With so much bad news in the ether these days, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I was recently reading and listening to classical music while drinking chamomile tea, and I felt so happy. I believe we need more.
I’m torn with remakes.
“Nobody asked for it”, I often want to say. “Why can’t Hollywood be more creative?”
But I’m not mad at the beginnings of a series based on the hit 1992 film about a WWII women’s pro baseball team, because right now celebrating women is damn good.
“A League of Their Own” is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
‘RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race’ season 2
You better work, stars!
In the second season of this reality spin-off, a group of celebrities “undergo an incredible drag transformation” to compete and explore new identities, while being mentored by former “Drag Race” queens. No one entertains quite like RuPaul, so I’m in for this new season because… the shadow of it all!
The first episode of the second season of “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race” aired Friday on VH1.
‘Princess’
Beloved, haunted and hunted.
That’s the impression I’ve always had of the late Princess Diana, and the more I learn about her life, the stronger it gets.
This new HBO Max documentary ‘draws solely on contemporary archival audio and video footage to take audiences back to key events in Diana’s life as they happened’, including her appearance Fairy tale romance with Prince Charles that ended in a contentious divorce.
Yes, she’s already been the subject of movies, shows, and documentaries, but there’s so much to unpack with Princess Diana. Her life and legacy can now be seen in a different light amid new and more nuanced discussions about the treatment of female celebrities and women in the public eye.
“The Princess” premieres Saturday on HBO Max (which is owned by The News’ parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery).
Two things to listen to
‘Cheat Codes’ by Danger Mouse and Black Thought
When Danger Mouse was a teenager growing up in Atlanta, he was a big fan of rap group The Roots.
“I remember paying someone to steal (The Roots’ 1995 album) ‘Do You Want More?!!!??!’ from Turtle’s Records And Tapes,” he told NME. “It was one of those albums that most people in my high school didn’t really know about, so I had an even more connection to it because it was ‘my thing’.”
So imagine his excitement upon the release of “Cheat Codes,” a highly anticipated collaboration with the band’s longtime MC and rapper, Black Thought.
“‘Cheat Codes’ is the most introspective I’ve been in a long time,” Black Thought said of the album in the same NME interview. “It’s some of my most honest writing.”
The “cheat codes” were dropped on Friday.
‘Bigger. Sir.’ by Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman may be best known as the composer of hits such as the theme song for “The Simpsons” and the score for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (among other collaborations with Tim Burton), but there’s something new about him. to share. Well, kind of again.
“Bigger. Sir.” is a remix album that follows his 2021 studio release, “Big Mess”.
Elfman’s collaborators on the record include Iggy Pop and Trent Reznor.
“I asked the same thing of all artists: ‘express me through your own eyes,'” said Elfman, an American songwriter. “I was not only surprised by the artists who wanted to participate, but completely blown away by what each contributed. … This record has become such a joy of experimenting and letting go of control of my own work in a way that I have never done before.”
“Bigger. Sir.” also debuted on Friday.
One thing to talk about
I’ve watched a tribute to singer-songwriter Amy Grant by her husband, Vince Gill, over and over again.
Grant was injured in a bicycle accident in late July, and at a recent concert Gill asked their daughter Corrina to perform “When My Amy Prays”, a song he wrote for Grant years ago. years.
It’s one of the most powerful examples of vulnerable writing I’ve ever heard from Gill, as it expresses that he didn’t always have the same kind of relationship with God as his wife.
I remember the controversy decades ago when the couple first got together – Grant is one of the most famous Christian artists of all time and some fans were unhappy with his divorce from her first husband, songwriter Gary Chapman.
Listening to the lyrics to Gill’s song reminded me that we all have our own path and no one is perfect. Great lesson.
something to sip
She was always the one we wanted.
The death of Olivia Newton-John this week at the age of 73 has me racing to watch “Grease” and listen to “Physical.”
Newton-John defined the 1970s and 1980s for so many and was a star power.
She was also a survivor, having battled cancer on several occasions. By sharing her journey with breast cancer over the past 30 years, she helped educate the public, even as she struggled to live.
His race is run now. May she rest well.