Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 5/10: Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”
Tawny Kitaen, the model/actress who gained her greatest fame gyrating on the hood of a Jaguar in this Whitesnake video, died last week at age 59. Born Julie Kitaen, she began using “Tawny” by the time she was 12, and was a rock groupie at 14. She was living with Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby while […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, May 9, 2021
Former Gov. Pierre S. du Pont IV, known to all as Pete, died yesterday, age 86. Du Pont was elected governor in 1976 after the disastrous tenure of Sherman Tribbitt, and basically established the modern state of Delaware. He not only ushered in the legal usury that made Delaware a credit card capital, he pioneered […]
Song of the Day 5/8: Ringo Starr, “It Don’t Come Easy”
When the Beatles broke up, everyone knew that John, Paul and George would pursue solo careers. But what about Ringo? The guy Robert Christgau called “our representative on the Beatles” usually got one vocal turn per album and had scant songwriting experience. So people were surprised when this 1971 stand-alone single climbed the American charts, […]
Song of the Day 5/6: Steely Dan, “Don’t Take Me Alive”
Trying to determine the top five rock guitarists is like trying to establish the top five colors. It can only be done subjectively, and it begs the question — what does “best” mean? Do you base it on soloing, or is versatility important? Is speed crucial, or does melodic sense outweigh it? It’s a problem […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, May 6, 2021
Never, ever doubt who Republicans represent. Hint: It isn’t you, unless you own a business. The new GOP obsession is a “labor shortage,” which is what Republicans call it when businesses are forced to increase wages to find employees. Or, if they’re in control, as they are in Montana, they get their shitweasel governor to […]
Song of the Day 5/4: Rock Hall of Fame 2004 induction concert feat. Prince, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Did anyone in rock history rise to the big occasion better than Prince? His Super Bowl halftime show in the Miami rain stands as the best has come close to matching his concert in the Miami rain, and his blistering guitar solo at his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame left a […]
Protesters Target Home of National Embarrassment Chris Coons
Delawareans elect a lot of corporate tools who pretend to be Democrats, but of all the corporate tools, Sen. Chris Coons has become the corporate tooliest. In today’s more progressive Democratic Party, he stands out as a national embarrassment. See if you can follow this pathetic excuse for logic Coons trotted out in a speech […]
Song of the Day 5/3: Curtis Mayfield, “Blue Monday People”
Curtis Mayfield’s 1975 LP “There’s No Place Like America Today” seems to get more attention for its pointed cover image (slightly altered from a 1937 Margaret Bourke-White photo) than its content, which a lot of critics think is uneven, and some thought even worse; Robert Christgau gave it a D+, calling it “noodling” and “incoherent.” […]
DL Open Thread Sunday, May 2, 2021
What the fuck is wrong with Republicans? Seriously, these people are some kind of fucked up. Lest you think that maybe the Mormons, who didn’t much care for Trump, are any better than the rest of them, the 2,100 attendees at the Utah GOP convention last night booed Mitt Romney and called him a communist […]
Song of the Day 4/30: The Clash, “Rudie Can’t Fail”
They clearly weren’t singing about Giuliani, who doesn’t do much except fail. He did, however, use this tune as his intro song at campaign rallies when he ran for president in 2008. He failed at that, too. “London Calling” included a couple of Jamaican covers (“Revolution Rock,” “Wrong ‘Em Boyo”), but this one is a […]
Song of the Day 4/29: The Platters, “With This Ring”
Some days there’s no news peg for the song, and you just get whatever has become my latest earworm. In this case it’s this tune, now best known among Northern Soul aficionados after serving as a comeback song for The Platters in 1967. It reached No. 14 in Billboard, the group’s first Top 20 hit […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, April 29, 2021
Biden’s speech is getting good reviews — I thought I heard thunder last night, but it was just exploding Republican heads — but not so much for the rebuttal from South Carolina Sen. “Uncle Tim” Scott. He claims America is not a racist country. Hey Tim, the kapos at the Nazi death camps were Jews. […]
Song of the Day 4/27: Alan Price, “O Lucky Man”
We have entered a world where British tabloids now print the truth in order to dispel internet rumors. Take the case just this week of British musician Alan Price — don’t say “Alan who?” I’ll tell you in a moment — whose death briefly became a swiftly-spreading rumor on social media across the pond. He […]
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