Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 10/21: Frank Zappa and the Mothers, “Call Any Vegetable”
Queen-killer Liz Truss was doomed from the moment the Daily Star livestreamed her photo next to a head of lettuce, with a caption asking which would last longer. The smart money was always on the lettuce — one wag wanted to know how it voted on Brexit, leaf or romaine? — because vegetables have been […]
Song of the Day 10/20: Fine Young Cannibals, “Social Security”
Republicans think old people have too much money and rich people don’t have enough, so they’ve promised to cut Social Security if/when they get back into power. Bitter white people will vote for them anyway. Fine Young Cannibals released this song as the B-side to “Good Thing,” the second No. 1 single from their 1989 […]
If White People Are So Smart…
…then why do they make up almost the entire audience for obvious grifters like Donald Trump? Sorry, Whities, but based on the available evidence you’re the dumbest motherfuckers alive. And the funny part is that white conservatives want to claim superior status not based on their own accomplishments, but the accomplishments of other pale-skinned people. […]
Song of the Day 10/19: The Philadelphia Orchestra, “1812 Overture”
H/t Ben, who requested this last month. It was 210 years ago today that Napoleon began his devastating retreat from Moscow, an anniversary not observed by the French. Seventy years later Pyotr Tchaikovsky debuted this commemorative piece, scored for orchestra and artillery, for the dedication of a church that celebrated Russia’s victory, which was achieved […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022
It’s sentencing day for unrepentant state auditor Kathy McGuiness. Prosecutors want her to serve 30 days and pay a $30,000 fine. Her attorney wants her slap on the wrist to be a $1,000 fine and nothing else, not even probation. Judge William C. Carpenter’s decision will either uphold or strike at Celia Cohen’s beloved Delaware […]
Song of the Day 10/18: Pixies, “Gigantic”
I admit it, I miss the ’90s. Yeah, I know this song came out in 1988 on the first Pixies album, “Surfer Rosa,” but the post-Replacements sound they helped pioneer, with its distorted guitars and quiet-loud-quiet dynamics, came to dominate the indie-rock music of the early ’90s, so I mentally file it there. This was […]
Song of the Day 10/17: Mom’s Apple Pie, “I Just Wanna Make Love to You”
People today remember the rock-with-horns fad mostly for the first few albums by Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears, but lots of imitators sprang up in their wake in the early ’70s. Mom’s Apple Pie was one that came and went pretty quickly, and even in its day was better known for the cover of […]
Why Are There So Many Pervs in Politics?
I’m seriously asking — what is it that draws such people to public life? One would think that a person with secrets would want to avoid the scrutiny that comes with elected office. This isn’t just a GOP phenomenon, either. Though it’s usually a safe bet that any report of yet another pervy pol will […]
Song of the Day 10/16: Johnny Rivers, “The Poor Side of Town”
Johnny Rivers had a lot of hit records — 26 singles in the Top 40, nine of them in the Top 10. Almost all of them were covers, frequently with the Wrecking Crew as his backing band, and most of them charted higher than the originals. But he only reached No. 1 once in a […]
Song of the Day 10/15: The Ohio State University Marching Band, “Michael Jackson Tribute”
College football has a lot to answer for — looking at you, Herschel Walker — but it has some benefits. Top of the list for me: marching band halftime shows. Here’s a classic performance by a marching band perennially ranked among the country’s best: an MJ medley highlighted by the Gloved One’s moonwalk about four […]
Song of the Day 10/13: Angela Lansbury, “Beauty and the Beast”
Angela Lansbury, who died at age 96 on Tuesday, always played older than she was. MGM frequently cast her as a 40-ish woman, usually a villain, while she was still in her 20s. When she was nominated for an Oscar for her role as a villainous mother in “The Manchurian Candidate,” she was only three […]
Song of the Day 10/12: The Flamingos, “I Only Have Eyes For You”
I always thought of this as a quintessential doo-wop song, because the Flamingos version is the only one I had ever heard. That’s because I was never a fan of old movies, so I had never seen the 1934 Busby Berkeley musical “Dames,” in which Dick Powell sings it to Ruby Keeler. Several big bands […]
Song of the Day 10/11: Audience, “You’re Not Smiling”
Audience was a short-lived British band that got lumped in with progressive rock because of the their unusual instrumentation. Formed in 1969, they had no lead guitarist — their rhythm section was fronted by vocalist Howard Werth, who played an amplified nylon-string acoustic guitar, and Keith Gemmell, who played tenor sax and flute, often supplemented […]
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