21 for '21

 Ahh, here it is. The final 2021 playlist, made up only of songs from 2021 playlists.

1. Twenty-One Drum Salute
2. Electric Feel
3. Brace for Impact
4. Born Again*
5. Rushing Water*
6. Too Much Heaven*
7. I Don't Mind*
8. Lies
9. Bells In Santa Fe*
10. Love Is A Stranger
11. Bus Stop
12. She's Not There
13. Shame Shame*
14. What Have I Done to Deserve This
15. When You're Wrong*
16. Turn It On Again
17. Spirits In The Material World
18. Dear Lord
19. Tipping Point*
20. Love You More
21. Deja Vu

*2021 song

Lots of stuff going on here. In addition to the new stuff, there is:

• Bus Stop and She's Not There for the Ricochettes hanging it up
• Turn It On Again for the last Genesis tour
• Dear Lord for my general state of mind at the end of the year.
• Spirits was the second song of the year
• Deja Vu, of course, was the first song of the year, and I always bring the year full circle.

 

*2021 song

Midnight at the Movies (2009, Justin Townes Earle)

 
Impressions: Nothing to write home about, a couple of good songs

("Midnight at the Movies, "What I Mean To You", "Mama's Eyes", "Halfway to Jackson")

Being The Ricardos

Story:

Being the Ricardos takes place over a week of filming of I Love Lucy. During this week, the stars deal with Lucille Ball being outed as a communist and Desi's possible infidelity, as well as the insecurities of just about everyone involved with the show.

What I Liked:

The cast is tremendous. Nicole Kidman as Lucy, Javier Bardem as Desi, J.K. Simmons as Fred and Nina Arianda as Ethel, and they're all great. I totally lost Kidman as Ball and the others crackle with Sorkin's dialogue. I pretty much enjoyed the structure, as there were a few flashbacks among all the drama.

What I Didn't Like:

Being the Ricardos felt a little too Sorkin-y in spots, especially near the end. The walk-and-talks, the "I'm almost out of the room but one last thing" moments. The film might have felt a little tighter without those, but these are not dealbreakers.

Rating:

3 to 3.5 out of 5 stars.

We'll See What Happens

Of course. Of course COVID has to come a-calling. Faith Academy emailed us yesterday announcing that they were closed for winter break. Not only that, there was an exposure and Levi and Naomi are getting tested tomorrow.

Hopefully they test negative and we have a Christmas. I don't even want to know what Sarah's state of mind is going to be if we all have to stay home.

The Night The Lights Went Out and Hell of a Book

 From Facebook:

Raise The Roof (Plant/Krauss)

 

Reaction: An overall solid set of songs. Two standout songs surrounded by decent stuff. I wouldn't skip anything, although the last track might get annoying with too many listens.

1.	"Quattro (World Drifts In)"     0	Joey Burns, John Convertino	4:33
2.	"The Price of Love"               +	Don Everly, Phil Everly	4:50
3.	"Go Your Way"                       +	Anne Briggs	5:07
4.	"Trouble with My Lover"        0	Allen Toussaint	4:03
5.	"Searching for My Love"       ++	Bobby Moore	4:03
6.	"Can't Let Go"                        +	Randy Weeks	3:41
7.	"It Don't Bother Me"               0	Bert Jansch	5:06
8.	"You Led Me to the Wrong"   ++	Ola Belle Reed	4:17
9.	"Last Kind Words Blues"        0	Geeshie Wiley	4:06
10.	"High and Lonesome"           +	Robert Plant, T Bone Burnett	4:33
11.	"Going Where the Lonely Go" 0	Merle Haggard, Dean Holloway	4:10
12.	"Somebody Was Watching Over Me 0	Brenda Burns	5:02

12.21.21

 

1. Stuck In A Moment (Acoustic)
2. Sonnet
3. Logos (Area 52)
4. Steppin' out with My Baby
5. Vertigo
6. Dreams*
7. No More Darkness, No More Light
8. Wrapped In Red
9. Motorbike
10. Good King Wenceslas
11. O Holy Night
12. 11:11 (Area 52)
13. Thrills
14. Scream
15. Searching For My Love
16. Butterfly
17. Ordinary Love

*Brandi Carlile

 

New Stuff:

#4- Tony Bennett (saw special with Lady Gaga)

12.14.21

1. What Would You Say
2. Mad World
3. Here Comes The Rain Again
4. All The Rowboats
5. Quattro (World Drifts In)
6. Mood Indigo
7. Going Missing
8. Mark's Mungle
9. Bad Moon Rising
10. AM Gold
11. Neptune City
12. Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
13. Masood
14. Hey Porter
15. Back In Your Arms Again
16. I Believe In Father Christmas
17. Chicago

New Stuff:

#5- Plant/Krauss

#12- Spoon

Quite an interesting set here. What Would and Mad World are because my birthday came and went this weekend and my plans for going to Chicago were dashed, so in a manner it felt like my birthday was forgotten, although it really wasn't. I'll probably delete Mark's Mungle because it ruins the flow. The 2-fer this time was Nicole Atkins. Couple of deep cuts from my past in Going Missing and Masood. Once I spotted Chicago on one of my playlists, I had to include it to close here. I feel like one of the reasons I love the song is the repeated phrase "I made a lot of mistakes". Hasn't been my best month, but I'm happy now.

Super Nova (Wayne Shorter)

 

Hoo boy. I liked Wayne Shorters two previous albums, but this one was more experimental, and I do not like experimental. Good on an artist for trying something different, but it's just not for me

Update

Oy, I'm just exhausted today. Probably a little sick. Weekend was OK. Minimal blow-ups, but some annoyances. Brother drove me a little crazy with the Christmas tree talk for Dad. I know you want him to have a Christmas tree, but I can't make him do what he doesn't want to do. And it's more than an hour commitment. Thanks for trying to volunteer me when we've got our flooring thing going on and Linda's still in the hospital. Yesterday was tiring. I was trying to get as much done laundry-wise as I could and I put a ton away. Sarah left her phone at home and went to Sheboygan with Levi. 

Bucks game with Dad was great. No Giannis, but the rest of the team played superbly. The Heat were just as depleted. No Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo. Bucks took care of business, though. Dad had a good time. The Fiserv Forum is so damn cool. It looks like a performing arts center where basketball is played.

Watched Single All The Way on Netflix yesterday. Good movie. Liked the two leads and supporting cast. Succession is still bonkers.

Flooring day one today. Nervous to see what it looks like, but feel like we're in good hands with Dave.

12.3.21

1.  The Grinch Opening 
2.  The Bed's Too Big Without You
3.  You Led Me To The Wrong
4.  On the Radio
5.  Stay Gentle
6.  Listen Like Thieves
7.  Original Sin
8.  The Book of Numbers
9.  Sesame Street Christmas Overture
10.  I Hate Christmas
11.  Come to Your Senses
12.  Summertime
13.  Keep Talking
14.  It Happened In Monterey
15.  Riptide
16.  Dancing Nancies
17.  I've Just Seen A Face
18.  Welcome Christmas (Reprise)

New Stuff:

#1, #18- How The Grinch Stole Christmas

#3- Plant/Krauss

#8- Sting

#9 and #10- Sesame Street Christmas

#11- Tick Tick Boom soundtrack

8-Bit Christmas

 

I heard about 8-Bit Christmas on the Movie Madness podcast and after watching Tick Tick Boom, I wanted something lighter.

What I Liked:

What wasn't there to like? A movie about how a kid got his Nintendo back in the late 80s. It wasn't really about that, though. It's a sweet movie about fathers and sons and families and expectations around the holidays. It's about that one toy that you really want but your parents won't let you have. It's kind of Christmas Story but with some plot twists. Loved the kids, loved Steve Zahn and June Diane Raphael.

What I Didn't Like:

Nothing much. I know there's no way to go back and re-create late 1980s Chicago, but I was hoping for more scenes there. Wonderful film.

Four Days of Mr. Mom

Sarah got back last night from Mexico, where her cousin Laura got married. It was great to have her home. I was finally getting a bit weary of having the kids all by myself. The four days were really good, though. It was a different kind of thinking. I had to prepare the kids for day care or school and make sure they had everything they needed before we took off. I was easy on myself. I didn't expect myself to be perfect, and I wasn't.

The example of this would be Oak Creek Plumbing. At first, when they showed up, I felt overwhelmed, but then I got Dave on the phone and I felt like we reached a consensus. I also knew that Sarah was not going to be thrilled. She doesn't react well to change. I kind of felt like it was part of the flooring project, so even though it cost what it did, I wasn't mad about it.

I'm proudest that I never truly lost my cool with either kid. I got frustrated because Naomi just gets grumpy in the morning, but I never really yelled at Levi. I'm hoping to keep that up.