Saweetie

May 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Ivan Jandl in the trailer for The Search by There Stands the Glass.

Screenshot of Ivan Jandl in the trailer for The Search by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in May, excluding 5/28 titles)

1. Sons of Kemet- Black to the Future

Reclamation.

2. St. Vincent- Daddy’s Home

Shine on you crazy diamond.

3. Cake Pop- Cake Pop 2

Greasy art-kid stuff.

4. Alan Jackson- Where Have You Gone

Hardcore honkytonk and sentimental slow dances.

5. Georgia Anne Muldrow- Vweto III

Ancient to the future.

6. Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall- The Marfa Tapes

Bleary singalongs.

7. Young M.A.- Off the Yak

Still thirsty.

8. Carlos Niño- More Energy Fields, Current

Ethereal electricity.

9. Blob Castle- Music for Art Show

My review.

10. Fatima Al Qadiri- Medieval Femme

It’s a new age for New Age.


Top Ten Songs (released in May, excluding 5/28 titles)

1. Olivia Rodrigo- "Brutal"

“I can’t even parallel park!”

2. Saweetie- "Fast (Motion)"

Commotion.

3. Tony Allen featuring Danny Brown- "Deer in Headlights"

Dream pairing. 

4. Coi Leray- "Bout Me"

What you know?

5. Rhonda Vincent- “What Ain’t to Be Just Might Happen”

Risk management.

6. Grupo Firme and Lenin Ramírez- "En Tu Perra Vida"

Wobbly.

7. Tigran Hamasyan- "Revisiting the Film"

Instant replay.

8. Lana Del Rey- "Blue Banisters"

Splintered.

9. Frank Sinatra- "All or Nothing at All"

Frankie goes to the disco.

10. Lil Baby and Kirk Franklin- "We Win"

Gospel truth.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in May, in lieu of live music)

1. The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)

Anthony Quinn and Ann Magnani reckon with fascism.

2. Julius Caesar (1953)

“The nature of an insurrection.”

3. Les Parapluies de Cherbourg/The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

My review.

4. Odd Man Out (1947)

The implosion of a terror cell.

5. Rachel, Rachel (1968)

Inhibition paralysis.

6. Paisan (1946)

Hallucinatory sketches of war.

7. The Audition (2007)

Opera documentary with a tragic postscript. 

8. The Search (1948)

Montgomery Clift in post-war Berlin.

9. Abba: The Movie (1977)

S-O-S.

10. I Care a Lot (2020)

Capitalist degeneracy.

April’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

January 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Gilette Barbier in Lourdes by There Stands the Glass.

Screenshot of Gilette Barbier in Lourdes by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums

1. Alexander Hawkins- Togetherness Music

My review.

2. Patricia Brennan- Maquishti

Concussed.

3. R.A.P. Ferreira- Bob’s Son

My review.

4. Miguel Zenón and Luis Perdomo- El Arte Del Bolero

My review.

5. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky

My review.

6. Caroline Shaw- Narrow Sea

Experimental gospel.

7. Sleaford Mods- Spare Ribs

My review.

8. Estelle Revaz and the Geneva Chamber Orchestra- Journey to Geneva

Startling interpretations of compositions by Frank Martin and Xavier Dayer.

9. Rich The Factor- Mobbligated

Straight off Kansas City’s grimiest assembly line.

10. Shame- Drunk Tank Pink

Queasy.


Top Ten Songs

1. Anavitória- "Terra"

Brazilian wall of sound.

2. Selena Gomez- "De Una Vez"

The pop star shares my affection for Bad Bunny.

3. Morgan Wallen- "Quittin' Time"

Remember Clint Black? Morgan Wallen does.

4. Chai- "Action"

“It’s going to be ok.”

5. Saweetie and Doja Cat- "Best Friend"

Cruisin’.

6. Flee Lord, Eto and Westside Gunn- "Ain't Hit Nobody"

Knockout.

7. Julien Baker- "Hardline"

Darkness, darkness.

8. Olivia Rodrigo- “Drivers License”

Teen spirit.

9. Rhye- "Come In Closer"

Sade sounds better than ever.

10. Anuel AA and Ozuna- "La Maria"

Rap it soft and it’s almost like praying.



Top Ten Films

1. Lourdes (2009)

Dogma and disability in France.

2. Say Amen, Somebody (1982)

Anointed! My new all-time favorite music documentary.

3. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

Superb rendering of August Wilson’s estimable play.

4. The Little Foxes (1941)

Superb rendering of Lillian Hellman’s estimable play.

5. Fitzcarraldo (1982)

A wondrous shipwreck.

6. Gräns (2018)

Uninhibited Swedish fairytale.

7. The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (1967)

Mojo workin’.

8. Little Joe (2019)

Cautionary fable about GMOs.

9. Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959)

Incredibly, I’d seen only excerpts.

10. The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)

Drugs, treason and the NSA.

Links to previous installations of my monthly recap series begin here.