Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 5/14: Big Thief, “Little Things”
I know El Somnambulo doesn’t care for this band all that much, but this was the first thing I heard by them when it came out last year and I still really like it. I get the impression they’re some sort of indie darlings — the fact that leader Adrianne Lenker spent her childhood in […]
Song of the Day 5/12: Leonard Cohen, “Everybody Knows”
I assume everybody knows this Cohen classic, if not from his 1988 album “I’m Your Man,” then from its plentiful covers and frequent use in movies and TV soundtracks. But El Somnambulo quoted it to conclude today’s open thread, so you can use this as a soundtrack. The song was Cohen’s first of many collaborations […]
Song of the Day 5/10: Steve Miller Band, “Living in the U.S.A.”
For historical context, musicians like Steve Miller were trashing the emptiness of American culture way back in 1968, when Boz Scaggs was still in the band and Miller still delivered raw San Francisco blues-rock. He wasn’t wrong, so conservatives, rather than addressing the criticism, have been having a hissy fit about it ever since. Our […]
Song of the Day 5/9: The Judds, “Mama He’s Crazy”
The Judds ruled country music in the ’80s. This song was their second single, the first of a nearly unbroken string of 14 that reached No. 1 on the country charts from 1984 through 1989. The mother-daughter duo ended in 1991, when Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and retired. Musically Wynonna’s husky, bluesy voice […]
Song of the Day 5/7: Dave Alvin, “Plastic Rose”
When Dave Alvin released his second solo album, “Blue Blvd,” in 1991, the Washington Post reviewer complimented it by saying the songs were like Raymond Carver stories. Alvin once told an interviewer that because he never became a star, he didn’t travel in a plane or tour bus, so he was free to observe the […]
Song of the Day 5/5: Beck, “Loser”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 is weak even by the institution’s abysmal standards. The best-known inductees are Dolly Parton (despite her request not to be considered), Lionel Richie, Carly Simon — I’ll let you know when we get to actual rock acts — and Eminem. True rock music is represented […]
If Democracy Is Dying, It’s From Neglect
Sure, Republicans are trying to kill democracy. The question is why they’re bothering. Consider Ohio where, if you read the news accounts, the big story is J.D. Vance’s comeback win in his Ohio primary, supposedly on the back of a Trump endorsement. This narrative is bullshit. Yes, it’s true, but it misses the big picture. […]
Song of the Day 5/4: Graham Parker, “You Can’t Be Too Strong”
A lot of critics think this song, whose lyrics provided the title for Graham Parker’s 1979 album “Squeezing Out Sparks,” is the best he ever wrote. But if you ever need an example of confirmation bias in action, consider how many people think this is an anti-abortion song. Parker has gotten pushback about the song […]
Song of the Day 5/3: Johnny Cash, “Camptown Races”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona The Kentucky Derby is Saturday. Somebody will bet on the bay. Doo Dah. The singer in Stephen Foster’s “Camptown Races” did not bet on the bay. He blew his money on the bob-tail nag. This was the first widely popular American horse racing song. That’s fitting, since Foster was pretty […]
Song of the Day 5/2: Squeeze, “The Day I Get Home”
“I eat the lines ahead of me.” Chris Difford wrote that line more than 30 years ago, before you had to take your shoes off at the airport. From the Squeeze album I praise all the time because I consider it one of the peaks of intelligent rock songwriting, 1991’s “Play.” And, because one knock […]
Song of the Day 5/1: The Motown Manifestos, “Papa Was a Running Dog Lackey of the Bourgeoisie”
Happy International Workers’ Day, or la Fête du Travail as the government here prefers to call it. Workers just call it May Day. John Lennon once remarked that “Imagine” was basically the Communist Manifesto set to music, but he didn’t quote that document directly. This song does. The tune was part of the National Lampoon’s […]
Song of the Day 4/30: The Boo Radleys, “Wake Up Boo!”
Not woke yet, or just feeling a bit lacking in the wokeness department? Let the Boo Radleys remedy that. The Boo Radleys were an early ’90s Liverpool indie four-piece that released its most commercial album, “Wake Up!” in 1995, just in time for the Britpop boom that made Oasis internationally famous. Their LP caught the […]
Song of the Day 4/29: Kool and the Gang, “Too Hot”
Maybe it’s too common to be news anymore, but the Indian subcontinent is suffering under a brutal heat wave. Temperatures have been 10 degrees above normal for weeks and have reached 112°F. In related news, CO2 levels at Mauna Loa set a new record at over 422 ppm this week. “Too Hot” was the second […]
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