Alby's Latest Posts
The Economy Won’t Go Back to ‘Normal’ Any Time Soon
Many conservatives seem to think that once we pass the peak of the pandemic, The Economy (Peace Be Upon It) will reopen and things will go back to “normal” so Trump can triumph. They fail to grasp that even once restrictions are lifted, a significant percentage of people will not go back to life as […]
Song of the Day 4/7: Stevie Wonder, “Superstition”
We didn’t realize it when this song was released on “Talking Book” in 1972, but it was warning us about the coronavirus. Don’t believe me? Then explain these lyrics, which sound like a direct rebuke of Donald Trump’s magical thinking about covid-19 cures: Very superstitious, wash your face and hands Rid me of the problems, […]
Song of the Day 4/6: Uncle Tupelo, “We’ve Been Had”
From the last album before their breakup, back when Jeff Tweedy was still in touch with his punk roots. This was mostly a swipe at their old record company, which wanted the band to emulate Nirvana and refused to pay out royalties they were owed. But it does include this verse: Republicans and Democrats can’t […]
Song of the Day 4/5: Broadway Cast of “Assassins,” “Everybody’s Got the Right”
Offered without comment.
Song of the Day 4/3: Bill Withers, “Lean on Me”
Amid the COVID-19 catastrophe, deaths from other causes continue apace. Bill Withers, 81, died Monday in Los Angeles of heart failure, apparently unrelated to the coronavirus. Withers was a working stiff who rose to sudden stardom in 1971 when”Ain’t No Sunshine,” the B-side to his first single, stormed up the singles charts. His string of […]
Song of the Day 4/2: Adam Schlesinger and Mike Viola, “That Thing You Do”
To properly honor Adam Schlesinger, the most prolific pop tunesmith of his generation, would take a month or two of Songs of the Day. He wrote dozens for his best-known project, Fountains of Wayne, which he co-founded with college friend Chris Collingwood, but that was just one facet of his brilliance. He had another band, […]
Song of the Day 4/1: The Arrows, “I Love Rock and Roll”
If it weren’t for Joan Jett, Alan Merrill and the Arrows would be unknown in America instead of just obscure. But they were so big in Britain in the mid-’70s they hosted their own TV show, which is where this clip comes from. The song wasn’t a hit for them — it was only released […]
Song of the Day 3/31: Joe Diffie, “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)”
Joe Diffie, who died of the coronavirus Sunday at age 61, was a reliable Nashville hitmaker in the early ’90s, placing more than a dozen songs in the Top 10 of the country charts; five of them went to No. 1. This one featured a video that owes a lot to “Weekend at Bernie’s,” and […]
Song of the Day 3/30: Kasey Musgraves, “Burn One With John Prine”
Kasey Musgraves says this was one of the first songs she wrote when she moved to Nashville to pursue her career in country music. It’s a crowd favorite in concert, but she’s never officially released it and the chances of her doing so decreased when she recycled the couplet about piercing her nose in another […]
Coronavirus Haiku
One of my wife’s Facebook groups is having a coronavirus haiku contest. These were my contributions. Feel free to add your own in the comments. Orange man tells us Ventilators are coming It’s another lie Toilet paper now Is like a precious metal, Worth much more than gold Trump applauds himself Synchophantic experts smile Fauci […]
Song of the Day 3/28: Widespread Panic, “Hope in a Hopeless World”
Listening to Trump pat himself on the back every day got you down? Here’s a little pick-me-up to remind you that you can find hope in a hopeless world if you know where to look. Jam band Widespread Panic recorded this in 1997. The song was co-written by Philadelphia-born singer-songwriter Phil Roy during a period […]
Why Did WDEL Lay Off Allan Loudell?
Jason 330 asked, “Is the business really that hand to mouth, or is this crisis a handy pretext?” Broadcast radio has the same problem newspapers do — it’s a bygone medium. It hasn’t lost listeners as fast as newspapers lost their readers, but its advertising base has shrunk for the same basic reason: Local businesses […]
Song of the Day 3/27: Bob Dylan, “Murder Most Foul”
Bob Dylan, without advance notice, dropped an original song at midnight last night, his first in eight years, along with this message: “Greetings to my fans and followers with gratitude for all your support and loyalty across the years. This is an unreleased song we recorded a while back that you might find interesting. Stay […]
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