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Black Friday. Seems like an awfully sinister name for the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza that officially christens the Christmas season as act of unforgiving commerce. But there you have it.
By the time you read this, the 4 a.m. department store runs are history, so maybe that wacko lady from the Target commercials can finally chill. But we couldn’t let the rest of Black Friday slip by without presenting our annual shopping guide of newly released music.
We’ve been assembling these guides since at least since 1983. Originally, they were split into genres. Of late, the decision was made to simply streamline everything. Gone are the categories. Instead, we offer 25 critic’s pick selections, all of which are designed to ease holiday blues and bring a little holiday color to Black Friday.
Here we go…
+ Elvis Costello: National Ransom – Ever the artful cynic, Costello offers up 16 T Bone Burnett-produced songs that merge his Imposters and Sugarcanes bands. The resulting music, all of which is rich in themes of death and deceit, rocks, pops, swings and stings.
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