Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 10/30: Beru Revue, “Hoods a Go-Go”
Not many DJs get obituaries in Rolling Stone, but Pierre Robert, the midday voice for WMMR in Philadelphia for four decades, did. The 70-year-old Deadhead went to sleep Tuesday night and never woke up, so he never got to say goodbye to his loyal listeners. Robert’s gentle voice and manner belied his knowledge, and he […]
Song of the Day 10/29: Jerry Douglas, “Patrick Meets the Brickbats”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona I basically know only three things about this song called “Patrick Meets the Brickbats.” • It has a funny title. • It has something to do with trains. • It has Jerry Douglas playing the dobro. This last one is all you really need to know. Douglas is probably the […]
Song of the Day 10/28: Flamin’ Groovies, “First Plane Home”
The Flamin’ Groovies were always in the wrong place at the wrong time. They started out playing rock ‘n’ roll in the style of the ’50s and early ’60s – in San Francisco at the dawn of the psychedelic era. Their energetic live shows made them a popular bar band, but they completely whiffed on […]
Democrats and Republicans, Heed the Call, All Can Attend the Hypocrites’ Ball
Jeffrey Balk, the erstwhile chair of the Sussex County Democratic Party, stepped down from his position over the weekend, but not before his situation exposed the rank hypocrisy of the party he represents. The Democrats in Dover pushed long and hard for a law that bans employers asking job applicants if they’ve ever been convicted […]
Song of the Day 10/27: Seth MacFarlane, “I Never Felt This Way Before”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona I haven’t watched “Family Guy” since right after it went on the air in 1999. It looked to me like a juvenile and unfunny copy of “The Simpsons.” I might have been wrong, but If I wanted a clever animated show besides “The Simpsons” I looked to Mike Judge. But […]
Epstein Ballroom Update
As most of America’s feck-free elected Democrats furrow their brows in concern, its citizens are reacting with near-universal condemnation of Donald Trump’s latest display of his guiding ethos, best summed up as “Oh, yeah? Whaddaya gonna do about it?” As I have pointed out frequently in the past few days, even people who don’t pay […]
Song of the Day 10/25: John Williams & the Vienna Philharmonic: “Imperial March (from ‘Star Wars’)”
I suppose the fact that fascists have an underdeveloped sense of humor isn’t news, but it still drew media attention when a protester in Washington DC proved it. Sam O’Hara, 35, was detained by police when a member of the Ohio National Guard got pissed off about his form of protest, and he’s filed a […]
Song of the Day 10/24: The Who, “You Better You Bet”
The betting scandal involving a National Basketball Association player is about as surprising as the location of this morning’s sunrise, and most people have been quick to blame it on the cozy relationship between pro sports and legalized gambling. The problem with that conclusion: Gambling, legal or not, has always been a part of sports. […]
Song of the Day 10/23: Rush, “The Spirit of the Radio”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Geddy Lee has spent more than 50 years behind a microphone and bass guitar with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Rush, pride of Canada. But he’s also logged many hours in a seat behind home plate at Toronto Blue Jays baseball games, where he’s a season ticket holder. […]
Song of the Day 10/22: Ryan Adams, “Breakdown”
Ryan Adams, the prolific singer-songwriter and producer whose career was derailed by a #metoo scandal in the Before Times, has long been notorious for odd behavior in concerts – aborting songs halfway through, playing entire shows with his back to the audience, berating hecklers – but his recent tour Down Under has brought on another […]
Song of the Day 10/21: Dropkick Murphys, “Smash Shit Up”
The metaphors for Donald Trump’s destruction of the United States are getting a little too obvious, aren’t they? First he releases a video of himself flying a jet and dumping shit on Americans – quite a stretch of the truth considering there’s no evidence he even knows how to drive a car – and now he’s […]
Song of the Day 10/20: Prefab Sprout, “The Best Jewel Thief in the World”
Officials called yesterday’s broad-daylight robbery at the Louvre a professional job, but the bandits certainly aren’t the best jewel thieves in the world, or they wouldn’t have dropped a couple of the priceless artifacts on their way out. I visited that gallery last year, so I recognized the pieces of 19th-century jewelry they stole. Prefab […]
Song of the Day 10/19: The Offspring, “The Kids Aren’t Alright”
The “young” Republicans – mostly a bunch of chubby mooks in their 30s – revealed themselves as a bunch of wannabe Nazis, crystallizing the reality that demographics won’t save democracy. Offspring’s “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” sort of an answer song to the Who 30-plus years later, was written by frontman Dexter Holland after a visit […]
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