Jeff Bridges Reveals His Crazy Heart
It might as well be the story of a country ballad: A down-on-his-luck singer who was once very talented and respected makes a go at a comeback and is redeemed late in life by love, hope, and family. But Crazy Heart is more than just a musical version of The Wrestler. Jeff Bridges, who stars in the small film by first-time director Scott Cooper, gives the performance of his life as Bad Blake, a dissolute C&W star. The Oscar buzz is already high for Bridges, who brings a tough, wiry sensitivity to a role that might otherwise seem as haggard as Merle Haggard. The film, which The Daily Beast’s Kim Masters says loosely follows the life of the late songwriter Stephen Bruton (a friend of T-Bone Burnett, who wrote the film’s score with Bruton), tells the story of Bad Blake, who is living in poverty on the income from small gigs around dust country, and of a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who falls in love with him despite her best intentions. As she learns to deal with his rolling stone lifestyle and other failings, they seek redemption. But the real story is Bridges' performance, and what it is doing for a film that may have sat on the shelf had a few critics not taken early notice. The Daily Beast’s Caryn James spoke to Bridges about the soul of Bad Blake.
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The Joy of Glee 2
Looking for a last-minute gift for that teenager or …yourself? Glee 2, the second album from Fox’s Golden Globe-nominated show Glee, is out this week, and would make an ideal stocking stuffer. The second volume includes some of the series’ best songs, from a rowdy cover of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” to a moving version of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” to the showstopper, star Lea Michele’s Barbra-inspired solo, “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” The songs are pure camp, pop, and sparkle, but what could be a better for the season?
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A Swingin’ Online Radio Show
Now that the holidays have arrived, get ready to spend some quality time indoors watching the snow fall and listening to the radio—or at least that’s how we imagine our fantasy winter. The radio proper has declined in the last few decades, but online radio is still a fertile, creative ground for new discoveries, and one of our favorite programs is Radio Deluxe. Hosted every weekend by New York cabaret singers and husband/wife team John Pizzarrelli and Jessica Molaskey (from the pair’s living room), the program is a comforting mix of music old and new, from classic jazz to vocal masters, and it always has a sense of whimsy, fun, and that old 1940s Vaudevillian zaniness. The new programs are always available online, and also on several local radio stations (check the Web site for listings).