Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 11/22: The Byrds, “He Was a Friend of Mine”
The assassination of John F. Kennedy was arguably the defining moment of the Boomer generation, and musicians responded with songs. Roger McGuinn — still Jim at the time — rewrote the lyrics to an old folk song that Bob Dylan had altered and recorded for his first album but did not use. It didn’t appear […]
Song of the Day 11/21: Gordon Lightfoot, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
When the ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975, it was among the worst maritime disasters in the history of the Great Lakes, but it’s a safe bet that few outside the shipping community would remember it today were it not for Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad commemorating the event. Rather incredibly, […]
Someone’s Gonna Hafta Explain This to Me, I’m Not Sure What It Means
The other day Michelle Malkin, a longtime player in RWNJ circles perhaps best known for founding Twitchy, was dropped from the roster of Young America’s Foundation (YAF), an organization that books conservative speakers at colleges. She got the boot for her outspoken support of a white supremacist YouTuber named Nick Fuentes. Malkin is the daughter […]
Song of the Day 11/20: Dawn Landes and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, “Dark Eyes”
One of Bob Dylan’s many quirks is that he periodically fails to appreciate some of his best material. He left “Farewell, Angelina” off “Bringin’ It All Back Home.” “Blind Willie McTell” would be an obscure demo if The Band hadn’t rescued it from oblivion. And he dashed off this apocalyptic lament in 1985 only because […]
Gaslighting Now Standard Procedure in Politics and Media
The Hill, once a respected Beltway publication that has devolved into an attention-seeking rag that employs conspiracy theorists as “journalists,” asked a bunch of Republican senators — none of the asswipe fire-breathers, mind you, just the few excuses for “reasonable” ones — if they would work with Joe Biden should he be elected president. Guess […]
Song of the Day 11/19: Argent, “Liar”
The theme song of the GOP’s defense of Trump. Most people know the Three Dog Night cover of the song, but this was the original version, written by Argent guitarist and lead singer Russ Ballard and released in 1970 on the band’s debut album. Released as a single, it sank without a trace. Three Dog […]
Joe Van Winkle: “No Legal Weed”
Doddering loudmouth Joe Biden threw off his Blue Hens lap blanket and escaped his rocking chair to hold a town hall in Las Vegas on Saturday, and the only headline he managed to generate made him seem older and further out of touch than we already reckoned. Vice’s headline captured the right amount of snark […]
Song of the Day 11/18: Steely Dan, “Pretzel Logic”
This choice was inspired by the GOP’s use of twisted logic to defend Trump, but as I listened again I noticed that Trump has been, in his inimitable way, touring the Southland in a traveling minstrel show. He’s dying to be a star and make them laugh — if you’ve ever seen a few minutes […]
Song of the Day 11/17: Jethro Tull, “Hymn 43”
Jethro Tull might hold the unwelcome distinction of being the best band not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (a contested title, to be sure). I thought they’d be a no-brainer on the strength of 1971’s “Aqualung” alone, though perhaps voters aren’t all that fond of prog rock that rages against religious hypocrisy, […]
Song of the Day 11/16: The Black Crowes, “She Talks to Angels”
It’s almost 30 years since the Black Crowes burst onto the scene with their “Shake Your Money Maker” LP. This ballad was the fourth single released from an album that eventually topped 5 million in sales, but it’s the one I hear the most on classic rock radio. Chris Robinson said it’s about a goth […]
Song of the Day 11/15: Fang Fang, “I’ve Got a Good Feeling”
With apologies to El Somnambulo for the new music, but I heard this song on WXPN the other day and now it’s stuck in my head. Fang Fang is a Philly band consisting of two married couples plus a bass player, and with this tune they’ve found a near-perfect mix of power pop hooks and […]
Song of the Day 11/14: XTC, “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead”
Despite the video’s clear references to John F. Kennedy’s assassination, “Peter Pumpkinhead” actually was inspired not by politics but by a jack o’lantern that songwriter Andy Partridge carved one Halloween. “It was probably the best jack-o-lantern I’d ever made,” he said. “I just could not bear to throw it away. So I just stuck it […]
Song of the Day 11/13: John Lennon, “Gimme Some Truth”
John Lennon saw through Republican politics before Watergate ever happened. This track from his “Imagine” album, released in 1971, finds him spitting fire about a lying government (mostly, at the time, about the war in Vietnam). I think it should be the theme song of the Trump impeachment hearings, used on every TV fadeout and […]
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