Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 6/23: Ohio Players, “Funky Worm”
Have you seen any stories about this invasive species of Asian “jumping” earthworms that’s tearing up forest land in the Midwest? Check the link and prepared to be creeped out. But do it while you listen to the Ohio Players’ first charting single, from their 1973 LP “Pleasure.” It was a No. 1 R&B hit, […]
Song of the Day 6/21: Blue Cheer, “Summertime Blues”
The year: 1968. The place: San Francisco, home to the blues-rock hybrid that came to be known as psychedelic or acid rock. The band: Blue Cheer, named for one of Owsley Stanley’s LSD recipes. The song: “Summertime Blues,” the biggest hit (Billboard No. 8, 1958) for rockabilly pioneer Eddie Cochran, who had a knack for […]
Song of the Day 6/20: Nat King Cole, “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer”
Has there ever been a summer better suited to nostalgia than this one? After the Year Without a Summer, people are going to appreciate every little pleasure a good bit more. Nat King Cole was more TV star than singer by the time this jolly number reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1963. […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, June 20, 2021
Bipartisan Boy, in his secret identity as mild-mannered Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, has used his progressivism-fighting powers to issue a press release, co-signed by nine other Democrats and 10 Republicans, informing the world that they don’t need no stinkin’ tax increases. You know, those onerous Biden tax proposals that would increase taxes on those earning […]
Song of the Day 6/18: Bowling for Soup feat. Hanson, “Where’s the Love”
How’s this for postmodernism in practice: A punk-pop band popular in the ’00s covers a hit by a ’90s boy band, gets them to sing back-up on the single, then sets the whole thing to a video featuring animation in the ’70s style of “Scooby Doo.” Bowling for Soup’s sense of humor always distinguished them […]
Song of the Day 6/17: Boz Scaggs, “We Were Always Sweethearts”
This one’s for El Somnambulo, the biggest Boz Scaggs fan I know — and not just of the “Silk Degrees” tunes that remain in classic-rock rotation today. This song led off 1971’s “Moments,” Scaggs’ second solo album after leaving the Steve Miller Band, but it was his first-ever single. You’d think its Latin rhythm and […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, June 17, 2021
The Intercept got ahold of a Zoom call between West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and a centrist money-dispensing outfit called No Labels — founded by ex-Sen. Joe Lieberman — in which Manchin reveals his true feelings about filibuster reform, among other things. Most noteworthy to me was Manchin’s begging these donors to help him find […]
Why Do Americans Claim to Love Bipartisanship?
Spineless Democrats cling to bipartisanship the way Cletus and Lurleen cling to guns and religion, and for a simple reason: In every poll, overwhelming majorities, regardless of political affiliation, claim to support bipartisanship. Here’s a recent example. Why do so many people support the concept? For another simple reason: The question is loaded. Notice the […]
Song of the Day 6/16: Steve Miller Band, “Space Cowboy”
Jason330 posted a photo of Jeff Bezos’ mighty Space Dildo the other day, which drove home the fact that we’re now in the age of the space cowboys — not real cowboys, just play-acting rich guys with egos as big as their dreams. Beats Disneyland, I guess. This song dates back to the original Steve […]
Song of the Day 6/15: Lisa Loeb, “Stay (I MIssed You)”
Using popular hits in TV ads is nothing new, but I’m frequently surprised at the songs that turn up in commercials. This tune, for example, an inescapable hit in 1994, and singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb are now peddling car insurance for Geico. The connection to car insurance is tenuous — Loeb sings the song’s first line […]
Song of the Day 6/13: The Band, “Up on Cripple Creek”
For no other reason than this video from the Ed Sullivan Show of Nov. 2, 1969, popped up on my YouTube feed. “Up on Cripple Creek” had just been released as a single, with what’s clearly a video, not a live performance, to promote it. The song was a mainstay of The Band’s concerts, and […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, June 13, 2021
Delawareans should do a slow burn every time the national media call out Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for siding with Republicans. Everyone knows that another handful of Democratic senators share their not-so-progressive leanings, but most represent either red state or states with strong, functioning Republican parties. Only Delaware has two Democratic senators who both […]
Song of the Day 6/10: Cab Calloway, “The Reefer Man”
With Delaware lawmakers debating a marijuana legalization bill, it seems worthwhile to remind them that cannabis wasn’t always illegal, and its effects weren’t considered dangerous until a wave of refugees from the Mexican Revolution in the 1920s prompted anti-immigrant forces to agitate against the “marihuana” they brought with them. When Cab Calloway, a guy whose […]
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