May Favorites

Love, Simon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Despite my general dislike for Jack Antonoff due to his associations with Lena Dunham and the band fun., I caved in and bought the soundtrack that he produced and whose own material takes up over a third of the track listing. However, I have put that general dislike away for now and find this album to be a pop-y, youthful delight – even the Antonoff / Bleachers tracks. While I am not trying to be a hipster youth, I do find the tracks on this album to be oddly nostalgic. Even though they don't reflect the music that I was listening to in high school, they do capture the spirit of the film Love, Simon and express the angsty optimism of teendom. There are even some great vintage nods by way of Brenton Wood's "The Oogum Boogum Song" and Whitey Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", and The 1975 do an admirable job of channeling the 80s with "Love Me". While I could have done without the inclusion of Jackson 5's "Someday at Christmas", which is simply jarring when listening to the album outside of the Christmas season, every other track offers a unique voice and/or story.

Graffiti U, Keith Urban: Graffiti U is a great follow-up to Ripcord, with Keith Urban continuing to stretch himself to genres beyond country. However, lest you worry that Mr. Urban is forsaking his roots, rest assured that the best track on the album is "Texas Time", which has the slow, smooth, confident groove of a classic 80s country tune; and "Coming Home" features plenty of banjo twang. "Never Comin Down" is a tonal and thematic sibling to Ripcord's "Wasted Time"; "My Wave" is a breezy foray into Trop-Rock; "Horses" offers up an empowering anthem; "Gemini", "Drop Top", and "Love The Way It Hurts (So Good)" bring some EDM-lite sass; and "Same Heart", the Ed Sheeran-penned "Parallel Line", and "Way Too Long" round out the album with heartfelt ballads. Urban is a master of feel-good music and high-quality musicianship, and with Graffiti U he shows that he can still deliver an album full of worthy tracks.

The Rainmaker: Although The Rainmaker is not a musical, it reminded me quite a bit of Oklahoma!, I suppose because they have similar settings (both time and place) and themes. The play also reminded me a bit of Giant, as well as of the plays of Horton Foote. This revival of The Rainmaker,  presented at the Sheen Center by Blackfriars Repertory Theatre and The Storm Theatre, was a well-produced, ably acted, and entertaining play. The performances were big enough for Broadway, even though the black box at the Sheen Center is a tiny space. Though the story takes place over just one day, it is packed with twists & turns and plenty of drama – and a good dose of humor as well. The production clocked in at around two and a half hours, but didn't feel that long at all, which is nearly always the sign of a skillfully directed show. It was a nice change of pace to see a play that wasn't trying to be overly clever or make some sort of profound statement or commentary. Though the play is set in simpler times, its timelessness derives from the fact that human lives are always messy and complicated, for better and for worse.

Music for Robots, MF Robots: If not for Rick Astley, I would not currently be writing about this album. It transpires that Dawn Joseph is one half of MF Robots and was also Rick's backup singer when I saw him live in 2016 and 2017. I was super impressed by Dawn's solos during Rick's shows, followed her on social media, and discovered MF Robots. Music for Robots is an utterly fantastic album! It fuses jazz, rock, R&B, soul, and funk to wonderful effect. The album is a perfectly sequenced masterpiece that deserves to be listened to all the way through from beginning to end. However, to give a flavor of what to expect, highlights include "Whatcha Sayin'", "The Night Is Calling" (wonderfully reminiscent of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"), "Believe in Love", "Talk", and "OTM (One Thing Missing)". This album would make the perfect soundtrack to any summer soirée or barbecue, but is just as good to listen to while chilling out on the sofa.

Shawn Mendes, Shawn Mendes: Shawn Mendes's latest effort blends several genres, but is mostly bouncy pop and addictive beats. I especially enjoy the several songs that serve up strong Robin Thicke vibes, particularly "Nervous", "Lost In Japan", and "Particular Taste". Mendes delivers all the exuberant R&B rhythms and flawless falsetto of Blurred Lines without the creepiness-factor that has come to haunt Robin Thicke. "Nervous" is especially interesting, as the beat and instrumentation behind the chorus is extremely reminiscent of "Blurred Lines" itself; seems like Robin and Pharrell aren't the only ones looking to channel the party vibes of "Got to Give It Up". There are also some nods to JC Chasez ("Why" is very "Build My World") and Justin Timberlake ("Particular Taste" again). It's a bit concerning that someone 15 years younger than me can so skillfully conjure music that was first meaningful to me five, 12, or 14 years ago, but if I don't think about the fact that Shawn Mendes is practically a baby and wonder about how he could have possibly had the experiences necessary to write these songs, then I am happy to be carried away by his sweet, sweet voice.

Breath, Tim Winton: The first three quarters of this book is about surfing, and it so skillfully and convincingly written in the first-person that I had to keep reminding myself that Breath is in fact a novel and not non-fiction. The descriptions of the surf breaks and the experience of surfing are just as good as anything in William Finnegan's surfing memoir, Barbarian Days. The final quarter of the novel veers into more traditional coming-of-age territory, but is still captivating and atmospheric. Tim Winton is a well-known writer in his native Australia, and from the two books of his that I've read definitely deserves more recognition in America.