Alby's Latest Posts
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024
There’s unquestionably something wrong with these people. Once again a right-wing loonjob is in the news for killing a dog. This time it’s an excrescence on the body politic named Kevin Roberts. He’s now the head of the Heritage Foundation, but 20 years ago he was just an undistinguished assistant professor of history at highly […]
Song of the Day 9/24: Wolfgang Mozart, “Eine Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dropped a new single this weekend. No, really. Music archivists digging through manuscripts in the Leipzig Municipal Library found the transcription of music for a string trio that, though not in his hand, is credited to “Wolfgang Mozart.” Mozart scholars are over the moon – it’s the classical-music equivalent of a new […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024
Slow news day yesterday. Even the reporters tasked with recording Trump’s every brain fart had to scrounge for material, so Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon are getting more attention than they otherwise might. The fear, as always, is that the fighting will spread, as fighting often does. I have long maintained that a majority of […]
Song of the Day 9/23: The Move, “Do Ya”
Jeff Lynne brought his farewell tour with ELO to Philadelphia over the weekend, and if you missed the show, fear not – some fans have posted Friday’s entire show on YouTube. Lynne is the only one remaining from the band’s original lineup; he and drummer Bev Bevan split acrimoniously 30 years ago. ELO grew out […]
DL Open Thread Monday, Sept. 23, 2024
It was hard enough running for governor as a Black conservative, but a Black conservative sex creep? Mark Robinson’s task is well nigh impossible, especially now that all his senior staffers quit. Maybe he can ask Bethany Hall-Long for advice on how to run a campaign after your staff bails over your sketchy behavior. Congress […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024
Trump’s flailing, tweet-based excuse for a campaign is nearly exhausting the media’s informational oxygen. Everybody who fails to show him complete obeisance gets trashed on his failing social media platform, and political reporters treat every person targeted as worthy of a separate story. Did you see what Trump said about Oprah? Taylor Swift? Bill Maher? […]
Song of the Day 9/21: Joe Jackson, “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
On a day filled with weird news, nothing topped the story of New York magazine suspending high-profile political reporter Olivia Nuzzi over her “personal relationship” with loonball nepo baby RFK Jr.. Jokes about his animal magnetism aside, what possessed her? That’s the musical question Joe Jackson posed in his debut single back in 1978, and […]
DL Open Thread Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024
Let’s check in on that political movement that doesn’t want opponents calling them “weird.” North Carolina governor candidate posts comments on porn chat board, calls himself a “Black Nazi.” Florida Congressman has sex-and-drug parties with high school juniors. Presidential and vice presidential candidates lie about immigrants eating pets and brag about it. Where do we […]
Song of the Day 9/20: Homer Banks, “Coming Together”
Another nugget from “Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos,” the 2023 box set that includes three discs of songs that, like this one, were demoed for the label’s stable of artists but never got a proper recording. Homer Banks, a Memphis native, had cut some minor singles that went nowhere in the US, […]
What Comes After the Revolution?
Guest post by Jason 330 What happens when the outsiders finally become the insiders after a revolution? Do they unleash their inner Robespierre, exacting revenge in a reign of terror? Or do they pull a Snowball Pig and run the farm like old man Jones, only worse? Maybe there is a third option? If you’re […]
Song of the Day 9/19: Foo Fighters, “My Hero”
Seems like every recording artist save Kid Rock wants Donald Trump to stop using their music, and some have been winning their cases in court. The latest example is Eddy Grant, who won his lawsuit over the use of “Electric Avenue” in an online 2020 campaign ad. Trump’s campaign has licensed lots of music through […]
Song of the Day 9/18: JD Souther, “Best of My Love”
JD Souther, best known for writing hit songs for the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and other Southern California soft rockers of the ’70s, died yesterday, cutting short a modest late career renaissance for the 78-year-old singer-songwriter, who was set to tour with Karla Bonoff. Though he played with Glenn Frey in a short-lived band called Longbranch […]
Song of the Day 9/17: Tito Jackson, “Love One Another”
Tito Jackson, the Jackson 5 guitarist whose name became a punchline, died the Sunday of a heart attack at age 70. Tito knew standup comedians used his name for cheap laughs. “I’ve always been the quietest member of the group, so people make jokes about me,” he said in a 2018 interview. “One of my […]
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