Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 5/27: Richard Sherman, “Feed the Birds”
Richard Sherman, who died last week at 95, penned the lyrics to hundreds of Disney songs from 1960 to 1973 while he and his composer brother, Robert, were employed as staff songwriters for the studio. They churned out the songs for more than a dozen films, both animated and live-action, while also finding time to […]
DL Open Thread Monday, May 27, 2024
The Washington Post’s motto is “democracy dies in darkness.” It doesn’t say anything about dispelling it. You probably saw the story last week about Supreme Court justice Sam Alito flying an upside-down American flag outside his home. You would have read about it three years ago if the WaPo had decided to print it then, […]
Song of the Day 5/26: Stevie Wonder, “Too High”
There’s a reason “the dog ate my homework” was a plausible excuse, and had a better chance of working with teachers who owned dogs: Dogs will eat anything. Too picky for plain paper? Spill a little gravy on it. And so, in the age of legalized marijuana, veterinarians have seen a growing number of pet […]
Song of the Day 5/24: Amy Winehouse, “Love Is a Losing Game”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona We’ve heard a whole lot about Amy Winehouse’s troubled behavior before she died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at age 27. It sounds like we learn more than we need to about her personal relationships in the new biographical movie “Back to Black.” But you know what would good to […]
Song of the Day 5/23: Paul Simon, “Graceland”
For supermarket tabloids, Elvis is the gift that keeps on giving, even though he’s been dead for nearly 50 years. A headline the Weekly World News might have invented declared that Graceland, Presley’s Memphis mansion-turned-tourist attraction, was up for public auction. A finance company claimed Lisa Marie Presley died with an unpaid loan of $3.8 […]
Song of the Day 5/22: Pixies, “Monkey Gone to Heaven”
Theme music for the heat dome over Mexico that’s causing monkeys to fall dead from the trees. Black Francis wrote “Monkey Gone to Heaven” about the environment 35 years ago, before we even knew about global warming (thanks, Exxon!), so his examples of degradation are ocean dumping and the ozone layer. The latter part of […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Rehoboth Beach, the resort town of 1,100 year-round residents that gifted Delaware politics with Pete Schwartzkopf and Kathy McGuiness, is embroiled in a controversy that for once involves neither of them. The city, repeatedly turned down in its quest for a new city manager, hired a guy named Taylour Tedder on a pay-and-benefits package surpassed […]
Song of the Day 5/21: Randy Rainbow, “Forty-Five”
This is a weird coincidence. Just a couple of days after featuring “9 to 5” as Song of the Day, Randy Rainbow released a new parody song set to its melody. It’s a warning about the Previous Guy, No. 45, and a warning not to make him No. 47, but I’m concerned that it’s not […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, May 21, 2024
That Trump trial in New York is getting close to its conclusion, with all the plot twists the writers could think up. Michael Cohen revealed on cross-examination that he stole money from Trump, because of course he did, and a defense witness tried to stare down the judge, which did not go well. Oh well, […]
Song of the Day 5/20: King Willonius, “Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Body”
It’s not exactly life imitating art, more like reality imitating reality TV, but the Catfightin’ Congresswomen of Washington could be the hottest new show in the capital. In last week’s episode, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Domestic Longhair) told Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Abyssinian) that Crockett couldn’t see through her false eyelashes. Crockett responded by referencing a […]
DL Open Thread Monday, May 20, 2024
Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, was killed when his helicopter crashed. That should give conspiracy theorists plenty of grist, but analysts agree the effects will be internal, because he was seen as a likely future Supreme Leader. Gee, he seemed like such a swell guy. It turns out there were outside agitators. The Washington Post reported […]
Song of the Day 5/19: Dolly Parton, “9 to 5”
Dabney Coleman, who died last week at 92, was best known for playing arrogant, venal characters in movies and television, especially during the ’80s, when he starred in the sitcoms “Buffalo Bill” and “The Slap Maxwell Story” and the movies “Tootsie” and the one mentioned at the top of every obit, “9 to 5.” Though […]
Song of the Day 5/17: Childish Gambino, “Redbone”
Actor Donald Glover has been busy the last several years, notably by playing Lando Calrissian in a Star Wars prequel and starring in an Amazon Prime series, a remake of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” that Glover created himself. His hip-hop alter ego, Childish Gambino, had rarely surfaced after the unfortunately timed album dubbed “3.15.20” was […]
Recent Comments