Ed Asner, the Iconic Lou Grant on Two Acclaimed TV Series, Dies at 91 [Hollywood Reporter, Archive link]
Follies
Stephen Sondheim was riding pretty high in 1971. His show Company was a year into its strong Broadway run when he opened a second show on Broadway, the ambitious Follies. Directed by Hal Prince and Michael Bennett, the show ran for over 500 performance…
30 Years Of Ten
August 25, 1991 — Barely a year after coming together as a band, Pearl Jam released Ten [Wikipedia], their debut album. The release, supported by several hit singles (including one that basically broke MTV for a while) launched the band and is widely …
Lorde’s Third Album
First came the single Solar Power. Next came Stoned At The Nail Salon. Then the full album, Solar Power [43m, track time jumps in the description]. This NYT profile Lorde’s Work Here Is Done. Now, She Vibes. [Archive link] was pretty interesting. NPR’s…
Merrily We Roll Along
Stephen Sondheim was a hot property in 1981. Riding the momentum of Sweeney Todd, his next musical would be Merrily We Roll Along [Wikipedia], and that would be a gigantic flop, closing after over 50 previews, dozens of rewrites, and only 16 performanc…
Just wait until the summer when they let me out the house!
Rumors feat Cardi B is the first new Lizzo track in 2 years!
Evening Primrose
Stephen Sondheim is mostly known as a musical theater composer, but he did do one project for television — Evening Primrose [Wikipedia]. A musical Twilight Zone-is story in which Norman Bates falls in love with Liesl Von Trapp while living in a depart…
A bit of Company for the weekend
Stephen Sondheim had been successful (and not) on Broadway for over a decade before Company [Wikipedia]. In a lot of ways, it redefined “musical”, being less about a straightforward plot and more about emotional honesty and development. One major (and …
Danny Elfman’s Second Solo Album
It slipped under my radar, but last month Danny Elfman put out an album, Big Mess. [Wikipedia] It’s industrial/grunge rock (includes 2/5 of NIN!) with an orchestral grounding. Hints of minimalism, triple dueling guitars, and a seething cauldron of hat…
The Concert For Bangladesh
Sunday, August 1, 1971, George Harrison (Beatle, Wilbury) got some of his friends together for two charity concerts. The Concert For Bangladesh [Wikipedia] is a film that documents those extraordinary concerts. You can watch it on Vimeo. [1h30m]