Alby's Latest Posts
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 […]
Song of the Day 1/1: Ferko String Band, “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers”
With luck, the cancellation of the Mummers Parade this year should forestall yet another blackface incident, but let’s face it — mummery’s roots are intertwined with minstrelsy’s, and not everybody is OK with that. Ferko String Band found that out in 2013 when the went with the theme “Bringin’ Back the Minstrel Days.” What they […]
Top Songs of the Day for 2020
I’m not a big fan of year-end lists, but everybody else seems to like them. Yossarian was right: If everybody else feels that way, then I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn’t I? These are the 2020 Songs of the Day that got the most hits: John Prine, “That’s How […]
Song of the Day 12/31: Dougie MacLean, “Old Lang Syne”
I imagine lots of people will ignore the risks to hold New Year’s Eve parties, though I doubt they’ll be as big or raucous as usual. But no matter how people celebrate the turning of the calendar, it’s quite likely they’ll mark the moment by singing, or at least listening to, the song most of […]
Song of the Day 12/30: Tony Rice, “Church Street Blues”
The deadly year of 2020 claimed yet another notable musician on Christmas Day when influential bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice died, age 69, at his North Carolina home — according to longtime friend and collaborator Ricky Skaggs, while he was making his morning coffee. Rice’s impeccable flat-picking influenced virtually every bluegrass flat-picker since his days with […]
Song of the Day 12/29: The Bee Gees, “Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)”
However you felt about them at the time, the new documentary “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” on HBO takes viewers on a roller-coaster ride tracking the course of their career. The brothers Gibb had three separate periods of success, each time followed by popular rejection that forced them to reinvent […]
Song of the Day 12/28: Petula Clark, “Downtown”
Given that there’s no sign yet that Nashville suicide bomber Anthony Quinn Warner left a suicide note, let alone a manifesto, people grasping for his motive have seized on the fact that he chose* this 1964 Petula Clark smash to blast over a loudspeaker in his RV between warnings to evacuate the area. Is there […]
Song of the Day 12/27: Incubus, “Pardon Me”
This one’s for all the criminals, creeps and Republicans — but I repeat myself — who want a last-minute pardon from Donnie Two Scoops. This is the song that exposed Incubus to a wide audience. The version on the “Make Yourself” LP, released in 1999, is an alt-metal squall of sound that hammers home the […]
Song of the Day 12/26: The Pretenders, “2000 Miles”
No, I am not extending the Christmas music season with this tune because, contrary to popular belief and usage, it isn’t a Christmas song, or wasn’t intended as one. Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde wrote it in 1983 during the recording of the band’s third LP, “Learning to Crawl,” their first after the deaths of bassist […]
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