Alby's Latest Posts
DL Open Thread Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021
Quote of the Day: The contract between a Trumpist politician and their voters runs a little something like, “I will enrich myself while exacerbating every problem that lands on my desk, but in exchange for the measurable decline in your quality of life, I will lie to your face about who’s to blame, allowing you […]
Song of the Day 1/30: Lana Del Rey, “Fuck It I Love You”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona I believe there are some hipsters out there who still haven’t gotten on the Lana Del Rey bandwagon. Sure, the wagon leads to some darkish film-noir kind of places, but that’s a good reason to hop on. The reluctant might still be thinking about her disastrous debut on “Saturday Night […]
Song of the Day 1/29: The Rolling Stones, “Jigsaw Puzzle”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Have you heard the news? This is National Puzzle Day. Alby, who usually fills this spot, would never embarrass himself by using National Puzzle Day as an excuse for a Song of the Day. On the other hand, he might if he knew he could get a two-fer out of […]
Song of the Day 1/28: Bonny Light Horseman, “Bonny Light Horseman”
Folk music has had either about a hundred revivals since the one in the ‘60s or it has never gone away. I vote for the latter. Styles seem to flow seamlessly from one to the other and before you know it folk music has a new sound. The flow has led to the American acts […]
Song of the Day 1/27: A-ha, “Take on Me”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona There’s a scene in the Oscar-winning movie “La La Land” where we see a musician noodling on a synthesizer in a band at a pool party. Played by Ryan Gosling, he’s really a sensitive jazz guy at heart, so we’re supposed to feel sorry for him stuck in this mess. […]
Song of the Day 1/26: Big Mama Thornton, “Hound Dog”
Editor’s note: Guest post by Nathan Arizona Many of Elvis Presley’s early hits were written and performed by black rhythm & blues artists. His first single, “That’s All Right Mama,” was written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup in 1946. Elvis already knew about Crudup and other black musicians. He had seen him perform (using a […]
Song of the Day 1/25: Gene Clark, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. Gene Clark was probably the most talented member of one of the most important bands of the 1960s, the Byrds. Though Roger McQuinn, who founded the band […]
Song of the Day 1/24: The Vaccines, “If You Wanna”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. The vaccine is finally here. The Vaccines have already been here a while, since their debut a decade ago. The post-punk indie guitar band from the UK […]
DL Open Thread Sunday 1/24/21
Delawareans who tried to get a dose of Covid vaccine on Saturday spent up to seven hours waiting in line, and many gave up before getting a shot. Republicans, like vampires, aren’t good at self-reflection, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that after about 24 hours of acting stunned, GOPers have decided not to rethink anything, […]
Song of the Day 1/23: Peter Cooper, “715 (For Hank Aaron)”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. The great slugger Henry Aaron died yesterday and the accolades are pouring in. Here’s a song about Hammerin’ Hank, who passed Babe Ruth’s career home run record […]
Song of the Day 1/18: The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”
Phil Spector, the groundbreaking record producer and paranoid murderer who died yesterday at age 81, made an indelible mark on the recording industry by inventing the Wall of Sound. It doesn’t sound that complicated — just turn everything up to 11, right? — but when Phil Spector built his wall, he had just two tracks […]
Song of the Day 1/17: The Circle Jerks, “When the Shit Hits the Fan”
Though the song was written about America under Reagan, its core message remains true today: We all gotta duck when the shit hits the fan. The Circle Jerks formed in 1979 when vocalist Keith Morris left Black Flag and guitarist Greg Hetson from Redd Kross joined him. They became a seminal LA punk band, cited […]
DL Open Thread 1/17/21: Delusional Dotard Delusional to the Last
I’m not holding my breath expecting America to come to grips with what it was, is and shall become, so I expect people to deny until death the fact that this was a planned — poorly planned, but planned nonetheless — attempt to steal the election, followed by a poorly planned coup when the theft […]
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