Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 8/6: Stephen Stills, “4 + 20”
Back in the ’60s, when television was confined to three channels, if the counterculture wanted to confront the establishment, it had to do it in their arena. People we now remember as anti-establishment showed no qualms about taking their message to the masses via some of the squarest talk-show programming around — John and Yoko […]
Song of the Day 8/5: Chicago, “Dialogue (Part I & II)”
The progressive-vs.-moderate dichotomy is back in the news because Bernie Sanders ally Nina Turner lost an Ohio primary to a more moderate (and more local) woman who was backed by Hillary and made her support for Biden a major theme in her campaign. It seems fresh, but that dichotomy has existed as long as the […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021
I wonder if the media aren’t creating a false picture of who the anti-vax maskholes are, because apparently it’s not all the right-wingers: 90% of U.S. seniors are now vaccinated. So expect lots more articles like this one, about a Texas GOP official who mocked vaccines and masks on social media for months. He caught […]
Song of the Day 8/4: Cam Cole, “Mama”
I was watching the first season of “Ted Lasso,” the Jason Sudeikis comedy about an American football coach who’s hired to manage a British football squad. In one episode the owner of the team is hosting a benefit gala when the featured musical act, Robbie Williams (a big star in Britain), cancels at the last […]
Song of the Day 8/3: Hüsker Dü, “Love Is All Around” (Mary Tyler Moore theme)
Back in the days of punk rock, a lot of bands would emulate the Ramones by covering familiar songs at a breakneck tempo — think of the Clash covering “I Fought the Law,” or the Ataris’ take on Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.” Part of the fun was choosing songs totally incongruous with punk aesthetics, […]
Song of the Day 8/2: Foxes and Fossils, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”
This is the story of a local cover band that became YouTube famous. I first started seeing Foxes and Fossils in my feed a year or more ago, during the pandemic lockdown, probably because I listen to a good bit of vocal harmony stuff. I don’t recall clicking on anything, but lots of other people […]
Song of the Day 8/1: Los Lobos, “Native Son”
H/t Nathan Arizona Los Lobos just dropped a new album of cover songs, “Native Sons,” all by bands from Los Angeles, and not just obvious choices like the Chicano band Thee Midniters — the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Blasters and even Jackson Browne are represented. Los Lobos did write one original song for the […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021
Everyone acts surprised that Republicans “don’t believe in science,” but they shouldn’t be — conservatives have never bothered to support any of their arguments with data that go beyond anecdotes. To pick the most obvious example, they prattle on and on about trickle-down economics yet have never produced any evidence that it works — indeed, […]
Song of the Day 7/31: Lindsey Buckingham, “I Don’t Mind”
You can throw him out of the band he made successful, you can put him through emergency open-heart surgery, you can cancel his tour because COVID, but you can’t stop Lindsey Buckingham from writing, playing and recording hook-laden soft-rock tunes. “I Don’t Mind” is the lead single from his upcoming eponymous solo LP, and like […]
Song of the Day 7/30: Kansas, “Dust in the Wind”
Robby Steinhardt, second vocalist and violinist for the band Kansas, died last week of pancreatitis, aged 71. He wasn’t the group’s leader, but his violin was the most distinctive element of their prog-rock sound, and his wild mane was its most arresting visual feature. He also served as front man during their concerts, making the […]
Song of the Day 7/29: ZZ Top, “Tush”
Texas blues-rockers ZZ Top are undergoing their first personnel change in 51 years today because bassist and second lead vocalist Dusty Hill died in his sleep Tuesday. The band became famous in the early years of MTV, which debuted about the same time ZZ Top began to augment their power-trio boogie with new wave trappings. […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, July 29, 2021
I heard this story on WDEL the other day and almost drove off the road — a puff piece about yet another state fund to funnel money to corporations. The story actually praises Middletown’s Ken Branner for tossing zoning and planning out the window to attract business, and its whole tone proves is that the […]
Song of the Day 7/28: Allman Brothers Band, “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More”
It’s a good time to eat a peach — it’s the height of a better-than-average peach season. It’s also a good time to play “Eat a Peach,” the soundtrack of many a lazy Rehoboth Beach day back in the ’70s. The band, still basking in the success of “Live at Fillmore East,” was in the […]
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