Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 3/24: Jefferson Airplane, “It’s No Secret”
The second Trump administration is incompetents all the way down. The latest example: National Security Adviser Michael Waltz added Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat on Signal. Goldberg initially thought it might be part of a foreign disinformation campaign, but soon realized it was the real thing, revealing details of the U.S. attack […]
Song of the Day 3/23: Bob Dylan, “Everything Is Broken”
Yet another song from a generation ago that fits the current moment all too well. From the 1989 album “Oh Mercy,” viewed at the time as a comeback for Dylan from a decade of subpar efforts, including his trio of Christian albums and the overproduced “Infidels.” The LP was recorded in New Orleans with producer […]
Song of the Day 3/21: Funkadelic, “Super Stupid”
An acid-funk theme song for the MAGAverse, courtesy of George Clinton. From Funkadelic’s seminal “Maggot Brain” LP of 1971, with Eddie Hazel on lead guitar. Audioslave, the supergroup of Chris Cornell and three members of Rage Against the Machine, covered the tune in 2003, with Tom Morello on lead guitar.
Song of the Day 3/20: Steely Dan, “The Second Arrangement”
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, initially the leaders and eventually the only two permanent members of Steely Dan, were rather obsessive. Known for fussing endlessly over their recordings, they stopped touring in 1974, after their third album, to concentrate on chasing studio perfection. And it was perfection they sought, to the point of having players […]
Song of the Day 3/19: Matthew Sweet, “Farther Down”
Given the volume of bad news over the past six months, it’s inevitable that some of it slipped by without much notice. So I was surprised the other day when I learned that singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet suffered a serious stroke last October. He’s been in rehab in his native Nebraska since. Sweet moved to Athens, […]
Song of the Day 3/18: The Youngbloods, “Darkness, Darkness”
Jesse Colin Young, the folk-rock singer-songwriter best known for his recording of the hippie anthem “Get Together,” died Sunday. He was 83. Born Perry Miller, he adopted his stage name when he started out in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early ’60s. In 1966 he joined with guitarist Jerry Corbitt to start the […]
Song of the Day 3/17: Paddy Reilly, “The Fields of Athenry”
Nobody writes more heart-rending ballads than the Irish, which is fitting given the litany of tragedies they’ve suffered, mostly at the hands of the British. None has had a greater effect on the national psyche than the Great Famine of 1845-52. Most people think the calamity was the result of the potato blight, and that […]
Song of the Day 3/16: Magnolia Electric Co., “The Dark Don’t Hide It”
The best Americana singer-songwriter you never heard of, Jason Molina, died 12 years ago today of alcohol-induced organ failure at age 39. He was revered by his peers in the alt-country scene, many of whom, like Bonny “Prince” Billy, the Avett Brothers and My Morning Jacket, went on to the greater fame and fortune that […]
Song of the Day 3/15: R.E.M., “Pretty Persuasion”
When they broke up the band 14 years ago, the members of R.E.M. swore they would never reunite. We’ve seen enough bands go back on such pronouncements to take that with a DelDOT-sized pile of salt, especially considering that there was no acrimony behind the break-up. Still, they’ve kept their word – sort of. Michael […]
Song of the Day 3/14: Bobby Womack, “Across 110th Street”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona When Bobby Womack crosses 110th Street in the song by that name, he’s crossing the traditional demarcation line between Manhattan and Harlem. Harlem has the action in the 1973 “blaxploitation” crime movie “Across 110th Street” and Womack’s title track. Womack crossed other lines in his turbulent life, with less fortunate […]
Song of the Day 3/13: Sara Bareilles, “Brave”
I don’t care that Democrats haven’t made angry noises about the end of our constitutional republic because I only care what they do, not what they say. Now that it’s time to do something, let’s see how much courage they have. Will they show their prowess, be a lion, not a mowess? Will they change […]
Song of the Day 3/12: Dropkick Murphys, “Where the Trouble’s At”
If you’re only dimly aware of the Dropkick Murphys, chances are you think of the Celtic punk band as a bunch of white working-class louts, and probably sympathetic to Trump and the MAGA movement that caters to that demographic. But you’d be wrong. The Dropkicks are from Boston, where even working-class louts spurn Republicans, particularly […]
Song of the Day 3/11: Roy Ayers, “Running Away”
Vibraphonist Roy Ayers, an oft-sampled pioneer of jazz-funk fusion, died last week at age 84. Ayers started out in the post-bop jazz scene in the early ’60s. His first LP, “West Coast Vibes,” was released in 1963. It included his version of this Thelonius Monk composition. He teamed up with flutist Herbie Mann for a […]
Recent Comments