Almanac for May 18th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for May 18th: https://ko-fi.com/post/May-18-Go-Tell-It-On-the-Mountain-C0C01FR4CC

Author Julie S. Howlin post of the day: Bertrand Russell

Bummer May 18th

May 18, 1927: Local school board treasurer Andrew Kehoe rigs explosives inside the Bath Township, Michigan elementary school to explode. He murders his wife and sets his house and barn on fire. Kehoe also fills his automobile with nails and explosives, detonating it and killing himself and sending shrapnel flying. The local mail carrier loses a leg when the vehicle explodes and later dies from his injuries. 

As a result of the school explosion and detonation of the vehicle, 38 children and a total of five adult victims are killed. The exact reason for Kehoe’s rampage is unknown, but he may have been upset about losing a local election and his wife’s increasingly poor health.

May 18, 1980: Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington State, erupts. An estimated 57 people die as a direct result of the volcano, and over one billion dollars’ worth of property is destroyed.

May 18, 1996: 29-year-old musician Kevin Gilbert is found dead of apparent autoerotic asphyxiation at his home in California.

May 18, 2017: Musician Chris Cornell, age 52, dies of suicide by hanging.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1CKXoMK0xGTr3L?si=QK-g9blMT0uRqS46MkhGlg&utm_source=copy-link&pi=aIrlI_meRYuKV&sci=spotify%3Acard-config%3A6Bjx5X80mbnpERGePuM5ag

Now let's move onto something significantly more life-affirming: My all-time (2017-2026) most-played songs on Spotify, Part II.

"Love Is Blindness" by Jack White is the only cover of a U2 song that I actually like better than a U2 song.

"Gettin' It" features into the plot of the tv series Blindspotting, an amazing musical love story starring the uber-talented Jasmine Cephas Jones of Hamilton (the musical) fame. Her character's beloved is played by Rafael Casal and he is also great in this. He's basically playing the most ride-or-die husband in modern musical history.

Cillian Murphy has his own tag HERE.

"Ava Gardner" has its own post HERE.

I like the soundtrack to Disney's The Greatest Showman a normal amount. Don't worry about it. It's probably fine.

"Soul Kitchen" by the Doors is playing in the Umbrella Academy episode where Klaus meets Dave, the closest thing he has to a love of his life. It's beautiful and tragic and I was more than a little obsessed.

I should watch the Bruce Springsteen movie starring the gorgeous Jeremy Allen White of The Bear fame. (The Bear also had Jon Bernthal, who is about to return to playing The Punisher on Disney+. Right after the latest season of Daredevil: Born Again showed us Jessica Jones and Luke Cage as a couple, with their daughter, future Captain America Danielle Cage. I hyperventilated. JonesCage was all I ever wanted out of Marvel's The Defenders. Well, that and for [spoilers] Electra to still be alive, but we can't have everything, can we?)

(P.S. Jon Bernthal is also starring on Broadway in the theatre version of the classic Al Pacino movie Dog Day Afternoon. And while I have mixed feelings about Jews and Italians being used interchangeably in media - don't get me started again - that's pretty fuckin' awesome. I love that guy. I just love him, period.)

I'm done listening to Nicki Minaj now that she's joined Team Maga (a.k.a. the American fascists who want to reinstate white supremacy) and how we just all know instinctively that if she was in that juke joint in Ryan Coogler's Sinners, she would have let those vampires in and fixed them a Myx Moscato to boot.

Doechii is a better rapper, anyway.

I like Murray Head a normal amount. Don't worry about it.

"My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors" has its own page HERE.

"Buttons" is a very catchy pop song, and also I hear it in the voices of Bob Belcher and Jimmy Pesto (senior). And this makes me laugh.

"The Future" from Batman (1989) isn't actually my 121st most-listened song, it's in fact the first song I ever listened to on Spotify on March 31, 2017. I wonder what I was thinking that day. It's true that as a 12-year-old in 1989, I was hella excited about Batman, and I saw it in the theater twice, once regular movie theater and once drive-in. Maybe I was leaning into 1980s nostalgia, as I sometimes do, with or without Murry Head. Maybe I was fantasizing about Christian Bale's Batman, as I sometimes do, with or without Cillian Murphy.

Anyway, those are my songs. 

My Spotify Top 99 of 2023, Annotated, Part 2

Part 1 Here

12. "Everything's Alright" - original cast of Jesus Christ Superstar (featuring Murray Head singing the role of Judas)

13. "Black Parade" - Beyoncé

14. Born This Way - Lady Gaga

15. "Nobody Told Me" - John Lennon

16. "I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl" - Nina Simone
As heard in Point of No Return (1993) starring Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne

17. Too Much - Carly Rae Jepsen

18. "Red Right Hand" - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (the Peaky Blinders theme song)

19. "America Has a Problem" - Beyoncé with Kendrick Lamar

20. Rehab - Amy Winehouse

21. "Sappho" - Frankie Cosmos

22. "Material Girl" - Kris Bowers. From the Bridgerton soundtrack; I've neither read nor watched the Netflix Regency romance series, but I like these pop songs done in a chamber music style. 

23. "Suerte" - Shakira

24. Annabel Lee/The Bells - Lou Reed

25. "Chromatica I" - Lady Gaga

26. Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners

27. "Gooey (Gilligan Moss remix)" - Glass Animals

28. Too Much (Acoustic) - Melanie Chisholm

29. "Chromatica II" - Lady Gaga

30. "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" - Elle King, Miranda Lambert

31. "Eames" - Polar Inc.

32. "Hung Up on Tokischa" - Madonna with Tokischa

33. You and I - Lady Gaga. The music video is a Frankenstein story. I had this idea the other day: Someone should write a novelization of the video. 

34. "You'll Be Back" - Hamilton soundtrack, Jonathan Groff

35. "Celebrity Skin" - Doja Cat. Did anybody else use to sing this on Rock Band?

36. "The Raven" - Lou Reed

37. "Tik Tok" - Kesha

38. Paper Planes - M.I.A.

39. "Cain't Use My Phone (Suite)" - Erykah Badu

40. "I'm On Fire" - Bruce Springsteen

41. "This Is Me" - Keala Settle from the Greatest Showman soundtrack

42. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" - Bananarama

43. "Inside Out" - Eve 6

44. "Heart of Gold" - Tanya Donelly

45. "Heart Shaped Box" - Nirvana

46. "Can't Help Falling In Love" - UB40

47. "Never Enough" - Loren Allred from the Greatest Show soundtrack

48. "911" - Lady Gaga

49. "Get Into It (Yuh)" - Doja Cat

50. "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween" - Muse

51. "UMF" - Duran Duran

52. "Hold My Hand" - Lady Gaga

53. Love On the Brain - Rihanna

54. "Come As You Are" - Nirvana

55. "Into the Mystic" - The Wallflowers (cover of a Van Morrison song)

56. "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" - Elle King, Miranda Lambert - GOLDHOUSE Remix

57. "Shallow" - Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper

58. "Footloose" - Kenny Loggins. Remember, Tit Elingtin and I saw the musical live on stage in 2023.

59. Here With Me - Dido

60. "Creep" - Radiohead. The original; in the past I've been quite taken with the Scala & Kolacny Brothers cover that was used on The Simpsons (production code PABF04). Also used in Rock Band.

61. Paparazzi - Lady Gaga

62. "Mo Money, Mo Problems," The Notorious B.I.G., Mase, Diddy

63. "What's Up?" - 4 Non Blondes

64. "Our Love Is Done" - Hannah Juanita

65. "Do What You Want" - Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera

66. "Glory of the 80s" - Tori Amos

67. "The River of Dreams" - Billy Joel

68. "No Myth" - Michael Penn

69. "How Will I Know?" - Whitney Houston - Tit and I also saw The Bodyguard, the musical, live on stage in 2023.

70. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here" - Bob Dylan

71. "Sirius" - The Alan Parsons Project. Which I believe was some kind of hovercraft. (That's a Simpsons reference, but in real life, this is the song that traditionally introduces the starting lineup of the Chicago Bulls.) 

72. "Bitch I'm Madonna" - Madonna with Nicki Minaj

73. "Queen of the Night" - Whitney Houston

74. Trouble - P!nk

75. "Poor Me Israelites" - Desmond Dekker. I know this song from the soundtrack of Drugstore Cowboy.

76. "Unholy" - Sam Smith, Kim Petras

77. "Drugstore Rock N Roll" - Janis Martin

78. "Malibu" - Hole

79. "Ho-Down" - Paula Abdul

80. "Never Ever" - All Saints

81. "Crush With Eyeliner" - R.E.M.

82. "Can't Stop Lovin' You" - Van Halen

83. "Sleepwalker" - The Wallflowers

84. "20th Century Boy" - T. Rex

85. "Helena" - My Chemical Romance

86. "Party in the USA" - Miley Cyrus

87. "The Devil's Waltz" - The Wallflowers

88. "Rebel Rebel" - David Bowie

88. "Annabel Lee RIP" - MC Lars

90. I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song) - The Ikettes

91. "Dive Bar In My Heart" - The Wallflowers

92. "Blister in the Sun" - Violent Femmes

93. "Country Pie" - Bob Dylan

94. "Rock Your Baby" - Wanda Jackson. Goddess bless Wanda Jackson. She is 86 years old and recently put out a cover of Juice Newton's "Queen of Hearts" with Leilah Safka. (Leilah's mother Melanie Safka, who performed under the mononym Melanie, had such hits as "Brand New Key.")

95. In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins

96. "Mysterious Ways" - U2

97. Invisible City - The Wallflowers

98. "Come on Eileen" - cover by Saving Ferris

99. "Toxic Pony" - Britney Spears/Ginuwine mashup

By Britney Spears - Barnes and Noble, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75100779

Favorite #Grammys2016 Moments

You may recall from yesterday's post that I was eagerly, not-so-patiently awaiting the Hamilton performance on last night's Grammys telecast, as well as Lady Gaga's tribute to the recently deceased David Bowie. I wasn't disappointed by either of those musical moments! Here are some of my other favorites.

'Hamilton' genius creator/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda
Creative Commons image by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Taylor Swift started off the program with a performance of her "Out of the Woods," the latest single from her 1989 album. Meh. Personally I think the singles peaked at "Blank Space" and have been getting steadily less interesting ever since. "Style?" Pretty good song. I like the reference to James Dean and that Vampire Academy hottie Dominic Sherwood appears in the video. "Bad Blood?" Frankly, I think the song's a little cheesy. The "Band-Aids don't fix bullet holes" line is my favorite thing about the lyrics. "Out of the Woods" - I can barely even think of any of the lyrics other than:

Are we out of the woods yet?
Are we out of the woods yet?
Are we out of the woods yet?...

...You get the idea. Swift looked AMAZING, though, both in her daring two-piece red carpet ballgown and in the starlit bodysuit she performed in. (It did remind me a little of Beyonce's dark blue bodysuit on an awards show of several years ago.)

A performance I liked a lot better was Little Big Town's haunting live rendition of "Girl Crush." The song itself won 2 Grammys.

One thing I wasn't expecting to see during the Grammys was the trailer for the third Divergent Series movie, Allegiant. I found myself unexpectedly choked up by the sight of Shailene Woodley as Tris Prior.

Commercials give me feelings. I also choked up just a little bit when I saw the trailer for Tim Burton's Through the Looking Glass. Alice was following a blue butterfly, and when the butterfly spoke, it was in the voice of Alan Rickman, also recently deceased. The movie actually looks interesting - even though I don't love Johnny Depp's over-the-top Mad Hatter performance - but it's always bittersweet to see a beloved, late actor in one of their last roles. (See Also: Robin Williams in the surprisingly-good Night at the Museum 3.)

Shortly after the Through the Looking Glass spot, the Hamilton cast performed, and it was an exquisite pleasure. Equally moving, though? When the Hamilton cast recording won its Grammy, Lin-Manuel Miranda whipped out his acceptance speech and proceeded to perform it as a rap. This guy's a bona fide musical genius - to live at this moment is like being alive when George Gershwin put out Rhapsody in Blue.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/228772759/rhapsody-in-blood-by-erin-oriordan-pdf-e

Then, after I got Tit Elingtin hooked up on his dialysis machine, we could relax and enjoy Lady Gaga's David Bowie tribute. Which was amazing. The only thing I wished she'd have done differently was spend a little more time on "Rebel Rebel."

The part I really didn't think I would like, but that I ended up liking, was the tribute to Lionel Ritchie. Ritchie's music reminds me of my childhood- '80s kid here - but I can't exactly say I'm a fan. And, when I was a kid, "Hello" used to make me cry. It's not even a sad song, per say--more about longing than actual sadness. But I have some funny brain chemistry and slow-paced songs will sometimes affect me with mood contagion in a way that doesn't feel too good.

And yet! When Demi Lovato performed a fragment of "Hello," I genuinely enjoyed it.

But then, I like Demi Lovato. Maybe because she's a feminist. Maybe because she sang "Cool For the Summer," in which the heterosexual performer sounded decidedly heteroflexible for another girl*. Great, very catchy song, and she looks incredibly sexy in the video.

My girl crush on Demi Lovato is not platonic.

Some parts of the Grammys show I really didn't care for. I didn't like the song Adele performed, which she co-wrote with Bruno Mars. I haven't been enjoying Adele's latest album much at all. None of the singles have been upbeat rockers like "Rolling in the Deep." But even if she hadn't had technical difficulties with the microphone on the piano, I still wouldn't have enjoyed the overly-sentimental song with lyrics that didn't make much sense.

I also didn't like the duet between Tori Kelly and James Bay much. (Both of them lost Best New Artist to Meghan Trainor, who was adorably flustered and tearful when she won.) Kelly's half of the performance was good, but Bay seemed like he was whispering, tentative, or not trying as hard as Kelly. He may be very talented, but I wouldn't have known it based on the Grammys.

We turned off the TV and went to sleep during the Vampires of Hollywood performance. Overall, it was a Grammys telecast well worth watching.

*At that time, Lovato publicly identified as a woman. This was prior to their coming out as nonbinary.

Speak Now (Taylor's Version)[Orchid Marbled 3 LP] comes out July 7, 2023. This is an affiliate link.