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The Ice Storm ~ Ang Lee (1997)

I don’t think there are too many Thanksgiving themed movies out there that are actually good. One exception for me, is Ang Lee’s 1997 masterpiece, The Ice Storm. Set in the early 1970s, a time when liberalism and sexual experimentation were starting to define the decade, the film follows a New England family over Thanksgiving week as we see their environs literally freeze over during a freak ice storm.

The Ice Storm is one of the best films of the 1990s and definitely one of the most underrated.

Happy 50th birthday to Kathleen Hanna, singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, humanitarian, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer.

Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968)

November 12, 1984. Like a Virgin, the second studio album by Madonna, is released.

Following the success of her self-titled debut album, Madonna wanted to become the record producer of her next album. However, her label was not ready to give her the artistic freedom and she chose Nile Rodgers instead to produce the album. And the rest is history.

Vote Baby Vote ~ Deee-Lite (1992)

madonna:

« Strike A Pose There’s Nothing to it—V O T E🇺🇸 mid terms! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 💙 » -Madonna

Happy 31st anniversary to this masterpiece of an album!

The following commentary is from Richard McDuffie, a super cool music historian who writes in the Facebook page Music is My Boyfriend:

November 4, 1987. The Lion and the Cobra, the debut studio album by Sinéad O'Connor, is released. O'Connor, age 20, recorded the album while heavily pregnant with her first child. The photograph of O'Connor on the album cover was taken by Haysi Fantayzee member Kate Garner. The covers of the United States and Canada issues differed from the European release, as it was decided a more subdued pose would present a “softer” image of O'Connor. The first single, “Troy”, was released in 1987. It peaked at #8 in the Netherlands and #12 in Belgium. The second single was “Mandinka”. The video for “Mandinka” was shown heavily after debuting January 24, 1988 on 120 Minutes on MTV. The single was a mainstream pop hit in the UK, peaking at #17 in the singles chart, as well as #6 in her native Ireland. “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” debuted in May 1988 on the same show, featuring a rap interlude by MC Lyte. The album charted worldwide, reaching #27 in the United Kingdom for 20 weeks, #4 in New Zealand for 13 weeks, #37 in Australia for 21 weeks, #12 in Switzerland for 6 weeks, #52 in Germany for 3 weeks, #37 in Sweden for 2 weeks, #4 in The Netherlands for 43 weeks and #36 on the US Billboard Top 200, staying on the charts for 38 for weeks. The album featured prominent session musicians John Reynolds on drums, former Adam and the Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni, former Japan guitarist Rob Dean and Mike Clowes from Friction Groove on keyboards. The title of the album is from Psalm 91:13 “you will tread upon the lion and cobra”, and the track “Never Get Old” opens with an Irish language recital of Psalm 91 by singer Enya. Sinéad O'Connor’s debut, The Lion and the Cobra, was a sensation upon its 1987 release, and it remains a distinctive record, finding a major talent striving to achieve her own voice. Like many debuts, it’s entirely possible to hear her influences, from Peter Gabriel to Prince and contemporary rap, but what’s striking about the record is how she synthesizes these into her own sound – an eerie, expansive sound heavy on atmosphere and tortured passion. If the album occasionally sinks into its own atmospheric murk a little too often, she pulls everything back into focus with songs as bracing as the hard-rocking “Mandinka” or the sexy hip-hop of “I Want Your (Hands on Me).” Still, those ethereal soundscapes are every bit as enticing as the direct material, since “Troy,” “Jackie,” and “Jerusalem” are compelling because of their hushed, quiet intensity. It’s not a perfect album, since it can succumb to uneven pacing, but it’s a thoroughly impressive debut – and it’s all the more impressive when you realize she only topped it with its immediate successor, before losing all focus.

Erotica ~ Madonna

(released October 20, 1992)

Timothée Chalamet’s presence and beauty fits perfectly in this 19th century painting by German romantic Franz Xaver Winterhalter.