Alby

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Song of the Day 9/21: Bob Mould, “Siberian Butterfly”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 21, 2020 1 Comment

Bob Mould released this a couple of week ago to preview his new album, “Blue Hearts,” due out Friday. It’s a throwback to his Hüsker Dü days — fast, loud and short. Bob’s look has changed, of course, but he’s the rare aging rocker who hasn’t mellowed.

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Song of the Day 9/20: Bruce Springsteen, “Letter to You”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 20, 2020 3 Comments

Bruce Springsteen dropped a new single Sept. 10, the title track to an upcoming album with the E Street Band recorded live in Springsteen’s home studio, no overdubs, in just five days last December. When I heard it the day it was released I was underwhelmed. It’s mid-tempo, soft-rocking and musically basic, nothing rousing or […]

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Song of the Day 9/19: AI/DC, “Great Balls”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 19, 2020 1 Comment

This is a few months old but I just found it the other day, and I still crack up when I listen to it. Back in May some YouTuber who goes by Funk Turkey fed all AC/DC’s lyrics into a computer program that spit out a “new” AC/DC song that, despite having total nonsense for […]

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Song of the Day 9/18: Twisted Sister, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment, International, National by on September 18, 2020 2 Comments

Let’s say you have two aging rock stars, one a legendary Irish R&B singer, the other a Long Island hair-metal has-been. If I told you one was a virulent anti-masker, which would you think was more likely to be the selfish asshole? If you picked Dee Snider of Twister Sister, sorry, we don’t even have […]

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Song of the Day 9/17: Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, “Those Were the Days”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment, National by on September 17, 2020 2 Comments

So I’m in the shower the other day and suddenly the theme song to “All in the Family” pops into my head, and it occurs to me that all the complaints Archie Bunker listed — welfare recipients, gender fluidity, crappy modern music — are pretty much the same complaints conservatives are whinging about today. They’re […]

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A Majority of Democratic Votes Were Not Cast at the Polls

Filed in Delaware by on September 16, 2020 2 Comments

Despite its Democratic majority, Delaware’s voting rules are among the most restrictive in the country. Perhaps that Democratic majority ought to rethink that — in yesterday’s Democratic senatorial primary, 52% of the votes were absentee ballots vs. 48% cast in person. Chris Coons was particularly dependent on early voting, with only 43% of his votes […]

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Song of the Day 9/16: Three Dog Night, “Celebrate”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 16, 2020 2 Comments

The best night for progressives in Delaware primary history is certainly something to celebrate. Sarah McBride, Marie Pinkney, Eric Morrison, Madinah Wilson-Anton, Larry Lambert — all of them are going to the celebrity ball. As Danny Hutton relates to this Soundstage audience in 1975, Three Dog Night used this as their closing number for several […]

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Song of the Day 9/15: Brandi Carlile, “Madman Across the Water”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 15, 2020 2 Comments

After Elton John released the LP named for this song in 1971, many Americans took to the theory that the title referenced Richard Nixon, a notion that bemused lyricist Bernie Taupin. “Back in the seventies, when people were saying that ‘Madman Across the Water’ was about Richard Nixon, I thought, That is genius. I could […]

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DL Open Thread Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020

Filed in Delaware, International, National, Open Thread by on September 15, 2020 7 Comments

It’s primary day. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to vote. If you don’t know your polling location, you can look it up here. A Trump-appointed federal judge has ruled that Pennsylvania’s shutdown of businesses and ban on large gatherings are unconstitutional. Gov. Tom Wolf plans to appeal. It’s clear Donald Trump got his notions […]

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Song of the Day 9/14: The A’s, “A Woman’s Got the Power”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment, National by on September 14, 2020 0 Comments

Trump keeps trying to insult Kamala Harris, and he looks weaker every time he does. Her presence on the Democratic Party ticket clearly infuriates him — what doesn’t, right? — so I think she should be front and center for the rest of the campaign. I also think she should adopt this as her campaign […]

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Song of the Day 9/13: Will Sheridan, “Set Fire to the Streets”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 13, 2020 1 Comment

Bear, Delaware, native Will Sheridan Jr. was a basketball star at Sanford School before playing at Villanova University from 2003 to 2007 and, briefly, as a pro in Italy. When he returned to the US he became a rapper and musician in New York City; his first LP, “G.I.A.N.T.,” was released in 2012. This track […]

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Notorious UD Climate Change Denier Hired for Top NOAA Post

Filed in Delaware, National by on September 13, 2020 12 Comments
Notorious UD Climate Change Denier Hired for Top NOAA Post

NPR is reporting that David LeGates, the University of Delaware geology geography professor who has made a career of denying that human activity has affected global climate, has been appointed to a top position at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by the Trump administration. Excerpts from the From the NPR story (emphasis mine): Legates has […]

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Song of the Day 9/12: Toots and the Maytals, “Do the Reggay”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 12, 2020 0 Comments

Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, the Jamaican vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who gave reggae music its name and wrote some of its classic tunes, including “Pressure Drop” and “Monkey Man,” died yesterday, apparently of complications of COVID-19. He was 78. The Maytals, led by Hibbert’s powerful voice, were already a popular vocal group when they released “Do the […]

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