Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 8/11: Olivia Newton-John, “If Not For You”
I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead. Olivia Newton-John seemed to be a nice person, devoting time, money and energy to various worthy charities, never being involved in any controversy other than a court battle that helped limit the predatory contracts record companies once forced artists to sign. But I’d be lying by […]
Song of the Day 8/10: Bananarama, “Cruel Summer”
Now Republicans think it’s a banana republic? Gee, I thought that happened when they all fell in line behind a known criminal. Cruel summer, ain’t it, bitches? This song became a No. 9 hit in the US in 1984 when it was included in the hit movie “Karate Kid.” That was a year after it […]
Song of the Day 8/9: The Supremes, “Stop! In the Name of Love”
We’ll leave the Aussies for tomorrow — Lamont Dozier of Holland-Dozier-Holland fame died yesterday at age 81. He and his partners churned out an astounding 15 No. 1 singles for Motown, including 10 by the Supremes. Dozier started out as a singer on the Anna label owned by Berry Gordy’s sisters. He hired Dozier as […]
I Demand to See the Body Cam Footage
The FBI raided Mar a Lago today. I want to see if his Secret Service agents put up a fight. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/08/us/trump-fbi-raid
Song of the Day 8/8: Free Energy, “Free Energy”
Cleaning out a CD rack this weekend I ran across “Stuck on Nothing,” the debut album from this Philadelphia-based power pop quartet. Critics mostly loved it, and Rolling Stone called them one of the best new bands of 2010. They sounded a lot like Fountains of Wayne without the sense of humor — Free Energy […]
Carper and Coons, Craven to the Core
Ever since SCOTUS pulled its gangland-style execution of Roe, Josh Marshall over at Talking Points Memo has been stumping for Democrats to make the issue the centerpiece of the midterm elections. Obviously this makes a great deal of sense, and so just as obviously the people who run the Democratic Party will have to be […]
Song of the Day 8/7: Nini Music, “LongMa”
I bet when Nancy Pelosi was digging to China as a little girl, she didn’t think she’d find Taiwanese folk metal when she got there. I assume this showed up in my feed because I was reading stories about Taiwan; until a couple of days ago I never even considered that such a genre might […]
Song of the Day 8/6: The Undertones, “Teenage Kicks”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Iconic British DJ John Peel called it his favorite song ever. He cried when he first heard it. He had lyrics from it carved on his tombstone. One music site pronounced it the second-best indie song ever. Another named it the sixth-best power pop song of all time, allowing that […]
Song of the Day 8/5: Canned Heat, “Going Up the Country”
California hippie-rockers Canned Heat, founded by blues aficionados Alan Wilson and Bob Hite, had their biggest US hit with this tune. It became an anthem for the back-to-the-country movement that became popular during the chaotic year 1968. The song reached No. 11 at the end of the year, but it’s been associated with summer ever […]
Song of the Day 8/3: Gary Lewis and the Playboys, “This Diamond Ring”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona It must have been weird being the son of Jerry Lewis. Did the comedian make funny faces and flop onto the floors around the house the way he did on stages with partner Dean Martin? His son, Gary, knew from early on he did not want to follow that path. […]
Song of the Day 8/2: Nichelle Nichols, “Know What I Mean”
The obituaries for Nichelle Nichols, who died late last week at age 89, naturally headlined her historic role as Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek,” and admirably highlighted her long, fruitful relationship with NASA. But only the longest obituaries mentioned her career pre-“Star Trek,” when she toured as a singer with both Lionel Hampton […]
Song of the Day 7/30: DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, “Summertime”
Will Smith is back in the news because he released an apology video to Chris Rock on YouTube and Instagram, which seems to me like a PR move more than an apology, but whatever. I always preferred Smith back in his hip-hop days, when he and Jeff Townes put Philly on the rap map with […]
Song of the Day 7/29: Chad and Jeremy, “A Summer Song”
The British Invasion was so all-encompassing that pretty much any act with English accents soared up the charts. Consider the case of Chad and Jeremy, who scored a handful of hits and lots of television appearances in the US in 1964-65, but had only one charting single in their native UK. Chad Stuart, who died […]
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