Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 7/15: Mutual of Alameda’s Wild Kingdom, “Big Bottom”
Noted keyboardist and philosopher Viv Savage, best known for his stint with iconic rock band Spinal Tap and his credo, “Have a good time all the time,” supposedly died in 1984. He was visiting the grave of drummer Mick Shrimpton, who exploded on stage, when a methane buildup caused the grave to explode, according to […]
Song of the Day 7/14: Paul Henreid and the cast of “Casablanca,” “La Marseillaise”
This originally ran on Bastille Day five years ago, during the COVID summer. I’m re-running it because I think we need it even more today. It’s not just a great national anthem, it’s a great Nazi-fighting anthem. And Paul Henreid, forever to be remembered as “Casablanca” Nazi-fighter Victor Laszlo, was the right man to sing […]
Song of the Day 7/13: Rebekah Del Rio, “Llorando”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona There are many things his fans like about David Lynch, but two songs in Spanish by singer Rebekah Del Rio are standout moments. We learned this weekend that she died a few weeks ago at 57, and her moody version of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” in the movie “Mulholland Drive” and […]
Song of the Day 7/12: The Blackbyrds, “Rock Creek Park”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Donald Byrd was a highly regarded mainstream jazz musician, “one of the finest hard-bop trumpeters,” says the website AllMusic. He was also one of the great jazz mentors. There was the time, for instance, when he let a young Herbie Hancock pick his brain when he was crashing on Byrd’s […]
Song of the Day 7/11: The Fania All-Stars, “Mi Gente”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona There was time when Latinos in this country could celebrate a song of ethnic pride and not worry that ICE agents were eavesdropping in the shadows. A time when 41,000 people could fill Yankee Stadium to hear “Mi Gente” and other salsa tunes without being rounded up at the exits. […]
Song of the Day 7/10: The Clique, “Superman”
There’s a new Superman movie out, and MAGAts are reacting in character: They’re pissed off. They’re talking about boycotting the film because its director, James Gunn, pointed out that Kal-El was an illegal immigrant. At the movie’s premiere he told Variety, “Yes, Superman is an immigrant, and yes, the people that we support in this […]
Song of the Day 7/9: The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, “Brandenburg”
H/t El Somnambulo The obituaries of composer Mark Snow that ran after he died last week all highlighted the most popular of his copious TV and movie music: The eerie, unsettling theme for the eerie, unsettling 1990s show “The X-Files.” That’s only fitting: The instrumental made him a one-hit wonder, at least in some countries. […]
Song of the Day 7/8: Dave and Phil Alvin, “Southern Flood Blues”
As the death count rises from the Texas flood, Republicans are doing what they do best – not offering thoughts and prayers, blaming other people for their fuck-ups. Ultimately, they call it an “act of God” without ever concluding that God must be an asshole, because he’s been killing innocent people with floods for a […]
Song of the Day 7/7: Billy Preston, “Nothing From Nothing”
Remember that Jeffrey Epstein client list that AG Pam Bondi said was sitting on her desk a few months ago? Guess what? It never existed! Pam Bondi said so just the other day, right after Elon Musk said it included Donald Trump’s name. Nope, she says now, no client list, no blackmail … and nobody […]
Song of the Day 7/5: Kyu Sakamoto, “Sukiyaki”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona You could hardly turn on Top 40 radio in 1963 without hearing a pretty, slightly melancholy pop song called “Sukiyaki.” But there was something different about it, and the title gave it away. For the first time, a song from Japan was soaring up the charts over here. The language […]
Song of the Day 7/4: Albert Brooks, “A Phone Call to Americans”
Albert Brooks released this 50 years ago on his comedy album “A Star Is Bought.” The LP’s concept was that it included a cut for each genre of radio station, from classical to FM rock to political call-in shows. This was the track intended for country stations, which were repositories for this sort of patriotic […]
Song of the Day 7/3: The Pyramid, “The Summer of Last Year”
A bright, sunshiny day at the start of a holiday weekend calls for some sunshine pop. Bet you’ve never heard this one before. The Pyramid was a short-lived surf-music trio that formed in London in 1966. “The Summer of Last Year,” released in January 1967, was their only recording, because singer Ian MacDonald – soon […]
Song of the Day 7/2: Fine Young Cannibals, “She Drives Me Crazy”
If you thought the Immigrants Are Eating Pets story was as gormless as Republican fantasies got, think again. You could tell Kristi Noem wasn’t right in the head when she didn’t just tell the story of killing her dog, she told it as if it were justifiable. But she outdid herself at a news conference […]
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