This is kind of funny timing (I obviously didn’t do so well with a certain national anthem that’ll show up well past, say, Independence Day). (Here I should remind readers out there I generally compose these things well in advance as far as selecting songs and compiling videos.) I just saw Superman last night, in opening weekend. It’s pretty great, though certainly a very different cinematic vision of the character than we’ve ever seen, a huge contrast with its immediate predecessor, last officially depicted in JusticeLeague (though he cameos in BlackAdam, very very ironically similar to the new film). The complicated production of JusticeLeague famously led to different cuts. The theatrical version, which this song opens, was completed by Joss Whedon, though the song and moment feels very much like Zack Snyder’s work. In Snyder’s version the song has been omitted.
My Chemical Romance doesn’t get nearly enough love, being a latter day rock band (seriously, TheBlackParade is great). Gerard Way also made a great career for himself in comics.
When Will Smith’s movie career exploded, initially he kept his rap career going steady right beside it, this time as a solo artist (he was originally the Fresh Prince alongside Jazzy Jeff). The success of MeninBlack in particular led to WildWildWest, a movie that proved there were limits to his appeal. But the song was still good!
Here’s another I can’t believe I didn’t include earlier. I became a hopelessly devoted fan of Warren Zevon very, very late in his career, when David Letterman invited him on in his last days. But I guess in my family I was the only one to listen to “Werewolves of London” as a kid and remember it fondly. It was a classic for me, no idea when or how I originally heard it. Still can’t believe the rest of the world hasn’t caught up with his genius.