Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 10/2: Tom Lehrer, “I Got It From Agnes”
For a hoax, this coronavirus sure gets around. This is how. Satirist Tom Lehrer, a child prodigy who graduated from Harvard at age 18, tickled the intellectual crowd with his ditties throughout the 1950s and early ’60s before retiring from public performances so he could concentrate on his academic career; he taught both mathematics and […]
Song of the Day 10/1: Mac Davis, “It’s Hard to Be Humble”
Mac Davis, who parlayed his songwriting and amiable personality into a recording career and his own TV variety show, died Tuesday at age 78. His best composition is probably “In the Ghetto,” one of several Davis songs that became hits for Elvis Presley, but he had a string of hits himself in the 1970s with […]
DL is Down – Provisional Open Thread
The site is broken.
We are looking into it. It is probably my fault (jason330). If the site was a car, it would be a car I got in 10 years ago, drove everyday and never checked the oil. I hope it can be saved because there is great reporting from El Som, Alby and others locked in the archives.
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– Trump has Covid. Not shocked. God (or whatever) will not be mocked.
Song of the Day 9/30: Third Eye Blind, “Semi-Charmed Life”
I didn’t watch the debate — masochism has its limits — but a few clips made it pretty clear that the mothafucka was cranked to the gills. Word is he snorts crushed Adderall, exactly the kind of prescription amphetamine I’d expect a wuss like Trump to do, though unlike people who actually studied in college, […]
Song of the Day 9/29: The Lemonheads, “It’s a Shame About Ray”
Somebody in the comments used this line the other day in reference to one-term state Rep. Ray Seigfried, who lost his primary earlier this month. It applies whether you’re pro- or anti-Seigfried — it’s either a shame he lost, or it’s a shame he was so graceless in defeat. The Lemonheads are one of the […]
Song of the Day 9/28: Sinéad O’Connor, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”
When Sinéad O’Connor ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul II at the end of a Saturday Night Live performance in 1992, she was trying to make the world aware of the moral rot at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church. She failed, and in the process destroyed what, until that moment, was […]
Song of the Day 9/27: Kurt Vile and John Prine, “How Lucky”
Philly native Kurt Vile has a new EP out, highlighted by this duet with one of his musical heroes, John Prine. They recorded it last year when Vile was in a Nashville studio. In a statement released with the song, Vile said, “The truth is John was my hero for a long time when he […]
Song of the Day 9/25: Patti Smith, “People Have the Power”
I’m looking to dispel the air of doomed gloom that pervades progressive spaces these days, so here’s an anthem by Patti Smith and Fred “Sonic” Smith from her 1988 LP “Dream of Life.” The tune has special resonance today, because U2 covered it on their 2015-16 tour — and at their Paris concert, they invited […]
Song of the Day 9/24: The Clash, “The Guns of Brixton”
Set aside all your anxiety about Trump’s assault on American democracy. If you think we’re headed for civil war and a breakdown of social order, the question becomes as simple as the one Paul Simonon asks here: When they kick at your front door, how you gonna come? Though on one level it’s a song […]
Wake Up, Worriers, You’re Being Played by Trump and the Media
The media bombardment is neverending. Trump is going to steal the election. Be afraid, be very afraid! Rachel Maddow intoned last night, “What will you do for your country when it needs you?” It’s time to defend American democracy, she said. She offered exactly zero ideas for what actual people should actually do. A headline […]
Song of the Day 9/23: Robert Hazard, “Change Reaction”
Forty years ago, Robert Hazard was the biggest thing on Philadelphia’s music scene. Hazard, born Robert Rimato to an operatic tenor who lived in Delaware County, played folk, country and even reggae before turning to electro-pop New Wave music in the late ’70s and assembling a backing band, the Heroes, who adopted the matching-suit-skinny-tie style […]
Song of the Day 9/22: Bruce Springsteen, “If I Was the Priest”
I mentioned the other day that Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming album will feature new recordings of three songs from his earliest back catalog that have never seen official release. This is, to a large extent, a case of scraping the barrel bottom. “If I Was the Priest,” “Song for Orphans” and “Janey Needs a Shooter” all […]
Hey, Chris Coons, the Journos Are Onto Your Game
Sen. Chris Coons said something in a Fox News appearance that caught the attention of William Saletan of Slate. Saletan tweeted: Sen. Coons (D) says he’ll appeal to his close relationships with Republicans: “I’m going to be working this weekend, this week, to reach across the aisle and see if I can’t persuade some friends […]
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