Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 10/17: Kiss, “New York Groove”
Ace Frehley, the original guitarist for Kiss, died yesterday at age 74, after suffering a brain bleed in a fall last month at his home recording studio. In a band known mainly for posturing and pyrotechnics, Frehley, a self-taught guitarist whose stage persona was the Spaceman, brought a measure of technical proficiency, even if his […]
Song of the Day 10/16: Sonic Youth, “Youth Against Fascism”
The fascists running the country now think it’s OK to proclaim their love of Hitler and the Nazis, as evidenced by the reaction of JD Vance to the exposed group chat among the Young Republicans. His claim that it was no big deal is the best possible way for him to say “I’ve said the […]
Song of the Day 10/15: Blood, Sweat & Tears, “Go Down Gamblin’”
It just might be that Trump and his MAGA movement aren’t as popular as the mainstream media would have you believe, because a lot of those clicks are from people who hate Trump rather than love him. The latest evidence comes in the form of a Trump specialty, bankruptcy, in this case of Dr. Phil […]
Song of the Day 10/14: Pulp, “Common People”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Jarvis Cocker of the British band Pulp was once at a party when a posh girl asked him how to “live like common people do.” He felt a little insulted by the patronizing, but he got a tune called “Common People” out of it. It turned out to be the […]
Song of the Day 10/13: Curtis Mayfield, “We Got to Have Peace”
Give credit where it’s due: Donald Trump has managed to stop the slaughter in Gaza, at least temporarily, and because of his relationships with both Gulf princes and Netanyahu he’s probably the only one who could have pulled it off. Josh Marshall made this point last week: The key here is Trump’s extremely close relationships […]
Song of the Day 10/12: Paul McCartney, “We All Stand Together (The Frog Song)”
Everyone by now knows the story of the Portland Frog, who mocked the “war zone” narrative of Fox News and Trump’s Melting Brain by protesting in an inflatable frog costume, and got pepper-sprayed for his trouble. What you might not realize is that he’s spawned a group of imitators. So don’t be surprised if you […]
Song of the Day 10/10: The Gentrys, “Keep on Dancing”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona After the Gentrys recorded what became the first part of “Keep on Dancing,” they apparently couldn’t figure out how to keep on singing. Not even the vocalist who became the celebrity wrestling manager known as the Mouth of the South. No radio station was going to play a song roughly […]
Song of the Day 10/9: Bram Tchaikovsky, “Girl of My Dreams”
Hollywood is up in arms over a new actress who literally came out of nowhere. Tilly Norwood is an AI creation that has real actors worried that they’ll soon be looking for new careers. Variety scoffs at the threat, pointing out that Tilly is the brainchild of a serial provocateur, but that’s unlikely to tamp […]
Song of the Day 10/8: Joe Cocker, “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Kristi Noem has been stamping her little feet because she was denied access to a toilet by staff at a municipal building in suburban Chicago. The folks inside had watched her armed henchmen snatch people off the street and basically told her she could just hold it. Ice Barbie followed […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025
America’s ever-credulous mainstream media quickly broadcast a supposed Trump administration effort to deny back pay to furloughed federal workers, despite a law to the contrary that Trump himself signed in 2019 (whether he remembers doing it is another matter). As the indispensable Josh Marshall points out, if reporters got off their asses instead of simply […]
Song of the Day 10/7: Townes Van Zandt, “Dead Flowers”
In compiling my list of 10 cover songs for the WXPN countdown, I’m prioritizing versions that reimagine or redefine the first release. Sometimes that means taking the lyrical element more seriously than the original artist did. Townes Van Zandt’s cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers” is a case in point. Mick Jagger and Keith […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025
Is the AI revolution a boom or a bubble? A recent analysis found that 80% of the growth in the stock market is in tech stocks, with much of the capital flowing in from overseas. What worries some analysts is the circular nature of a handful of companies investing in each other. Others worry that […]
Song of the Day 10/6: Vanilla Fudge, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”
Every year WXPN solicits listener opinions for a “top 885” list. This year the subject is cover songs, a topic that eliminates less than half of all recorded music from consideration. Thousands of great records have been made by johnny-come-latelies. Many are so much better than the original recording that nobody realizes they’re covers. I’m […]
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