I’m trying to keep the good vibes flowing after Tuesday. I’m not necessarily feeling lucky, but I feel better now that Team MAGA are squealing like the stuck pigs they are. Oink. Oink.

My eyes are slowly but surely adjusting to life after surgery. In effect, I’ve traded poor distance vision for poor up-close vision. I knew it was coming but it’s more dramatic than expected. Adding to my ocular agita, I’ve already lost or broken several pairs of cheaters. I’m glad that they were the cheapest of the cheap cheaters.

This week’s theme song was written by Rodney Crowell for his 2023 album The Chicago Sessions. It’s an unusual song in the Crowell canon as it’s piano driven. It would have been a great number for Dr. John to cover. I still miss Our Mac.

We’ll be seeing Rodney for the first time next week. It’s at one of the most intimate venues in New Orleans: Chickie Wah-Wah.

Feeling Lucky?  I give you this week’s theme song:

Let’s try our luck with 3 more tunes with lucky in the title.

I wonder how the food is in Lucky Town. New Orleans may not be lucky, but we have great food but you knew that already.

Our second act consists of brief reviews of some recent neo-noir TV series. Let’s begin.

Task is another series set in Delaware County, PA from the makers of Mare Of Easttown. Mark Ruffalo stars as an FBI agent who used to be a priest. How’s that for a combination?

Task tells the tale of two sanitation workers who rob local drug dealers who just happen to be bikers. If  I see a biker gang, I cross the street: They’re nothing but trouble. As are some of the task force members assigned to Ruffalo. The whole thing is a mess that doesn’t end cleanly.

Suffice it to say that Ruffalo and his criminal counterpart played by Tom Pelphrey give great performances as do Emilia Jones as the garbage man’s niece and Jamie McShane as a wizened biker boss.

Here’s the trailer:

Grading Time: I give Task 4 stars and an Adrastos grade of A-. It’s seven episodes of riveting television.

Lazarus is a psychological thriller about a family that has suffered loss in the past, present, and future. They’re unlucky as hell.

As with most of Harlan Coben’s work, there are holes in the plot BUT the set-up is excellent and the acting is first rate, especially Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy as father and son shrinks.

If you’re irked by the thought of dead people speaking to a live shrink, Lazarus isn’t your cuppa tea. I’m a Dexter fan, so who am I to judge?

Here’s the trailer:

Grading Time: I give Lazarus 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B. I posted Rumer’s version of The Windmills Of Your Mind from the series yesterday.

The Lowdown is my favorite of the 3 series. It stars Ethan Hawke as a self-described truthstorian. He’s a quirky investigative reporter on the trail of a big story. He eventually breaks the story after a series of alternately hair raising and hilarious events. One could even say that Hawke’s character is lucky.

The Lowdown was created by Sterlin Harjo, the man behind Reservation Dogs. No wonder it’s so damn funny.

Grading Time: I give The Lowdown 4 stars and an Adrastos grade of A.

The last word of our second act goes to Boz Scaggs:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth:  This week, ripped from the headlines of the NYT,  Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and her doppelganger, actress Tamara Henaine

Your Basic Basie: Count Basie recorded three albums with Frank Sinatra. Here’s a lesser known track with a message for our times:

Have I told you lately how much I love Count Basie?

The Best Of Johnny: We haven’t had an animal act in this segment for quite some time. Bring on the parrots:

Pondering Pancho gave me an oddball earworm:

Odd but fashionable.

Classic Movie Trailer: I have Berlin on my mind. I have no idea why but I’m rolling with it. This week’s movie is Billy Wilder’s Cold War comedy: One, Two, Three:

Jimmy Cagney counts very loudly in the movie as does commie beatnik, Maximillian Schell.

Grading Time: One, Two, Three is an underrated part of the Wilder canon. I give it 4 stars and an Adrastos grade of A-.  It made the Billy Wilder Dozen, coming in at number 8.

Saturday GIF Horse: I still have The Lowdown on my mind.

The Lowdown is set in Tulsa, OK.  How’s that for a song setup? Good or just OK?

Toon Time: A blast from the past. The current Veep is also a sewer dweller.

Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.

Saturday Closer: The first song from Rodney’s latest album is about this year’s monster LA fire.

Many have forgotten that deadly fire. Rodney has not. Neither have I.

That’s all for this week. The last word goes to Bill Nighy and Sam Claflin in Lazarus: