2000 Great Songs #1438: About Me
It's never a good sign when an established actor decides it's time to record an album. (Anybody spinning up any Eddie Murphy or Bruce Willis records lately?) Still, every now and then there's an exception to the rule. Alicia Witt--who has a long (if underappreciated) IMDB catalog of film and tv roles (though I'll always think of her breathtaking star turn on a Sopranos episode)--turns out to be an impressively talented singer and piano player. Her 2015 studio debut, Revisionary History , is a bit brief, barely 30 minutes plus a bonus Christmas track, but it's also a respectable slice of pop. The record certainly benefits from its production by Ben Folds , one of the few credible piano-based rockers since Elton/Billy. And the angry, anthemic declaration of independence "About Me," particularly in its rollicking intro and some plentiful profanity, sounds more like a Folds song than most of Witt's work. But, hey, pretty great collaboration, a charismati...
