Top 350 songs in my 50 years of Music: 30-21

30. All These Things That I’ve Done – The Killers. … Lead singer Brandon Flowers wrote this moving song apparently when he was a bellman at a Casino in Las Vegas. Can’t find a definite explanation of the lyrics from Flowers, but reportedly it is basically about trying to make yourself a better person. “I got soul, but I’m not a soldier” has become a sing-along line and their performance of the tune at Live 8 was epic.

29. In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel. … The Englishman wrote this memorable love song and performs it with Youssou N’Dour. It was at its peak of popularity when Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) hoisted a boom box above his head to play it for Diane Court (Ione Skye) in the movie “Say Anything.” “Love I get so lost, sometimes. Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart. When I want to run away, I drive off in my car. But whichever way I go, I come back to the place you are.”

28. Working Man – Rush. … The song received major play on a Cleveland radio station and became popular in 1974, which introduced the Canadian group to America. The trio - including Geddy Lee, the master Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson - built a Hall of Fame career from there and this is their most iconic tune. “They call me the working man. I guess that’s what I am.”

27. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant – Billy Joel. … The song was never released as a single, but remains one of the New Yorker’s most popular efforts with its mix of jazz, rock and pop. It runs 7:37 on the late 70s masterpiece, “The Stranger.” “A bottle of red, a bottle of white, whatever kind of mood you’re in tonight. I’ll meet you anytime you want – in our Italian restaurant.”

26. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits. … Mark Knopfler reportedly wrote the song about a jazz band performing in a small pub in South London and proclaiming itself the Sultans of Swing. It reached the top 10 in both England and the U.S. in the late 1970s from the group’s debut album. “You check out Guitar George. He knows all the chords.”

25. The Story in Your Eyes – The Moody Blues. … I first heard this song on our old 8-track player, which was later stolen when our house was robbed. The under-rated English band took the smooth song with nifty lyrics to No. 23 in the early 70s. “Listen to the tide slowly turning. Wash all our heartaches away. We’re part of the fire that is burning. And from the ashes we can build another day.”

24. Bad – U2. … Bono wrote this song about heroin addiction for the album “The Unforgettable Fire,” and it is at its best when played live. The most memorable performance came at Live Aid when the Irishman jumped from the stage and took women out of the crowd to dance with. “This desperation, dislocation, separation, condemnation, revelation in temptation, isolation, desolation. Let it go, and so fade away.”

23. Band on the run – Paul McCartney & Wings. … Paul wrote the song basically about freedom and escape, saying that we were all prisoners in different ways. It was the title track from Paul’s fifth solo album after leaving the Beatles and it reached No. 1 in the U.S. “Thought of giving it all away. To a registered charity. All I need is a pint a day.”

22. Round Here – Counting Crows. … Look up how lead singer Adam Duritz describes the complicated, unique, brilliant song he wrote. It is basically about making decisions on what your life is going to be without the lessons you learned as a kid. “Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand, she said she’d like to meet a boy who looked like Elvis. And she walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land, just like she’s walking on a wire in the circus.”

21. Layla – Derrick & the Dominos. … Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon wrote this love song for the short-lived group, inspired by a poem from a Persian poet about a man who went crazy when he could not marry a woman, well, who was out of his league. It lasts more than seven minutes and Clapton won a Grammy for the acoustic version in 1993. 

In the Spotlight: A Year in Movies 2015

By Mark Pukalo

In my lifetime, there may not have been a year in movies better than 2015.

It provided another chapter to some amazing series, gave us a look at what journalism can be, produced perhaps the most beautiful non-human creature ever, gave us interesting looks at the music industry and one of the best cartoons ever.

It was filled with amazing acting efforts, whether on a big scale or a smaller one like RJ Cyler’s turn as Earl in “Me & Earl and the Dying Girl,” or Michael Shannon in "The Night Before." Leonardo DiCaprio will probably win the Oscar, but a 9-year-old named Jacob Tremblay could have won Best Actor after his incredible performance in “Room.” Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo and Liev Schneider made you feel like you were in an actual newsroom with pitch-perfect performances in “Spotlight.” The world was also introduced to the talent and beauty of Swede Alicia Vikander in “Ex Machina” and others while Steve Carell was surprisingly terrific in “The Big Short,” Will Smith fantastic in “Concussion,” Matt Damon made “The Martian,” fun, Jennifer Lawrence was as powerful as ever in “Mockingjay Part 2” and “Joy,” John Cusack had a great take on a city priest in “Chiraq,” O’Shea Jackson Jr. burst on the scene in “Straight Outta Compton,” Mark Rylance couldn’t have been better as a Russian spy in “Bridge of Spies,” and Andrew Garfield was outstanding in “99 Homes.” There were so many more.

Here’s how much different 2014 was to 2015. The movies I rate between 30 and 40 this past year would have been in the running for around 14-16 in 2014.

The best of the best was Tom McCarthy’s “Spotlight.” I was in the newspaper business for more than two decades and watching this movie brought back wonderful memories of those times when I couldn’t wait to get back to the office for work. As time went on, things changed. It became more of a job. Whether it was ultimately the price of paper, media conglomerates becoming tone deaf or just bad ideas, newspapers are not the same anymore. It’s more about sensationalism and interaction instead of news. It’s sad. Good, hard-nosed stories are hard to do because there are too many cooks in the kitchen, too many people to please. Report something that’s true, but hurtful, and you can expect to be vilified.

Cate Blanchett had a perfect speech at the end of “Truth,” -- another terrific movie about the media in 2015 – “If they don’t like a story, they scream, they question your politics, your objectivity, heck, your basic humanity. They hope to God that the truth gets lost in the scrum. And when it is finally over and they have kicked and screamed so loud, we can’t remember what the point was.”

“Spotlight” was smart, entertaining and produced emotions through a very distressing subject. It didn’t bash religion. It fought power. It shined light on people that made criminally poor decisions when they were supposed to be there to help the public. It showed what the media was, and should still be. It was – by far – the best movie of 2015.

Here’s a look at the Year in Movies 2015:

Worst of the year: Chappie – Had a lot of competition this year, but this weird robot movie took the cake.

Almost worst of the year: The D Train (Talk about a bad screen play. Ugh), Jupiter Ascending (Mila Kulis is cute, but I had no idea what was going on), Hot Pursuit (Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara not funny together), The Gunman (Could not figure out the plot and lost interest thinking about it), Air (A lot of nothing for an anti-climatic ending), American Ultra (Not even a fun mess)

Barely enough value to make it worth a $1.50 Redbox rent “when there is nothing else available”: Blackhat, The Avengers – Age of Ultron, Paul Blaart Mall Cop 2, Get Hard, Kingsmen, Focus, 71, True Story, Mistress America, Our Brand of Crisis (if it wasn’t Sandra, it would be in the next category down), Vacation (a very few laughs between cringes), Diary of a Teenage Girl (not as smart as it makes itself out to be), Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation (lots of chasing), Dope, Wild Card, The Stanford Prison Experiment

Most disappointing: No Escape (not that I expected a lot, but could have done way more with the story), Rock the Kasbah (Bill Murray with a dud).

Most over-rated: Sicario (Benicio Del Toro and the likeable Emily Blunt in a drug war story that is intense but hard to follow), Mad Max: Fury Road (It was ok for this type of movie, but an Academy Award nomination?)

Did not see (most not by choice): The Danish Girl, Son of Saul, 45 Years, Beasts of No Nation, It Follows, The Assassin, Duke of Burgundy, Tangerine, The Clouds of Sils Maria, Timbuktu, The Tribe, Burnt, Pawn Sacrifice, Captive, Minions, War Room, Selfless, The Gift, Tomorrowland, I’ll see you in my dreams, Pixels, Pitch Perfect 2, We are your friends, Ant Man, Fantastic 4, Heist, Grandma, My All-American, I Smile Back, Entertainment, Fifty Shades of Grey

Worth a Redbox rent (but slightly below high honorable mention): Spy (some funny stuff), Irrational Man (This Woody Allen movie is different), End of the Tour (unique with some good acting from Jesse Eisenberg, but a little thin), San Andreas (not a bad disaster movie), Zipper (Indy about a prosecutor that can’t keep it zipped), Black Mass (the Whitey Bulger story didn’t grab me totally), Woodlawn (a mix of football and religion which is more like an afternoon TV movie), The Walk (Isn’t great, but was better than anticipated), Everest (interesting, but why do these people do this?), Steve Jobs (intense, well-acted, but it didn't grab me), The Night Before (Got a kick out of it. Better than expected), Anomalisa (weird, but kinda good).

High Honorable Mention: Entourage (Heck, it was fun and Ronda was great), Jurassic World (Better than the last few in the series), Man from Uncle (one of Vikander’s other great performances), MacFarland USA (Kevin Costner coaches cross country), Ted2 (funniest movie of the year), Ricki & the Flash (Meryl Streep rocks out), Spectre (decent Bond would’ve been a top 20 in many other years), Mockingjay Part 2 (Finale of Hunger Games was fine, just not amazing), Aloha (Cameron Crowe’s script was lacking a bit, but I enjoyed it all more than most because of the likeable characters), A Walk in the Woods (Redford and Nolte tour de force), Amy (Fascinating documentary on Amy Winehouse was well worthy of oscar).

Joe Lunardi's first five out:

He Named Me Malala – An interesting, heart-wrenching documentary about the wonderful young woman; The Intern -- Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway are surprisingly good together; Trainwreck -- Second funniest movie of the year with an overplayed, but humorous, appearance by LeBron; Southpaw -- Good stuff overall, but Jake Gyllenhaal was a bit over the top as a boxer; Trumbo -- Bryan Cranston is terrific as the Communist script writer.

TOP 25

25. The Revenant – Leonardo was fantastic during his rough journey through the wilderness, but I just didn’t find it incredibly compelling enough to be higher. What a great performance by the bear, too!

24. In the Heart of the Sea – Ron Howard’s story about the inspiration that led to the writing of Moby Dick was much better than I expected.

23. Insurgent – The second in the new series with Shailene Woodley stealing the show again.

22. The Hateful Eight – Typical Quentin Tarantino flick with plenty of over-the-top moments during the bounty hunter’s journey. Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Jason Leigh are especially terrific.

21. Chiraq – Spike Lee’s in-your-face story of senseless crime in Chicago has some real interesting, thought-provoking moments. Teyonah Parris was a commanding presence.

20. Paper Towns – Compelling story about a young man’s quest to find and understand a girl he has idolized since youth. I think there was a Margo in every man’s life.

19. Me & Earl and the Dying Girl – Quirky coming-of-age story that educates and entertains. The young version of Earl -- Edward DeBruce III – spouted a line I may use some day as he walked into his friend Greg’s house and saw a kitty sitting on the porch. “You wanna fight cat? Didn’t think so, punk-ass cat.”

18. 99 Homes – The other, more ugly, side of the story addressed in No. 3 on this list -- about the collapse of the housing market. Michael Shannon is really good at playing villains.

17. The 33 – Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche star in the story of 33 miners in Chile trapped underground for 69 days.

16. Carol -- Rooney Mara certainly deserved her Academy Award nomination with her brilliant performance as the adorable Turesz in this unique drama about forbidden love in the 50s. 

15. Brooklyn – Saoirse Ronan shines as a wide-eyed Irish immigrant who creates a new life for herself before issues surface. Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy, Wild) wrote a terrific screenplay.

14. Bridge of Spies – Tom Hanks impeccably plays an American lawyer who is hired to defend a Soviet spy (Rylance) and work through Cold War tensions. Hanks asks Rylance often why he is not nervous or worried? “Would it help?” Rylance replies. Isn’t that the truth.

13. Love & Mercy – Paul Dano and John Cusack play the young and the older versions of the brilliant, but troubled, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson. Dano should have been nominated.

12. Truth – Blanchett plays CBS producer Mary Mapes with gusto in a story of the doomed (but probably totally true) 60 minutes report on George W. Bush’s military service. Robert Redford was also sharp as Dan Rather and Dennis Quaid as a “Jarhead.”

11. The Force Awakens: Star Wars Episode 7 – A terrific return of the amazing science fiction series, which pulls on the heart strings from the past and introduces appealing Daisy Ridley (Rey) to the mix. Good to see Chewy – the best wing man ever -- again, too!

10. Creed – Michael B. Jordan brings the series back as the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed while Sylvester Stallone provides perhaps his best performance since the original “Rocky.”

9. Joy – A fun mess about a dysfunctional family the first half and a smart final hour with Lawrence showing her talent and personality.

8. Inside Out – Amazing, funny, smart, heart-warming cartoon that pulls you in and makes you think. Probably the best animated movie since “Toy Story.”

7. Room – Brie Larson and Tremblay produce amazing performances in this harrowing story about an abducted young woman, who is trapped in a shack for five years with her young son. Have some tissues available.

6. Straight Outta Compton – Interesting look at the ground-breaking rap group N.W.A for those like me who did not know much about them, and for those who did.

5. The Martian – Damon kills it as an astronaut left on Mars, where he must figure out a way to live long enough for a rescue mission to arrive.

4. Concussion – Smith’s portrayal of Dr. Bennet Omalu should have at least garnered him an Oscar nomination in the story about the NFL’s criminal ignorance toward head injuries.

3. The Big Short – A maddening, yet entertaining, look at the way the big banks and Wall Street helped cave in the economy in 2008 with greed and stupidity.

2. Ex Machina – Vikander plays a gorgeous robot, who is the latest version of an A.I. built by a brilliant -- but sloppy -- rich recluse played creepily by Oscar Isaac. It is unique, interesting, intense and, whoah, what an ending.

1.  1. Spotlight – Impeccably written and acted work of art that perfectly depicts what a great newsroom used to be like.

Previous picks for Best of the Year

2014 – Birdman

2013 -- Nebraska

2012 – Silver Linings Playbook

2011 – The Descendants

2010 – The Social Network

2009 – Inglourious Basterds

2008 – Frost/Nixon (The Wrestler, a close second)

2007 – Once

Best of Decade 2000-2009 – Almost Famous

Hopes for Oscars (Those nominated)

Best Actor – Damon

Best Actress – Larson or Ronan

Best Supporting Actor – Rylance, but Ruffalo, Bale and Stallone were all spectatcular

Best Supporting Actress – Vikander for the Danish Girl, cause she should have won for Ex Machina

Best Picture – Spotlight

Cinematography – The Revenant

Directing – Lenny Abrahamson, Room

Documentary – Amy

Adapted Screenplay – Brooklyn

Original Screenplay – Ex Machina

Lightning Must Fix Defense Now

By Mark Pukalo

Jon Cooper is right. The Tampa Bay Lightning can’t win every game 6-5.

However, the Bolts can’t win every game 1-0 or 2-1 either – especially with the state of the team’s defense at this moment.

The Lightning have been more sloppy in the defensive zone than usual in the past five games. I’m not sure cheating and over-committing are the only reasons why. While the forwards deserve some blame at times, this corps of blue liners has never been quite good enough from the start of the season – even back to 2014-15. For much of this season, goalie Ben Bishop has covered that up.

While Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman give Tampa Bay a terrific top pair, the bottom – as a group – four or five stand in the lower third of the league in my opinion. Braydon Coburn, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, is capable as a No. 4-5 and Jason Garrison’s absence as a No. 3 has proved to leave a huge hole. Andrej Sustr has played a little better, but is still wildly inconsistent. Nikita Nesterov is exposed when he plays more than eight minutes. Matt Carle? Well, you know.

Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy have had to be heroic at times to hide the deficiencies while Hedman and Stralman ocassionally try to do too much, leading to mistakes. Cooper has often played two checking lines, perhaps to help the defense, but it has ultimately made it tougher because the Lightning have too often managed two goals or fewer.

You may argue that the Lightning produced 34.8 shots per game in their four losses during the current slide, but the chances seem to come in bunches and then there are periods of time where there is nothing happening. I think I’d rather go for the 6-5 win than the 1-0 or 2-1 right now.

GM Steve Yzerman has got to make a move. Former first-round pick defenseman Slater Koekkoek is here and he looked fine Tuesday. It’s time to cut him loose and let him play more. Heck, I’d bring Matt Taormina up and play him instead of Nesterov or Carle until a blue liner can be acquired (or Garrison comes back early). There’s got to be someone out there that can be picked up as a stopgap. They could also make a bold move to get a player like Dan Hamhuis or pull the trigger on a Jonathan Drouin trade for a D man. If cap room is required, put Carle or Erik Condra on waivers.

It’s not panic time. But it is time for action by Yzerman, and a slightly different philosophy from Cooper.

The Lightning was never a defensive team, where the most important thing is “how many we keep out.” Their stats early in the season were deceiving. This is a team with plenty of good offensive players who are often stifled by the lines they skate on. Cedric Paquette plays too much. Brian Boyle doesn’t play enough. There’s no way Jonathan Marchessault should be behind Paquette and Condra. If he wasn’t good enough defensively, why did Cooper stick him in the lineup against the New York Rangers in the playoffs? Marchessault shoots the puck. He adds spirit to a lineup with Drouin in exile. He’s got to play.

I bought a Drouin shirt during the offseason at a mall in Tampa. I kid you not, it came out of the wash a few weeks ago with a new stain on it.

His decision to walk away from the team disappointed me. It was a decision that had very few positives for him, but he still did it. I can’t defend him on that. Someday, maybe soon, he will emerge from the abyss and restart his career. That stain will be removed when he begins to show his skills with a coach that allows him to grow while playing through mistakes. The thing is, even after all this time, if Drouin decided to come back to the Lightning and made a public apology to the fans it would only take a goal or two and a burst of speed for him to be forgiven.

But, come on folks, the kid did not commit a crime or even get accused of some heinous act. Some radio hosts are treating him like he did, though, while gushing over a certain quarterback in this town. It makes me sick. Drouin let his pride and impatience get in the way. He’s 21. I still can’t wait to see him play again, wherever that is.

(Sorry, had to get that in. Hope the bozo on that 10-noon show on WDAE sees it.)

So what can they get for Drouin? It’s hard to say. One of two things is probably going on. Yzerman is either trying to work a bigger, more complicated deal, or the best offers are for futures and he’d like at least one player he can slide onto the current roster – ideally on the right side of the defense.

I can’t imagine Ottawa giving up Cody Ceci after it solidified its top four on defense with the Dion Phaneuf deal. The Kevin Shattenkirk possibility in a bigger deal is probably more of an offseason project -- if at all. Minnesota suffered some injuries on defense when Matt Dumba’s name popped up. Drouin would certainly fit in Colorado, but what can the Avalanche send back in return? They are already weak on defense, so how could they trade a young D? Not sure Nashville has anything available the Lightning would want. Winnipeg? To Dallas for Valeri Nichushkin, as one local reporter guessed Tuesday? It would be interesting to try and get a guy like Mika Zibanejad from Ottawa to insert as a gritty third-line center or wing.

Dumba, a right-handed blue liner with bite and offensive ability, is someone I would like the Bolts to go after. He has yet to emerge as a sure thing yet, but the 21-year-old is improving and seems to have all the tools. No doubt Minnesota knows that, too, though. We’ll see.

The next 12 days before the trade deadline are going to be very important for now and the future. But I don’t think Yzerman can wait that long to address some issues. If he doesn’t act soon, there may not be a postseason in Tampa Bay.

Top 350 songs in my 50 years of Music: 40-31

40. American Girl – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. … **Casey Kasem takes over from here!**. … Named one of the top 100 “guitar songs” of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, Tom wrote about standing on the balcony near a California freeway and basically watching life go by with, “waves crashing on the beach.”

39. Taxi – Harry Chapin. … The late, great storyteller and humanitarian from New York wrote and performed perhaps the ultimate story song, about Harry and Sue’s chance meeting. “Through the too many miles and the two little smiles, I still remember you.” The artist died in a car crash on the LIE in 1981. Hey Harry, keep the change.

38. Long Cool Woman – The Hollies. … The Hall of Fame band from England made it to No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard chart in 1972 with this old-school rock tune about a “5-foot-9, tall, beautiful” woman, after Graham Nash had left the group. “With just one look I was a bad mess. ‘Cause that long cool woman had it all.”

37. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen. … One of the most powerful songs ever, whether you are listening in the car or at a concert. The Boss wrote about a street-wise rebel urging a young woman to take off with him. “Together Wendy we can live with the sadness, I’ll love you with all the madness in my soul.”

36. Tempted – Squeeze. … Soulful number from a British band which released several catchy tunes. The song, basically about infidelity, was never a hit single in the U.S. but has been used in several commercials and became more popular later in the 1980s. “Tempted by the fruit of another. Tempted but the truth is discovered.”

35. You’ve got a friend – James Taylor – The great Carole King wrote this moving tune and performed it on “Tapestry” before JT’s magical version won both a Grammy in 1971. “Close your eyes and think of me, and soon I will be there, to brighten up even your darkest night.”

34. Won’t get fooled again – The Who. … The epic tune was originally supposed to be the conclusion of a rock opera, but ended up on “Who’s Next?” Pete reportedly said the song “screams defiance at those who feel any cause is better than no cause,” but it wasn’t only an anti-revolution song because “revolution could be unpredictable.” Now, it works perfectly as entrance music at NHL games.

33. No Myth – Michael Penn. … Sean’s brother and Aimee Mann’s husband wrote this song about a relationship that fell apart at an early stage. It reached No. 13 on the billboard chart in 1989 as his debut single. “What if I were Romeo in black jeans. What if I was Heathcliff, it’s no myth. Maybe she’s just looking for. … someone to dance with.”

32. Radar Love – Golden Earring. … The Dutch rock band hit a home run with this epic tune about lovers sending telepathic messages. “When I get lonely, and I’m sure I’ve had enough. She sends her comfort, comin’ in from above. Don’t need a letter at all.”

31. Alison – Elvis Costello. … I’ve often been told that Alisons – those who have just the one L -- are trouble. The particular one that Elvis sang about let his little friend take off her party dress. But seriously folks, this catchy little tune graces one of the best albums ever made – “My Aim is True.”