Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 7/27: Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man”
One of the pleasures of the internet is the easy access to historical footage, and I always get a kick out of early performances of now-classic music. I remember when the CD of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie’s 1945 Town Hall concert came out, the most amazing moment wasn’t the music, as great as it […]
Song of the Day 7/26: Joni Mitchell, “Just Like This Train”
Joni Mitchell, rarely seen in public over the last decade, played what amounted to a whole set Sunday at the Newport Folk Festival. Her appearance wasn’t announced in advance — the performance was billed as “Brandi Carlile and Friends,” and Carlile was at Mitchell’s side throughout, along with a clutch of admiring younger musicians that […]
Song of the Day 7/25: Iron Maiden, “Run to the Hills”
h/t Unstable Isotope, who wondered why nobody had set the Hawley Trot to this heavy metal classic. In the world of heavy metal, Iron Maiden is as big a band as Metallica, but it’s never gotten the same respect in the US as it has internationally. You can tell because Metallica sailed into the Hall […]
Song of the Day 7/23: Queen, “Bicycle Race”
This year’s Tour de France isn’t over, but the winner was determined this morning when teammates Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard finished 1-2 in Stage 20, a 40-km individual time trial. Vingegaard, who’s more than 3 minutes up on pre-race favorite Tadej Pogacar, will wear the yellow jersey when the Tour finishes with its […]
Song of the Day 7/22: Elvis Costello, “Radio, Radio”
WDEL is holding an open house today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and I’ll be on the air with Rick Jensen at 11 a.m. You better do as you were told: You better listen to the radio. This was the song that got Elvis Costello banned from “Saturday Night […]
Song of the Day 7/21: David Bowie, “I’m Afraid of Americans”
David Bowie included this one, co-written with Brian Eno, on his 1997 album “Earthlings.” As is so often the case, its point has been sharpened in the years since its release. Though the video’s critique of American culture centers on guns, Bowie’s intent was broader. A press release for the LP quoted him: It’s not […]
Song of the Day 7/20: Little Anthony and the Imperials, “Tears on My Pillow”
In honor of my cat, Little Anthony, who passed on this morning, age 17. Jerome Anthony Gourdine started out as the lead singer for the group that became the Imperials, and that’s how they were billed on the label of this, their first single under that name (leader Clarence Collins first called the group the […]
Song of the Day 7/19: War, “Slippin’ Into Darkness”
After two albums with Eric Burdon, who left the band in the middle of a tour, War was on its second LP without him when it scored its first hit in 1971. “Slippin’ Into Darkness” doesn’t really get started until two minutes in, but its funky groove kicked off several years of hits for the […]
Song of the Day 7/18: Dan Auerbach, “Shine on Me”
As centuries go, this one totally sucks so far, and I can’t see it doing enough in the second half to make up for this shitshow. So I’m going to keep looking for music that lightens the mood, like this tune off Black Key Dan Auerbach’s second solo LP, 2017’s “Waiting on a Song,” recorded […]
Song of the Day 7/17: Billy Bragg, “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards”
Billy Bragg wrote this upbeat sing-along, a “wait ’til next year!” anthem for progressives, after Margaret Thatcher’s Tories swept the 1987 general elections. He called it “my way of owning up to the ambiguities of being a political pop star while stating clearly that I still believed in Sam Cooke’s promise that a change was […]
Song of the Day 7/16: The Delfonics, “La-La (Means I Love You)”
William “Poogie” Hart, whose soaring falsetto as lead singer of the Delfonics helped define Philly soul, died Thursday in Philadelphia at age 77. Hart and his brother Wilbert had formed vocal groups with various classmates at Overbrook High, but Hart was singing on his job at a barbershop when an impressario named Stan Watson heard […]
Song of the Day 7/15: The New Pornographers, “The Laws Have Changed”
I have no idea what prompted Carl Newman to write “It was crime at the time but the laws we changed ’em” — this song appeared on the band’s second LP, “Electric Version,” back in 2003, and besides, they’re Canadian — but it certainly seems to apply these days, doesn’t it? Except nowadays the title […]
Song of the Day 7/13: Graham Gouldman and Brian May, “Floating in Heaven”
NASA has released the first batch of images captured by the Webb space telescope, and rock’s top astrophysicist, Brian May, has teamed up with 10cc songwriter Graham Gouldman on a new tune to celebrate the occasion. You’ve probably seen this widely reproduced image showing scores of galaxies. What you might not have seen is how […]
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