Alby's Latest Posts
DL Open Thread Thursday, July 15, 2021
Nobody wants to hear it, but the pandemic is not over. Global cases rose last week for the first time in 10 weeks. We’re shaping up to have a truly nasty outbreak in the fall in Dumbfuckistan. Democrats — why can’t they do the right thing? Latest example: SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer, 82, who’s under […]
Song of the Day 7/14: Huey Lewis and the News, “I Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do”
Did you ever hear a song you liked by a band you never heard before, only to find that most of their music sounds nothing like the first song you heard? That was my experience with this tune, a minor hit for Huey Lewis and the News from their second LP (and first successful one) […]
Song of the Day 7/13: Archie Bell and the Drells, “Tighten Up”
Actor Charlie Robinson, best known for his role on “Night Court,” died Sunday, and many of his obituaries say he began his show-biz career as a singer with Archie Bell and the Drells, best known for their No. 1 hit from 1968. The song started as an instrumental vamp by the Drells’ backing group, the […]
Song of the Day 7/12: Elvis Costello, “Sneaky Feelings”
When Catbite covered this song from Elvis Costello’s debut album at the Arden Shady Grove Music Fest, El Somnambulo cited it as evidence of the Philly ska band’s good taste, and I certainly won’t disagree. “My Aim Is True” has lost some luster in recent years, but when it was released in 1977 it didn’t […]
Song of the Day 7/11: Deep Purple, “Space Truckin’ “
I have to say, I’m totally in favor of launching billionaires into space. I’m less on board with letting them come back. Ritchie Blackmore claims the riff was inspired by the “Batman” theme song. It closed the band’s 1972 “Machine Head” LP and, at an extended 20 minutes or so, the main portion of their […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, July 11, 2021
Before 2020, you’d have to look hard to find a bigger critic of Joe Biden than me. Listing all his flaws would take more time than you have, so I won’t, and you know them all anyway. But the one thing I never doubted he possessed was a keener-than-average sense of empathy — when my […]
Song of the Day 7/9: Garfunkel and Oates, “Both Sides Can Laugh”
Garfunkel and Oates, the stage personae of Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, carved out an odd niche for themselves. They work as comic actors — both had recurring roles on “The Big Bang Theory” — but their musical act is mostly too racy for TV (their three released LPs are titled, in the best Spinal […]
Crowdsourcing Request: Whither the Wingnuts of Yesteryear?
Until last month’s news about the legal difficulties of onetime Delaware GOP nuisance Mike Protack, I had no idea he had decamped to San Diego, which got me to wondering — whatever happened to some of the deluded fools who did so much to make the Delaware GOP a laughingstock throughout this century? A few […]
Song of the Day 7/8: Redbone, “Maggie”
Redbone is now remembered for its biggest hit, 1974’s “Come and Get Your Love,” but the band was not a one-hit wonder. Before turned to soft rock, the all-Native American group, formed by brothers Pat and Candido “Lolly” Vegas, was one of the funkiest bands in Los Angeles. The Vegas brothers started playing together in […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, July 8, 2021
Most people who want Donald Trump prosecuted for his life of crime felt disappointed when Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg was indicted for tax crimes over what were characterized as “fringe benefits.” Trump’s laywers certainly were thrilled when the media parroted their spin, but the truth is that it’s a lot more serious than the […]
Song of the Day 7/7: Elton John, “Philadelphia Freedom”
I think Philadelphia ought to adopt as its civic motto Pedicabo Circa et Invenire, which is online-translator-Latin for “Fuck Around and Find Out.” That’s what happened when a bunch of Texas-based white supremacists/fascists tried to stage a flash-mob march in Philadelphia on July 4. “They started engaging with citizens of Philadelphia, who were none too […]
Song of the Day 7/6: The Floaters, “Float On”
This out-of-left-field hit was one of the songs of the summer in 1977, mostly because of its slow-jam groove, not its silly lyrical conceit. I can’t be sure, but this song could have inspired Tim Meadows’ SNL sketches as Leon Phelps, the Ladies’ Man. It hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 and spent six […]
Song of the Day 7/5: Hippo Campus, “Way It Goes”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Indie pop-rock tends to get overshadowed these days, but the dudes abide. In this case in a band called Hippo Campus. They make brisk, melodic, bright and tight songs, leading with guitars and some sublime vocals. “Way It Goes” is a perfect example. In fact, it makes a good song […]
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