I am torn about remakes.
“No one asked for this,” I often feel like saying. “Why can’t Hollywood be more creative?”
“A League of Their Own” is streaming now on Amazon Prime.
‘RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race’ season 2
You better work, stars!
In the second season of this reality spin-off, a group of celebrities “undergo an unbelievable drag transformation” to compete and explore new identities, while being mentored by past “Drag Race” queens. No one entertains quite like RuPaul, so I’m all in for this new season because … the shade of it all!
The first episode of “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race” season two premiered Friday on VH1.
‘The Princess’
Beloved, haunted and hunted.
That’s the impression I’ve always had of the late Princess Diana, and the more I learn about her life, the more that is reinforced.
This new HBO Max documentary “draws solely from contemporaneous archival audio and video footage to take audiences back to key events in Diana’s life as they happened,” including her seemingly fairy-tale romance with Prince Charles that ended in a contentious divorce.
“The Princess” premieres Saturday on HBO Max (which is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery).
Two things to listen to
‘Cheat Codes’ by Danger Mouse and Black Thought
When Danger Mouse was a teen growing up in Atlanta, he was a huge fan of the rap group The Roots.
So imagine his excitement upon releasing “Cheat Codes,” an eagerly awaited collaboration with the group’s longtime MC and rapper, Black Thought.
“‘Cheat Codes’ is the most introspective I’ve been in a long time,” Black Thought said of the album in the same NME interview. “It’s some of my most honest writing.”
“Cheat Codes” dropped on Friday.
‘Bigger. Messier.’ by Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman may be best known as the composer for such hits as the theme song for “The Simpsons” and the score for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (among other collaborations with Tim Burton), but he’s got something new to share. Well, sort of new.
“Bigger. Messier.” is a remix album that follows his 2021 studio release, “Big Mess.”
Elfman’s collaborators on the record include Iggy Pop and Trent Reznor.
“Bigger. Messier.” also debuted Friday.
One thing to talk about
I have been watching a tribute to singer-songwriter Amy Grant by her husband, Vince Gill, over and over.
It is one of the most powerful examples of vulnerable songwriting I’ve ever heard from Gill, as he expresses that he didn’t always have the same type of relationship with God that his wife does.
I remember the controversy decades ago when the couple first got together — Grant is one of the most successful Christian artists ever and there were some fans who were not happy about her divorce from her first husband, songwriter Gary Chapman.
Listening to the lyrics of Gill’s tune reminded me that we all have our own path, and that no one is perfect. Great lesson.
Something to sip on
She was always the one that we wanted.
She also was quite the survivor, having battled cancer multiple times. By sharing her breast cancer journey over the past 30 years, she helped to educate the public, even as she fought to live.
Her race is run now. May she rest well.
