Just a couple of random items for you guys on this lovely November evening. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much excitement on the baseball free agency front so we’re looking beyond for some content. We’re going to start things off with some music. For those of you who subscribe to the NS9 Newsletter, you know I’m a big fan of most genres of music. Recently The Beatles released a new song with the help of Artificial Intelligence. It’s… Well, it’s a song. At least it meets every standard definition of that word that I’ve ever come across. I can’t say much else about it. I’ve gotten more excited about sea shanties. I know that half of the band is dead and the other half isn’t far behind, but this is probably one of those things that was better suited for the vault that they drug it out of and not public consumption. I’ll let you judge for yourself.

That brings us to another band from the British Invasion that recently released a new album. The latest from The Rolling Stones is called Hackney Diamonds and it’s really a pretty solid rock album considering these are a bunch of dudes in or near their 80s. They sound like they’re in their 40s. Early 40s and not late 40s. As someone who’s 48, I can tell you that there is certainly a difference. This album has grit and brings with it a nostalgia for rock n roll of ages past. Now, this won’t end up winning album of the year. Assuming they still do things like that. But it is a good offering that’s well worth listening to. I’ve had it in heavy rotation since it came out. I’ll let you have a listen and decide for yourself.

Back in the 60s the narrative was always The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones. Or so I’m told. That was before my time. I’d have to consult Doug to know for sure. I think that we can now settle the debate. The Rolling Stones win. Bigly

OK. Enough music stuff. Let’s move it along to a show that I’m watching and another that I’m looking forward to an upcoming new season. First off, we’ll start with this new show from Taylor Sheridan called Lawmen: Bass Reeves. Taylor Sheridan is the guy that created Yellowstone and it’s 69 spinoffs. He’s done a couple of other non-Yellowstone shows for Paramount+ that I enjoyed. One was called Special Ops: Lioness and the other was a Sylvester Stallone show called Tulsa King. He manages to create shows that are fairly unique and interesting. This new one is about a real historical figure who went from being a slave to becoming the first black Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. If you’re interested you can watch it on Paramount+. They offer a 7-day free trial to new subscribers.

Next up is a show on Amazon Prime called Reacher. It’s about the same Jack Reacher that they’ve done several movies about. I’ve always felt that the movies have been really good, but the idea of Tom Cruise playing this character seems a bit odd. In the Prime series, Alan Ritchison plays the title role and it seems far more fitting. The first season was very good, and they just released the trailer for the upcoming season yesterday. It comes out December 15th and it looks amazing. I can’t wait.

Well, that’s all I have for you. Let me know in the comments what you think. Feel free to share suggestions for what you’re watching or reading as well.