Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day: Richard Thompson, “Oops I Did It Again”
Congrats, Donnie Two Scoops, you’re the first guy to do that getting impeached thing again. When a magazine asked Richard Thompson for a list of the best popular songs of the past 1,000 years, he responded by releasing a live double LP of the tunes he selected. Many of them are old — really old […]
Delaware Should Restrict, or Better Yet Ban, Open Carry
Gun-humpers are prematurely ejaculating over their chance to carry guns to statehouses on Jan. 20, and they can do that for a very simple reason: Only three states ban all forms of openly carrying firearms. More than half the states, including Delaware, allow open carry with no restrictions at all. Other states place limits on […]
Song of the Day 1/11: The Rolling Stones, “Play With Fire”
Insurrectionists are finding out that their little cosplay coup has produced repercussions IRL. Should have listened to Mick and the boys, though I suppose this song, originally the B-side of “The Last Time,” isn’t a high-rotation song on classic rock radio. It should be. If it’s not a better song than “Angie,” at least its […]
Song of the Day 1/10: Randy Rainbow, “Sedition”
You have to wonder what Randy Rainbow’s next gig will be in the post-Trump era. Will he turn into Vaughn Meader, the JFK impersonator whose career evaporated after Kennedy’s assassination? Meader was actually a musician before his First Family-spoofing comedy album, and he returned to music after his fall from popularity. Rainbow was an aspiring […]
Song of the Day 1/9: Was (Not Was), “Dad I’m in Jail”
Lots of people who joined Vanilla Isis should be singing this one this morning, though maybe without the “Dad” — I read somewhere that the average age of the cosplay commandos is over 40. This is the last track from the 1982 Was (Not Was) LP “What Up, Dog?”
Song of the Day 1/8: Elton John, “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”
The Republican rush for the exits had generated plenty of people saying “I-never-thought” and “we-only-meant,” but one word has been conspicuously absent from any Republican I’ve heard. Guess what it is. The second single from John’s “Blue Moves” LP reached No. 6 in the U.S. (No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart). In 2002, British […]
Your Senior Senator Has Shit for Brains — Fuck You, Carper
Tom Carper was asked about impeaching Trump, as many elected Democrats have called for. Carper’s response: “The idea of taking the time to try to impeach him, the idea of trying to expel members of the House of Senate for their efforts to protect the President and continue this fiction … I just think we […]
Song of the Day 1/6: Old Crow Medicine Show, “Marching Through Georgia”
H/t Ben, for suggesting this as the song to listen to today. I’d like to hear it sung by a chorus led by Stacey Abrams, but I’m happy to settle for the Old Crow Medicine Show version, recorded for their 2013 LP “Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War.” It was written the […]
The 3 Kinds of Republicans
The modern iteration of the Republican Party has three sorts of office-holders: Ideologues, grifters/plutocrats and performance artists. Some are a blend the three strains, but one or another tendency usually wins out in a pinch. For example, Tom Cotton came out against the coup and hawkishly disagrees with Trump on defense — he’s an ideologue. […]
Song of the Day 1/5: Ray Charles, “Georgia on My Mind”
Hey, Georgia is on everyone’s mind today. Personally, I expect Democrats to be just as disappointed with the results as they were with the rest of 2020’s senate elections, but until the polls close this evening, there’s always hope. Hoagy Carmichael wrote this tune in 1930, but its wasn’t until Ray Charles sang it for […]
For Republicans, Trumpism vs. Democracy Is a No-Brainer
I keep seeing headlines that say Republicans have to choose between Trumpism or democracy. How silly. Republicans don’t believe in democracy. If they did, they would tailor their positions to appeal to a majority. They never have. They instead have, for 40 years, focused their efforts on disqualifying enough voters so they have a majority […]
Song of the Day 1/4: Gerry and the Pacemakers, “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying”
Gerry Marsden, lead singer and main songwriter for Merseybeat pioneers Gerry and the Pacemakers, died yesterday of a heart infection at age 78. Before Beatlemania became a worldwide phenomenon, Marsden and his mates — originally billed as the Mars Bars until the candy company objected — were the main rivals to the Fab Four. They […]
Song of the Day 1/2: Brittany Howard, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
So I’m minding my own business the other night, reading online while my wife watched TV, when the speakers swelled with someone singing what sounded like a gospel song. I looked up and there was Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes belting out this tear-jerker from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel,” better known to younger generations […]
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