfect summer hit.
8. “Need Each Other” – TWRP, featuring Planet Booty
I missed out on featuring TWRP’s “Starlight Brigade” on my list of 2018 songs (since I only discovered them in 2019), but I am glad to not repeat that oversight here. The costumed Canadian band once more killed it with their Over the Top album, and while “Black Swan” seemed like the obvious choice, I had to pick “Need Each Other,” a funk-fueled collab that extols the feelings of community and mutual love that were most needed during the pandemic’s worst days.
7. “Daniel, You’re Still a Child” – Declan McKenna
Not only do I love the inventive green-screen music video, but Declan McKenna’s “Daniel, You’re Still a Child” is an eminently sing-alongable jam that never gets old, even if I don’t fully understand the potentially dark meaning of the lyrics. I could have also gone with “The Key to Life on Earth” or “Beautiful Faces,” since the whole Zeroes album rocks, but “Daniel” is the real stand-out.
6. “A Good Song Never Dies” – Saint Motel
I don’t dislike Billie Eilish’s theme song for No Time to Die, but this song proves beyond a doubt that Saint Motel needs to do a James Bond theme. “A Good Song Never Dies” already sounds like one, and the horns and bassline have swaggering style to spare. It also makes them the only returning band from my 2019 list, further cementing them as one of my favorites and one of the most underrated groups out there. Special mention for “Preach.”
5. “My God” – The Killers, feat. Weyes Blood
Through most of the year, I was sure that “Caution,” the lead single from Imploding the Mirage, would be The Killers’ obvious entry on my list, but then I heard “My God.” This anthem of catharsis is The Killers at their best, and Weyes Blood’s pure voice during the bridge gives me chills every time. Special mention for “Lightning Fields” as well.
4. “All That” – Sparks
Last year was the year I discovered Sparks, the duo that have been making fantastic, quirk-filled music for over fifty years with nowhere near the acclaim they deserve. They’re still going strong with the album A Steady Drip, Drip Drip, with “All That” being the best. With its wistful, nostalgic lyrics and clapped beat, it sounds like both the culmination of a long career and a classic that’s been around for years. With Edgar Wright’s recent documentary about the Mael brothers, I’m glad Sparks is getting more attention. Special mention for “Self-Effacing” and “Left Out in the Cold.”
3. “My Rajneesh” – Sufjan Stevens
In 2020, I also gained a greater appreciation for the poetic delicacy of Sufjan Stevens. While the year saw a whole album from the auteur, with great songs like “Video Game,” “America,” and “Tell Me You Love Me,” the highlight somehow didn’t make it on the album. The B-side of “America” and running for 10 minutes, “My Rajneesh” is an endlessly inventive meditation on spirituality encapsulating his odd artistry. The extended fadeout is a bit anticlimactic, but the high points are glorious.
2. “Someday” – Kygo, with Zac Brown
And Kygo once more returns to the list, having scored #4 for the 2017 list and #3 for the 2018 list. (I guess he keeps going up.) While many artists held live remote concerts during the lockdowns, Kygo’s Golden Hour festival was a highlight of them all. With my dad’s passing still in my mind, “Someday”’s hopeful themes of missing someone just spoke to me, and the combination of country and tropical house is a perfectly catchy combination to boot. Special mention to “Lose Somebody” and “Broken Glass.”
1. “Before We Drift Away” – Nothing But Thieves
Honestly, I was really torn on which song would snag the top spot, since any of the top 5 could have won that honor. But when listening to all of them in sequence, the building momentum of this one became self-evident. Starting dreamy and peaceful, the mounting strings and drums erupting into the chorus take it to another level of sublime pop rock. “Before We Drift Away” wasn’t even a single, but I love it dearly, and it kills me that Nothing But Thieves is still largely unknown in the U.S. Special mention for “Moral Panic” and “Is Everybody Going Crazy?”
And that concludes yet another yearly song countdown. Better late than never, right? What did you think of my list? Let me know whether you agree with my musical tastes or think I’ve been locked down for too long, and be sure to share your own favorites from 2020 as well. It may have been a crappy year, but at least there was great music to help us all through. As always, below is my long list of runners-up, continuing the countdown in order (#13, #14, etc.), so hopefully you’ll find some new favorites among my list as well.
“Medicine Man” and the rest of the Lush Life album – The Orion Experience
“Thank You”, “Phoenix”, and “Symphony” – Sheppard
“The Gate” and “The Door” – Caroline Polachek
“Say Something” and “Magic” – Kylie Minogue
“Bummerland” – AJR
“Crocodile Tears”, feat. Jens Hult and “Nights Like That”, feat. Georgia Ku – BUNT.
“Lost in Yesterday” and “Why Won’t They Talk to Me?” – Tame Impala
“No Ordinary” – Labrinth
“Lost in Paradise” – ALI, feat. Aklo
“Night Crawling,” “Golden G String,” and “Plastic Hearts” – Miley Cyrus
Love Goes album and “The Lighthouse Keeper” – Sam Smith
“Physical,” “Break My Heart,” and “Levitating”, – Dua Lipa
“Think about Things” – Daði Freyr
“Changes” and “Modern Loneliness” – Lauv
“Bury Us” – The Naked and Famous
“In Your Eyes” – The Weeknd
“All Eyes on You”, “Forever Alone”, and “Godsent” – Smash Into Pieces
“La Vita Nuova” – Christine and the Queens, ft. Caroline Polachek
“Moonshine” and “Pluma” – Caravan Palace
“It’s All So Incredibly Loud” and “Heat Waves” – Glass Animals
“Zombie Prom” and “Oh My God” – Kaiser Chiefs
“Why Try” and “Nominated” – Ginger Root
“Papa” – Scott Helman
“Synthian” and “Gave Up on Us” – NINA
“Gold” and “Last Night on Earth” – Paloma Faith
“Le Coeur Holiday”, feat. Soprano, and “Belle D’Estate” – MIKA
“Box in My Head” and rest of The Symbol Remains album – Blue Oyster Cult
“In Your Eyes” – Robin Schulz, feat. Alida
“Husavik” – from the movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Everyone Changes” feat. Gabrielle Aplin, “Sometimes”, and “Wherever You Are” – Kodaline
“Head & Heart” – Joel Corry x MNEK
“And It Breaks My Heart” and “Who You Lovin” – LÉON
“Maybe I” – Seven Billion Dots
“Higher” – Bishop Briggs
“Chinatown” – Bleachers, ft. Bruce Springsteen
“Headphones”, “19,” and “Irony” – FAITH
“I’ll Get By” and “Born in California” – Avi Kaplan
“Comeback” – Carly Rae Jepson, ft. Bleachers
“Dancing in the Dark” – Frank Walker
“Rosenrot” – Faun
“All My Love” – Elderbrook
“Who I Am” and “Prover” – Milet
“Gravity” and “Acacia” – Bump of Chicken
“Heaven on My Mind” – Becky Hill & Sigala
“Blood Bonds” and “Paranoia” – Nathan Wagner
“Under the Sun” – Bakermat
“Sign” – Roosevelt
“Lucid” and “Paradisin’” – Rina Sawayama
“Losing My Mind”, “Roman Empire”, and “Can You Feel the Sun” – Missio
“Break Up Song” and “Happiness” – Little Mix
“幸せのシャナナ” – BRADIO
“Young and Restless” – SIAMES
“Many Roads” and “Need You,” feat. Madge – Chaos Chaos
“Light the Light” – RADWIMPS
“I Think There’s Something You Should Know” – The 1975
“Rescue Dog” – Train
“Sunburn”, “Animal”, “Can’t Wait”, and “Drunk” – The Living Tombstone
“Superlove” – Royal Republic
“I Don’t Know What We’re Talking About” – NSP
“The Movies” and “You Should Probably Just Hang Up” – Nightly
“Fools” – ufo ufo
“Keep Me Light” – Tall Heights
“Animal” and “Hate You” – Jim Yosef x RIELL
“Come Over” – Dagny
“Baby It’s You” and “Californian Soil” – London Grammar
“Riots” – Stuck in the Sound
“Someone Else’s Dream” – Absofacto
“Gimme a Minute” and “Stay Gold” – PVRIS
“Seventeen” – Deamn
“Scream Drive Faster” and “Best I Ever Had” – LAUREL
“Change” – Pale Waves
“Tell Me I’m Wrong” – Dwayne Ford, feat. Clara Sorace
“sustain++” – Mili
“homebody” and “hiccup” – Valley
“Wonder” and “Teach Me How To Love” – Shawn Mendes
“Cardigan” – Taylor Swift
“Off My Mind” – Hazel English
“I Saw Love” – Forest Blakk
“Pretty Please” – Jackson Wang and Galantis
“Let’s Love” – David Guetta & Sia
As with past music posts, I want to end my yearly music list with an overdue tribute to the many music artists we lost in 2020, including Neil Peart of Rush, Pop Smoke, David Roback of Mazzy Star, Barbara Martin of The Supremes, Kenny Rogers, Bill Withers, John Prine, Ryo Kawasaki, Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk, Brian Howe of Bad Company, Little Richard, Steve Priest of Sweet, Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters, Vera Lynn, Charlie Daniels, Ennio Morricone, Regis Philbin, Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Malik B. of The Roots, Leon Fleisher, Trini Lopez, Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot, Ronald Bell of Kool & The Gang, Toots Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals, Lee Kerslake and Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep, Tommy DeVito of The Four Seasons, Helen Reddy, Johnny Nash, Eddie Van Halen, Tony Lewis of The Outfield, Alto Reed of Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, and Charley Pride. May they rest in peace, for they and their music will not be forgotten.
(For Day 10 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt suggested a “Junk Drawer Song,” but I decided on something different and went back to Day 7 to try the shadorma, a 26-syllable poem with a syllable count of 3, 5, 3, 3, 7, and 5.)
As I die, I hear the music Of living, Of loving, Of knowing what outlives me Will keep me alive. ________________________
MPA rating: Not Rated (G would work, maybe PG)
You know those musical biopics that have practically become their own genre by now? The kind where a young, naïve talent gets caught up in the thrill of success, is fooled by unscrupulous exploiters as their relationships and health deteriorate, and then ends up either reclaiming a piece of their former passion or else dying tragically? Think Coal Miner’s Daughter to Ray to Teen Spirit and beyond. Well, such films are hardly a new invention, since A Song to Remember used such a plot way back in 1945, earning itself seven Oscar nominations. This story of Polish pianist extraordinaire Fredric Chopin (Best Actor nominee Cornel Wilde) may play fast and loose with the actual history, but it’s still an elegant period piece that highlights the life and greatest works of a giant of classical music.
A child prodigy in both playing and composing, the film’s version of Chopin had his greatest advocate in his teacher Joseph Elsner, played by the endearingly gregarious Paul Muni, who is easily the best character, reminiscent of Thomas Mitchell’s Uncle Billy in It’s a Wonderful Life the next year. The pro-Poland patriotism of Chopin and Elsner comes into conflict with the high-minded George Sand, who convinces Chopin to focus on composing to the exclusion of all else. Sand’s characterization is one of the film’s larger changes to history, since she was an advocate for Poland as well, and Ayn Rand notably objected to her being painted as a villain. Still, I thought the treatment of the conflict was relatively balanced, certainly leaning toward Elsner being in the right overall, but Sand makes some good points along the way that are never really refuted. For any lover of classical music unfamiliar with it, A Song to Remember is an underrated classic waiting to be discovered, even if it follows story beats that have only gotten more familiar with repetition.
Best line: (George Sand) “Are you satisfied, monsieur? Do you know anything that could replace a life as great as his?” (Elsner) “Yes. The spirit that he leaves behind in a million hearts, madam.”
Wow, what a year it has been! I usually post my year-end song list in January, but between the passing of my dad and the coronavirus pandemic, things have been rather hectic. Perhaps it’s just the comparison with this year so far, but 2019 was largely a really good year, for me at least, and the music released was a big part of that. I was finally able to become a web developer and get a desk job, and that allowed me to listen to a whole slew of songs and artists I might never have stumbled upon otherwise. And naturally, I had to compile a Top Twelve list of my favorites.
In past years, there were certain artists I discovered that defined the year and became instant favorites (Florence and the Machine in 2016, Kygo in 2017, Aurora and Chvrches in 2018), but 2019 revealed artist after artist that I was thrilled to discover for the first time: Saint Motel, September, Kensington, Kaiser Chiefs, Sigala, The Naked and Famous, TWRP, Skyhill, Foxes, The Protomen, Sigma, Parade of Lights, and the list goes on. Fans of those artists may wonder what rock I’ve been under, but I’m certainly glad to join their ranks. While not all of these released new albums, there was still so much good music last year, and so little of it is actually on the radio. I can only shake my head over Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” getting the most attention.
As always, my list below is strictly my personal choices based on my personal tastes. There are plenty of other good songs out there for other tastes, so I wanted to recommend Chris’s list at Movies and Songs 365 as an alternate Top 10. I was particularly hard-pressed to pare down my honorable mentions, and in the end, I still ended up with over 60. Forgive me for the length, but it could have been longer, and they all deserve mention. And no doubt, I’ll likely discover some songs in the next year that slipped through the cracks and will make me wish I could include them here. I certainly wish I could have highlighted TWRP’s “Starlight Brigade” or Metric’s “Now or Never Now” on last year’s song list.
Without further ado, let the Top 12 countdown of 2019 songs commence!
“Tokyo” – White Lies
I agonized over what should be #12 for a long time, because there were at least eight songs that might as well have been a tie. In the end, with the assistance of my tie-breaking VC, I decided to go with the instant earworm of “Tokyo.” The chorus is one of those instantly-recognizable tunes that most bands wish they could conjure, and it’s an ethereal delight. Special mention also for their “Hurt My Heart.”
“Something Unreal” – The Script
In addition to discovering artists new to me, I also realized how much I had underrated bands I’d known for years. The Script’s new album made me recognize how good the Scottish band can be, and the melodic, pulsing beat of “Something Unreal” might be my favorite song of theirs. Special mention for “The Hurt Game,” “Same Time”, and “Hot Summer Nights.”
“It Only Gets Better” – WILD
I always like to highlight lesser-known bands with songs that deserve more attention, the kind that never see airplay and can only be found by those tooling around YouTube. WILD doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, but boy, do they deserve one and so much more. “It Only Gets Better” is a joyous, indie, sing-along type of song that never gets old, guaranteed to raise the spirits of those lucky enough to stumble upon it.
“In Case You Don’t Live Forever” – Ben Platt
Not many songs can bring me close to tears, but this one did. Releasing his first solo album after the Tony-winning success of Dear Evan Hansen, Ben Platt delivered a haunting ballad expressing a child’s appreciation for a parent, which all too often is realized too late. With the loss of my dad fresh in my mind, this song strokes the deepest feelings of grief and love and is beautiful to boot. Special mention for “Bad Habit” and “Grow As We Go.”
“Timebomb” – Walk the Moon
And Walk the Moon returns to the year-end song list, last placing #2 back in 2017! Ever since “Shut Up and Dance,” they’ve been among my favorite bands, and this is a fine addition to the quartet’s stellar record of radio bangers. Special mention for “Eat Your Heart Out” and “If I Lose You.”
“Almost (Sweet Music)” – Hozier
It took a while, but I’ve come to appreciate Hozier’s distinct vocals and lyrical ingenuity. “Almost” or “Sweet Music” has such a lilting joy and a smooth mellifluence that it feels like a song that will be enjoyed for years to come. Special mention for “Dinner and Diatribes,” “Movement,” and “Would That I.”
“What Lies Ahead” – Kensington
The Dutch band Kensington was one of the best discoveries I made last year, and I was delighted when they then released new music for their brand new fan. Perhaps not as good as “Do I Ever” or “Slicer,” but “What Lies Ahead” is a great example of their special brand of catchy semi-hard rock that I’ve come to love. Special mention for “Bats” and “Uncharted.”
“Save Me” – Saint Motel
Of all the bands I was lucky enough to discover last year, I think Saint Motel is my favorite. Nearly every single song of theirs is consistently lovely, inventive, memorable, invigorating, haunting, or some combination of all five. To my mind, they’re like a modern-day version of The Beatles. And “Save Me” is a smooth, let-your-eyes-roll-back-in-your-head kind of song, with a strangely nostalgic aura. How did I not hear of them sooner?! Special mention for “Diane Mozart,” “Van Horn,” and “Old Soul.”
“Fireman and Dancer” – Royal Republic
Walk the Moon doesn’t corner the market on bangers; Royal Republic may be their steepest competition. This infectiously dance-worthy jam is a should-be hit with an unabashedly ‘80s aesthetic. How is this not all over the radio? Special mention for “Boomerang” and “Anna-Leigh.”
“Wild Roses” – Of Monsters and Men
Of Monsters and Men is another band that has only grown in my estimation the more I hear of them. The Icelandic group’s latest album is a bit more pop-ish than their usual folk style, but that’s hardly a bad thing when it produces songs like this. “Wild Roses” is an immersive earworm, at once soothing and energizing. Put simply, it makes my ears very happy. Special mention for “Wars” and “Alligator.”
“The Upside” – Lindsey Stirling
In addition to Walk the Moon, Lindsey Stirling has also graced a past list, snagging #4 back in 2016. Not to be confused with the Bryan Cranston/Kevin Hart movie of the same name last year, “The Upside” is Lindsey’s best song in years. With its exuberant lilting energy, it shows how rip-roaring a violin can be in the hands of the right person. Although she teamed with Elle King for vocals, I prefer the pure instrumental track for sheer audio euphoria. Special mention for “Darkside,” “Sleepwalking,” “Between Twilight,” and the whole Artemis album.
“Never Be the Same” – Tritonal, feat. Rosie Darling
When I heard “The Upside,” I was convinced it would be my #1 by the end of the year, but no, there can only be one. And this is the one! “Never Be the Same” isn’t your typical progressive house song. No, this is the culmination of progressive house at its best. With possibly the finest drop I’ve ever heard, this song fills me with a primal, head-banging rhapsody that makes me worry about dain bramage afterward. It is my favorite song of 2019. Special mention for “Little by Little,” “Bloom,” and “Shivohum.”
And those are my Top Twelve Songs of 2019! What did you think? Solid picks or totally off-base? Even with all the music I’ve found in the last year, I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s out there. Let me know your favorites in a comment and maybe I’ll find a new favorite too!
As promised above, I’ll now list my many, many runners-up, continuing the ranking in descending order (#13, #14, etc.), and if any of these are unfamiliar, I’d love for you to give them a listen. Songs and artists are only obscure until they get enough fans, and these deserve fans. 😊
“Don’t Throw Out My Legos” and “Karma” – AJR
“It’s Mine,” “Without You,” “Stronger,” and “Dying for You” – Mystery Skulls
“Chances”, “Sober”, and “Lies” – Ashton Love
“Back in My Body,” “Love You for a Long Time”, and “Fallingwater” – Maggie Rogers
“Nostalgic,” “Find Someone,” “Where You Are,” and “Problems” – Arizona
“Slide Away” – Miley Cyrus
“I Say No” – new song from Heathers musical
“Die Young” – Sheppard
“The River”, “The Seed”, and “Dance on the Moon” – Aurora
“Safe Place” – Pelago, feat. Maximus
“Golden Oldies,” “Lucky Shirt,” “Northern Holiday,” “Wait,” and the whole Duck album – Kaiser Chiefs
“Think About You” (feat. Valerie Broussard) and “Carry On” (feat. Rita Ora) – Kygo
“Lion” – Hearts & Colors
“Longshot” – Catfish and the Bottlemen
“Bismarck” and “Fields of Verdun” – Sabaton
“555” – Jimmy Eat World
“Orphans” and “Arabesque” – Coldplay
“Black Gold” – Editors
“Inferno” and “Nexus” – Hiroyuki Sawano (from the film Promare)
“Fences,” “Feels Like,” and “Home” – Vicetone
“Into the Unknown,” “Some Things Never Change,” and “Show Yourself” – Frozen II
“Wish You Well” – Sigala, Becky Hill
“I Get No Joy” – Jade Bird
“Free to Go” – Seeb, feat. Highasakite
“The Bones” – Maren Morris, with Hozier
“So Am I”, “Torn”, and “Freaking Me Out” – Ava Max
“Talk” – Two-Door Cinema Club
“So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth,” “4ÆM,” and “Violence” – Grimes
“Love Me” – Felix Cartal & Lights
“In Degrees” – Foals
“The Best” and “California Halo Blue” – AWOLNATION
“Nomad” – Jeremy Renner
“Heavenly” – Cigarettes After Sex
“Heart upon My Sleeve” (feat. Imagine Dragons) and “Never Leave Me” (feat. Joe Janiak) – Avicii
“Paper Rings” and “Cornelia Street” – Taylor Swift
“Hidden Potential” – TWRP
“The Way I Feel” and “Love Too Much” – Keane
“You Mean the World to Me” and “Castles” – Freya Ridings
“Hurt People” – Gryffin, with Aloe Blacc
“Sad Forever” – Lauv
“Missed Connection” – The Head and the Heart
“Fight,” “Touch Your Body,” and “Mermaids” – Deamn
“LPs” – Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage
“Walk Me Home” – P!nk
“One Day” – Sam Feldt and Yves V
“Mama” – Clean Bandit, feat. Ellie Goulding
“Dear Future Self (Hands Up)” – Fall Out Boy, feat. Wyclef Jean
“Globetrotter” – Ludvigsson
“Start Stoppin’” and “I Got You” – The O’Jays
“Stand Up” – Cynthia Erivo (from the film Harriet)
“Death Stranding” – Chvrches
“mother tongue” – Bring Me the Horizon
“Coming Home” – Adon, Nicolas Haelg, Sam Halabi
“Sucker” – Jonas Brothers
“Your Light” – The Big Moon
“Juice” – Lizzo
“Gloryhammer” – Gloryhammer
“Never Really Over” – Katy Perry
“Forgotten Kids” – Callum Pitt
“I Dare You” – The Regrettes
“Living in the Future”, “Forgot Your Name,” and “Tears in Her Eyes” – Mini Mansions
“Midas” – Skott
“Seventeen” – Sharon Van Etten
“Alive” – Dabin, feat. RUNN
“Dylan Thomas” by Better Oblivion Community Center
Despite everything going on with COVID-19, let’s hope 2020 will offer another year of great music!
And to end this musical extravaganza, like in past years, I wanted to provide a small tribute to all the musical artists lost in the last year, including Michel Legrand, Peter Tork of The Monkees, Andy Anderson of The Cure, Doug Sandom of The Who, Nipsey Hussle, Doris Day, Ian Gibbons of The Kinks, Jeff Fenholt, Eddie Money, Ric Ocasek of The Cars, Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Naylor of The Crickets, Marie Fredriksson of Roxette, Kelly Fraser, Jack Sheldon, and so many others. Thank you for the music, and may you all rest in peace.
Is this your new site? Log in to activate admin features and dismiss this message
Rhyme and Reason 