Song of the Day 11/10: Jarvis Cocker (as Tip-Top), “Aline”
I'm not a Wes Anderson buff, so I don't know if the hubbub surrounding "The French Dispatch" accompanies all his films. Or if every time he gets a guy to…
Song of the Day 11/9: The Clash, “Death or Glory”
So I'm talking the other night to a young millennial woman from London and during the conversation I tried to illustrate a point about someone going back on his stated…
Song of the Day 11/8: John Prine, “Long Monday”
It's been a long week. Time for a little John Prine. From "Fair and Square," the 2005 album he released after his bout with cancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NO2eI30Qhc
Song of the Day 11/5: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Can’t Let Go”
It took 14 years, but Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have finally recorded a follow-up to their "Raising Sand," the 2007 LP that won both Grammy and Americana awards. "Raise…
Song of the Day 11/4: Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin”
David Chase, creator of "The Sopranos," has at last cleared up any confusion about the series' controversial final scene, which aired more than 14 years ago. Though he once sort…
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity
This essay, by Italian economist Carlo Cipolla, has been around since 1976, but it remains fundamental to the understanding of human society and its defining characteristic, stupidity. Everyone should read…
Song of the Day 11/3: Five Man Electrical Band, “Signs”
Before I left America, I noticed that most stores, and virtually every restaurant, had a "help wanted" sign in the window. The situation is so dire, some internet wag noted,…
Song of the Day 11/2: The Reds, Pinks and Purples, “Last Summer in a Rented Room”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Glenn Donaldson works hard to craft the blend of guitar jangle and atmospheric dream pop that makes his band, the Reds, Pinks and Purples, sound…
Song of the Day 11/1: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, “Mr. Blue Sky”
h/t Jason330 When the latest performance by the Muppet house band debuted Oct. 23 in a YouTube streaming event called "Dear Earth," devoted to celebrating the only planet known to…
Song of the Day 10/31: The Strangeloves, “I Want Candy”
Happy Halloween. Were you expecting "Monster Mash"? There's a good reason this song is built around the "Bo Diddley beat" -- it started out as a cover of "Bo Diddley,"…
Song of the Day 10/30: Lorde, “Royals”
I'll wrap up my songs-inspired-by-photos week with a connection nobody saw coming. When Lorde's 2013 song made her the youngest person to ever have a No. 1 single, most people…
Song of the Day 10/29: Billie Holiday, “Strange Fruit”
The photograph that inspired the song Time magazine named the No. 1 song of the 20th century was taken on Aug. 7, 1930. The lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram…
Song of the Day 10/28: The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”
"A Day in the Life" wasn't directly inspired by this photograph of Tara Browne's Lotus, which appeared in London newspapers on Dec. 19, 1966, the day after the Guinness brewery…