Alby
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Song of the Day 4/25: Mary J. Blige and U2, “One”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame long since stretched the definition of “rock and roll” to include other genres, especially hip-hop and R&B, which often draws scorn from rock purists, myself included (Janet Jackson? Really?) Mary J. Blige, though, is OK by me, because unlike last year’s honoree Dolly Parton, she has at least […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, April 24, 2024
If you were wondering what kind of coverage the News Journal would give the race for governor, today’s paper is discouraging. They’ve got a story touting – I kid you not – her endorsement by a bunch of lieutenant governors of other states. Nowhere in the article does it point out that these people know […]
Song of the Day 4/23: Foreigner, “Urgent”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2024 the other day, and the list of inductees was greeted not with the usual griping but rather a giant, collective “meh.” I blame this on Foreigner. See what I mean? You probably went “meh” at the mention of their name, because that’s always […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The media desperately wants Trump on Trial to be as big a ratings hit as O.J. was, but the dynamics are different. O.J. had a dream team of lawyers, so he kept his mouth shut and tried to look amiable. Trump’s lawyers are not the stuff of dreams, and their client is constitutionally incapable of […]
Song of the Day 4/22: Simon & Garfunkel, “April Come She Will”
Paul Simon learned a lot on his trips to England in 1965. He learned how to fingerpick, for one thing. He learned that British folk audiences, unlike those in Greenwich Village, appreciated his music. And he learned the nursery rhyme about the cuckoo that he turned into this song, which appeared on both Simon’s UK-only […]
DL Open Thread Monday, April 22, 2024
Republicans stay in disarray, most recently over Marjorie Taylor Greene’s unabashed Russia-humping. Even the New York Post called her Moscow Marjorie on its cover. Meanwhile Texas GOP rep Tony Gonzales called out his party’s “scumbags” and said Matt Gaetz paid minors for sex. I’m going out on a limb here, but I think that even […]
Song of the Day 4/21: Richard Thompson, “I Can’t Wake Up to Save My Life”
Donald Trump is said to be furious that reporters are reporting on his napping in court. I wonder what he’s dreaming about when he nods off. I hope it’s nightmares about Stormy Daniels, maybe along the lines of what Richard Thompson describes in this tune from “Mirror Blue,” his 1994 follow-up to “Rumour and Sigh.” […]
Song of the Day 4/20: Fraternity of Man, “Don’t Bogart That Joint”
Another April 20 and Delaware continues to creep slowly towards making recreational marijuana not just legal but obtainable. Don’t bogart that process! The Fraternity of Man was a psychedelic blues band formed by members of Lowell George’s group The Factory after he left for the Mothers of Invention. This slow country number about dope-smoking etiquette, […]
DL Open Thread Saturday, April 20, 2024
Nobody seems to know who got House speaker Moses/Mike Johnson to change his mind – some say it was fundies from The Family who don’t like Putin’s religious intolerance – but it looks like that foreign aid for Ukraine is going to pass the House, even though it might cost Johnson his gavel. The Space […]
Song of the Day 4/19: Allman Brothers Band, “Jessica”
Duane and Gregg got top billing, but the Allman Brothers wouldn’t have become a household name, or forged a sound that spawned an entire genre of rock, without the contributions of Dickey Betts, who died yesterday at age 80. He wrote many of their signature songs, including their only Top 10 hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” and […]
Song of the Day 4/17: Doris Troy, “Just One Look”
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman made the news for claiming that Donald Trump, once he woke up, subjected her to his mighty stare as retribution for reporting that Don Snorleone had nodded off. lShe lived to tell the tale, but for how long? Doris Troy was a songwriter and backup singer for Atlantic Records […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Jury selection continues in Trump’s criminal trial in New York. It could take forever to find 12 sentient beings who live, breathe and haven’t concluded that Trump is a piece of shit. You think it’s been a wet spring in Delaware? Yesterday in Dubai 5 inches of rain – more than the desert city averages […]
Song of the Day 4/16: Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)”
John Oates, who’s headlining this year’s newly resumed Philadelphia Folk Festival, is widely perceived as the junior partner in Hall & Oates because Daryl Hall sang lead on most of their ’80s hits. But it wasn’t always that way. In the duo’s early years in the ’70s, they split vocals and songwriting pretty much equally. […]
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