I fully realize I’m often viewed as an eccentric misfit. My longstanding indifference to conforming to societal expectations grows even stronger as I age. I’m accustomed to being the age and/or racial outlier at events. Social media statistics, celebrity gossip and the latest outrage in the daily news cycle are among the popular topics I happily ignore. Still, I welcome occasional opportunities to feel like a regular guy. My instant affinity for the sophisticated adult pop on Lianne La Havas’ new
self-titled album gives me a sense of belonging. The singer-songwriter’s extreme normcore sound is tailor-made for people in my demographic. In the tradition of the storied chanteuses Carole King and Robert Flack,
Lianne La Havas songs like
“Can’t Fight” and
“Paper Thin” are in keeping with similarly age-appropriate favorites by K.D. Lang, Shelby Lynne and Lizz Wright. La Havas’ lovely form of easy listening is talkin’ to my generation.
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I
review Mike Dillon’s remarkable new album
Rosewood at Plastic Sax.
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Opera update: Programmers at the Metropolitan Opera began slipping reruns into their free stream schedule. How dare they! Scotland Opera’s production of Stuart MacRae’s outstanding
“Anthropocene” is among the unconventional works I’ve come across since being forced to look further afield. I’m now at 118 operas in 118 days.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
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