Diva Drought

There are about a zillion reasons why I love wintertime. I love the lights, the snow, Christmas presents (nothing else about the holiday, just the gifts). I even love the way I can see my breath when I'm outside (it's the only way this asthmatic can ever come close to smoking). What I love most is the music. I love that big albums come out just in time for Black Friday.
Let me explain; record labels like to save the best albums for the end of the year, often because they know it will be a great way to make up for sales shortcomings during the rest of the year. Holiday shoppers love buying CDs (not as much as they love free downloads or being in front of the checkout line, but you know, they love buying CDs during the holiday season more than during any other time) and us greedy kids love getting them under the tree (or whatever gift-giving ritual you may have).
This year, almost all of the awesome releases from big artists promised to us before Christmas Day have been pushed back or put on hold until after the new year. THAT SUCKS. I can't unwrap a free music download. I can't pull some crappy, half-finished version of an album out of my stocking. For whatever reasons, releases from Mariah Carey, Kylie Minogue, and Lenny Kravitz (to name examples that will cover the tastes of everyone reading this) have been pushed back.
There's a great article about this in the Jay-Z issue of Rolling Stone that came out a few weeks ago, so I won't attempt to take on the issue. But I will say while I'm waiting for my new album by Mimi, or MC, however you choose to refer to that crazy hand-waving diva, I'm reaching into back catalogues to hold me over.

Here are some older albums that I've been listening to, and videos courtesy of some fabulous ladies;

-Annie Lennox, Medusa
Song: "Waiting in Vain"


-Mariah Carey, Butterfly
Song: "Breakdown"



-Madonna, Ray of Light
Song: "Drowned World/Substitute for Love"



-Sheryl Crow, The Globe Sessions
Song: "My Favorite Mistake"



Whatever, at least "Charlie Wilson's War" is still coming out on Christmas Day. Aaron Sorkin never lets us down (unless you include about eight episodes of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.") So here's a movie trailer too:



Mike Nichols, Aaron Sorkin, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Merry Christmas.

-Meryn