Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 1/6: The O’Jays, “Back Stabbers”
This 1972 song put the O’Jays on the charts, and helped Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Sound of Philadelphia depose Motown at the top of the soul/R&B charts. There’s a reason the trio looks so polished in this Soul Train clip. The group, originally a quintet, formed way back in 1958 in Canton, Ohio. They […]
Chris Coons Is a Battered Woman
No, I don’t mean he’s been dipped in buttermilk and deep-fried. I mean he has a form of PTSD from being continually abused — in his case not by a spouse, but by Republicans, the kind who referred to him as a “bearded Marxist.” See if these symptoms (from the Wikipedia entry on battered spouse […]
Song of the Day 1/5: Billy Bragg and Wilco, “All You Fascists”
It’s now been a year since Trumpublicans made their intentions and methods clear. Is our media learning? I’m not betting on it. “All You Fascists” appeared on the 2000 LP “Mermaid Avenue Volume 2,” the second collaboration between Billy Bragg and Wilco (really Jeff Tweedy) to set some of Woody Guthrie’s unrecorded lyrics to modern […]
Song of the Day 1/3: David Bowie, “The Man Who Sold the World”
David Bowie became the latest Boomer rock icon to cash in his life’s work, though in his case it was his estate that sold publishing rights to his catalog for an estimated $250 million. What’s now one of the more valuable songs in that catalog didn’t start out that way. Bowie never released the title […]
Song of the Day 1/1: Little Bob and the Lollipops, “I Got Loaded”
This one’s for all those who overindulged on New Year’s Eve, assuming that’s still a thing. Back when this song was released in 1965, a guy could sing about drinking to excess without worrying about moral scolds harshing his vibe — a remarkably upbeat vibe for someone who polishes off a bottle of hard stuff […]
Song of the Day 12/25: Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run”
Some Christmas songs belong only to the artists who created them. “Little Saint Nick” is just a Beach Boys car tune, just as “Run, Rudolph, Run” is first and foremost a Chuck Berry song with a Christmas backdrop (in 1958, only Berry would imagine that every boy child wanted a rock and roll ‘lectric guitar). […]
Song of the Day 12/24: The King’s Singers, “Stille Nacht”
The one thing that really does sound better in the original German.
Song of the Day 12/23: Norah Jones, “Christmas Don’t Be Late”
Even bad Christmas songs can be redeemed by the right artist and the right treatment. As evidence, listen to Norah Jones breathe new life into this widely reviled novelty tune. It’s been covered by dozens of people over the years, usually played for laughs using the original arrangement (Tegan and Sara even sped up their […]
Song of the Day 12/22: Alison Krauss, “The Wexford Carol”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Sure, you’ve got your “Silent Nights” and your “O Holy Nights” and your “Adeste Fidelises.” They’re the stars of Christmas music. But some of the best Christmas songs help fill the frosty air even if we don’t know their names. They’ve always known their names in Sussex and Coventry in […]
Song of the Day 12/21: Low, “Just Like Christmas”
There’s a myth concerning Christmas songs, namely that no new ones are being written. The evidence: the 25-year-old “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most recent tune to make the muzak rotation. People forget that didn’t happen overnight. It was released in 1994, and though it got airplay every December, it wasn’t […]
Song of the Day 12/20: Foxes and Fossils, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
Foxes and Fossils, the Atlanta-based dads-and-daughters YouTube band, this year covered one of my favorite holiday songs, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Civil War Christmas poem set to John Gorka’s original tune. Darwin Conort, the Fossil with the acoustic guitar chops, takes the lead vocal. Longfellow wrote the poem on Christmas Day 1863, just a month after […]
Song of the Day 12/19: The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl, “Fairytale of New York”
This 1987 recording is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK, and it’s pretty popular on these shores, too, though I’ll never understand why. Not why it’s popular — it’s a great song, a pungent character study of addiction and co-dependence written with an economy that would do O. Henry proud. […]
Song of the Day 12/18: Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell, “Silver Bells”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona This song was almost called “Tinkle Bells” until the wife of one of the writers explained that “tinkle” has certain connotations. So they changed it to “Silver Bells” and found themselves with what would be one of our most popular Christmas standards. Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote the song […]
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