Pick Six is a half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view.
Jim O'Neill of Delano:
1 Adam Sandler, "Quarantine Song" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." For these tough times, it was the perfect mix of silly, heartfelt and uplifting. With a shout-out to just the right people.
2 Todd Snider on purplebuildinglive.com. Sunday's livestreamed performance was short. You could tell John Prine's passing affected Snider but, as always, his commentary was raw and authentic.
3 Jon Bream's list of 20 great John Prine songs, Star Tribune. I spent a decent share of my Sunday morning playing the list and memories flowed back to listening to a number of the tracks many years ago on my brother's reel-to-reel tape machine. Beginning the list with "Sam Stone" was apropos.
Jon Bream of the Star Tribune:
1 Rita Ora, "How to Be Lonely" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." In a very polished performance from her U.K. living room (with backup singers and a guitarist in their home spaces), the British pop star offered her beguiling new single, penned by Lewis Capaldi. Written long before the COVID-19 crisis, the song says it's OK to be without a companion or a relationship — or simply to be home alone. A message well timed.
2 Pete Davidson, "Drake Song." On "Saturday Night Live," the comic did a music video spoof of Drake, boasting and chilling, singing about going No. 1 in Billboard, missing his ex and various other Drake-ian tropes. At the end of the homemade video, there was a freeze frame with the words "directed by Pete's mom" over a photo of them standing together. Sweet Pete.
3 Andrea Bocelli, "Amazing Grace." On his live-on-YouTube mini-concert on Easter, the classical/pop tenor stepped outside Milan's Duomo cathedral to sing "Amazing Grace." With his solitary figure standing in front of the massive cathedral in an empty city square, the moment was reverent and calming.
