Alby's Latest Posts
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 […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, June 10, 2021
The week’s biggest story has been brought to us via Pro Publica, which got its hands on a trove of secret IRS files that show many famous billionaires pay a lower income tax rate than you, even if you earn $17,000 a year. David Cay Johnston at Raw Story provides a helpful synopsis that boils […]
Song of the Day 6/9: The Posies, “Solar Sister”
In popular memory, grunge is the rock genre that represents the ’90s, but that obscures the reality — the ’90s were rock’s last hurrah in large part because multiple genres still sold enough records (and there still were “records” to sell) to land recording contracts. One genre that thrived was power pop — well, thrived […]
Song of the Day 6/8: Gene Chandler, “Duke of Earl”
Americans seem fascinated with British royalty, but they don’t understand much about it. Consider, for example, the “Duke of Earl.” There is, of course, no such thing — in the hierarchy of British peerage, a duke is below only a prince, while an earl is a separate title two ranks lower. That fact did nothing […]
Song of the Day 6/7: Bing Crosby, “Swinging on a Star”
Does this song still turn up on children’s albums? When I was a kid, back in the Pleistocene, you heard it frequently because its sarcastic lyrics encourage little ones to go to school, exhibit good manners and not be a sneak. As an adult, I identify more with the last verse, especially when I read […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, June 6, 2021
The media must feel sheepish. For five years they treated every rally the Last Guy held as Big News, breathlessly reporting on how many of the slack-jawed gathered for his hatefests while rarely noting that, as a stump speaker, he’s dreadful — rambling, disjointed, frequently turning to his greatest hates for cheap applause. When it […]
Song of the Day 6/3: Paul McCartney, “Another Day”
When the Beatles broke up in 1970, fans blamed Yoko Ono first and foremost. But the band member who took the most heat was Paul McCartney, mostly because he was the first one to publicly announce his departure. Critics soon made him a whipping boy because his first solo album, a low-key, mostly acoustic set, […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, June 3, 2021
All of us who thought Biden for President was a dreadful mistake are settling down for a hearty meal of crow these days — Smilin’ Joe turns out to be the GOP’s bane, and for a very simple reason: They’re having a devil of a time demonizing him. The evidence comes from the hothouse world […]
Generic News Roundup (In Case of Ennui Break Glass)
I understand Jason330’s despair at trying to summarize the news lately. The media, as they did during the maladministration of the Last Guy, have fallen into a tiresome reliance on clickbait headlines in which only the proper nouns change. It’s OK, Jason. Anyone can fall victim to MOES — Media Over-Exposure Syndrome. So, recognizing that […]
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