Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 3/29: DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson”
Rap fans might remember that Will Smith had pugilistic fantasies going back to at least 1989, when this song was released on the duo’s “And in This Corner…” LP. As the album’s lead single, it also got the expensive video treatment, and the sharp-eyed will notice that one of the its guest stars, though not […]
Song of the Day 3/28: Taylor Hawkins, “Holy Man”
The headlines said Taylor Hawkins, who died at age 50 Friday in Colombia, was the drummer for the Foo Fighters, but that only captured a portion of his talent. He sang lead and played drums in a number of side projects, including his own band, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, and sang lead on […]
Song of the Day 3/25: 10,000 Maniacs, “Peace Train”
How could a song that advocates peace become controversial? Well, how about if the guy who wrote it later supported the assassination of an author for blasphemy? Even when it was released on 1971’s “Teaser and the Firecat,” Cat Stevens’ first US Top 10 hit wasn’t universally admired. With the war in Vietnam still raging, […]
Song of the Day 3/24: U2, “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of”
As the Ukraine War grinds into its second month, this seems like a fitting commentary on Vladimir Putin’s predicament. Bono wrote the song, which appeared on the band’s 2000 LP “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” after the suicide of his friend Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS, as an argument against suicide. Seems like […]
Song of the Day 3/23: Dead Kennedys, “Police Truck”
There’s a reason police act above the law: They are. The so-called “police bill of rights” is a list of special privileges that place them outside the laws that govern the rest of us, supposedly (we all know being white and rich makes you nearly as immune as a police badge). Anyway, here’s Jello Biafra’s […]
Song of the Day 3/22: Bobby Bloom, “Montego Bay”
Before Bob Marley, Caribbean music in the U.S. mostly had a Latin flavor and beats that favored ballroom-style dancing. But every once in a while a bit of calypso and its Jamaican cousin, mento, would slip through, as in 1970, when two Brooklynites — former doo-wop singer and jingle writer Bobby Bloom and tunesmith Jeff […]
Song of the Day 3/21: Бетон (Beton), “Kyiv Calling”
You know how musicians can avoid being sued for copyright infringement? Ask the copyright holders for permission. That’s what Ukrainian punk band Бетон, transliterated as Beton (“concrete” in Ukrainian), did before they repurposed The Clash’s 1979 cri de coeur as an anthem of resistance against the Russian invasion of their country. It was quickly granted. […]
Song of the Day 3/18: Gillian Welch, “Winter’s Come and Gone”
Yeah, it’s a few more days until it’s official, but it’s starting to feel like winter’s come and gone. This sounds like it came from the depths of the Depression — I can imagine the Joads singing it on the way to California — but it’s just more evidence that Welch and her partner, David […]
Song of the Day 3/16: Dolly Parton, “Jolene”
Millions of people think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should stick to honoring musicians who actually play rock music instead of inducting rappers and dance-pop superstars, but it took Dolly Parton to call them out on it. Parton told the institution she was withdrawing her name from consideration, and she did it with […]
It’s Not a Memory Hole, It’s a Cone of Silence
The idea that issues fall, through some accident or fault of their own, into a “memory hole” is a blatant lie. It’s a false frame, a construction the media uses to hide the fact that it ignores certain issues, either completely or soon after they arise, and not because they wouldn’t appeal to an audience. […]
Song of the Day 3/15: The Wailin’ Jennys, “One Voice”
One voice, the adage goes, makes more noise than 1,000 voices that remain silent. Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor of Russian state TV’s Channel One, staged a one-woman protest by interrupting a live broadcast with a sign that translates as “Stop the war. Don’t believe in propaganda. They’re lying to you.” She was immediately detained and […]
Song of the Day 3/14: Hot Butter, “Popcorn”
EARWORM ALERT One of the first compositions written expressly for the synthesizer is also one of the best-selling instrumentals of all time — but not in its original version. “Pop Corn” is what German composer Gershon Kingsley called it on his 1969 album “Music to Moog By,” recorded to show off the capabilities of synthesized […]
Song of the Day 3/13: Sonny Dae and His Knights, “Rock Around the Clock”
American exceptionalism at work: Daylight Savings Time started today in the USA. It doesn’t begin until March 27 in Europe. In 1955 Bill Haley’s recording of this song topped all three national charts — Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played By Disc Jockeys, and Most Played in Juke Boxes — the first rock ‘n’ roll […]
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