Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 9/29: Son Volt, “Livin’ in the USA”
Son Volt’s 10th LP, “Electro Melodier,” released in July, continues Jay Ferrar’s turn toward political lyrics since Trump’s election. The music, though, fits right in with the Americana/roots furrow he’s plowed his entire career. I haven’t noticed any big market for this sort of thing, but the album has gotten some of Farrar’s strongest reviews […]
Song of the Day 9/28: Bob Dylan, “Tomorrow Is a Long Time”
Bob Dylan, now 80 years old, yesterday announced the resumption of his Never Ending Tour, which took its longest break since 1984 because of the pandemic. This probably won’t make the setlist this year — I’m not sure Dylan’s reduced vocal flexibility would do it justice, and the woman he wrote it for is now […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021
You can’t build a shit nation like the USA unless you have a lot of pieces of shit to assemble into the final product. One giant piece of shit is, of course, the Previous Guy, but he had help from many, many shit humans all along the way. One of those shit humans, Mark Zuckerberg, […]
Song of the Day 9/25: Devo, “Satisfaction”
When Devo hit the mainstream in the late ’70s, they espoused a philosophy that seemed as odd and silly as their electronica-inspired music: devolution, the idea that humans had stopped evolving and were now regressing, or “devolving.” Taking a look at this country’s recent history — or even just Marjorie Taylor Greene — I don’t […]
Song of the Day 9/24: The Electric Prunes, “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)”
Judging by the hangover I definitely had too much of something yesterday, but I think it was Propofol. The Electric Prunes released this classic slice of psychedelia in late 1966. It was a moderate hit, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1967, but its place in rock history was cemented when […]
Song of the Day 9/23: The Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated”
By the time you’re reading this I will have gotten Joey Ramone’s wish, and I’ll be minus a gall bladder. Contrary to popular belief, the chorus isn’t about wanting pain relief. Joey wrote most of it in London on Christmas Day 1977 while the band was touring the UK. “we went over to England, and […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021
This has been obvious for a while now, but media people are starting to say it: Vaccine resistance by top Republicans is part of a strategy to fuck things up on purpose so Biden can’t succeed. They literally would destroy the country’s prosperity rather than share it with the Blah people. Thom Hartmann makes a […]
Song of the Day 9/21: Graham Parker, “You’ve Got to Be Kidding”
Judging by the visitors to our comments section today, I’m guessing it’s walkabout day at the RWNJ adult-care center. They apparently take themselves very seriously, but if they expect anyone else to take them seriously, well, they can take it up with Graham Parker. This tune was on Parker’s debut LP, “Howlin’ Wind,” released in […]
Song of the Day 9/19: Squeeze, “Tempted”
Writers lazily compare Squeeze’s Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but they worked more like a musical theater team — Difford wrote the lyrics, Tilbrook the music, like Bernie Taupin and Elton John. Tilbrook’s inventive melodies and genre-spanning compositions get most of the critical attention, but Difford could amaze in […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021
The conservative grift seems like such an easy dodge: Mouth a few idiotic slogans you didn’t even have to think up yourself, rake in the bucks (just ask Lauren Witzke). But there’s apparently some kind of secret code involved that prevents it from working for just anyone. For example, the crank yanker who organized a […]
Song of the Day 9/18: Nicki Minaj, “Anaconda”
Given that Trinidadian rapper/twerker Nicki Minaj is now an expert on the Covid vaccine’s effect on the male reproductive organs, I thought readers might appreciate a look at her credentials. I’m not sure what her major was in college, but immunology doesn’t appear to have been her field of advanced study. I do think, however, […]
Song of the Day 9/16: Tom Jones w/ CSN&Y, “Long Time Gone”
I confess that teenage me was not into watching “This Is Tom Jones,” the variety show the Welsh belter hosted from 1969 to 1971. I was too young to realize that though he found fame and fortune singing what came to be called Adult Contemporary, Jones was a helluva soul singer. Just listen to what […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021
You know how to tell your precious American democracy is already dead? When the guy who has to save it turns out to be Dan Quayle. Yes, that Dan Quayle. If you guessed that some House Democrats are balking at a $3.5 trillion spending bill because they’re in toss-up districts, Johnny will tell you all […]
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