Alby's Latest Posts
Delaware Has a Lot to Fear From Elizabeth Warren
Maybe you saw the story about CNBC shouter Jim Cramer saying Wall Street was freaking out about the possibility of a President Elizabeth Warren, claiming he’s heard a lot of people saying “She’s got to be stopped.” According to this article previewing tonight’s debate, it’s not just Wall Street that should be worried. She’s got […]
Song of the Day 9/11: Glen Campbell, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”
Green Day made its name with a pop-punk combination, starting with “Dookie” in 1994, but this simple ballad is probably Billie Joe Armstrong’s most lasting contribution to popular music. He wrote it at the same time as the songs for “Dookie,” in response to his girlfriend leaving him to move to Ecuador, but it didn’t […]
Song of the Day 9/10: The Human Beinz, “Nobody But Me”
The Human Beinz from Youngstown, Ohio, were a late-’60s one-hit wonder thanks to this rocked-up rendition of an all-but-forgotten Isley Brothers track. Originally the Premiers, the band changed its name to the Human Beingz, but Capitol Records dropped the g, reputedly to capitalize on the “be-in” movement of 1967, when the band’s first album was […]
Song of the Day 9/9: The Highwomen, “The Chain”
I’m treading in El Somnambulo territory here, as the LP by the country supergroup The Highwomen — formed as a sort of “answer group” to the ’80s supergroup the Highwaymen — dropped just last week. I don’t know modern country music tastes well enough to forecast whether an album by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren […]
Song of the Day 9/8: Pacific Gas & Electric, “Are You Ready?”
Gospel-soul fusion? Anything was possible back in 1970, when Pacific Gas & Electric formed in Los Angeles. The band’s most notable member was guitarist Glenn Schwartz, the original guitarist for the James Gang. He moved to Los Angeles in 1967, opening the door for Joe Walsh to join the band. This song, written by lead […]
Song of the Day 9/7: The Fireballs, “Bottle of Wine”
The Fireballs, originally Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs (named for the Jerry Lee Lewis song), are most famous for their 1963 No. 1 hit “Sugar Shack,” a tune that in retrospect seems to sum up popular music in the period between Buddy Holly’s death and the Beatles’ arrival in the U.S. The subsequent British Invasion […]
Song of the Day 9/6: Average White Band, “Pick Up the Pieces”
Everyone knows they’re white — it’s right there in the band name — but I ran into a millennial the other day who didn’t know they were Scottish. This video, from the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party in 1988, is as much visual proof as I could offer: Hamish Stuart rocking out in a kilt. […]
Close a Volunteer Fire Company? It Would Never Happen in Delaware
A volunteer fire company in Haverford, Pa., has been shut down by township authorities after failing to take action against a member who tried to join the Proud Boys. According to CBS-10CBS-3, which broke the story yesterday, officials got an anonymous tip that the Bon Air Fire Company’s vice president had tried to join the […]
Song of the Day 9/5: Neil Young, “Like a Hurricane”
Yeah, Dorian is just a flimsy excuse to play one of my favorite Neil Young songs. It was written in 1975, recorded for “American Stars and Bars” for release in 1977, and has been part of virtually every Neil Young concert ever since. Not many people have covered the tune, perhaps because it’s such a […]
Biden’s Memory Is As Bad As Trump’s
Fresh off a controversy about jumbling the details of a moving story about a war hero, Uncle Joe showed a more serious lapse yesterday, telling NPR that he came out against the Iraq War “immediately, that moment it started, I came out against the war at that moment.” As NPR’s Asma Khalid pointed out, that’s […]
Song of the Day 9/4: Zedd and Aloe Blacc, “Candyman”
Gene Wilder died last weekthree years ago last week, which sent me to YouTube for his greatest film clips, which led to “Candy Man” by Sammy Davis Jr., which led me to this modern remake. It gained wide play as an M&Ms commercial, which, given my lack of TV viewing, left it entirely new to […]
Song of the Day 9/3: Sheer Mag, “Hardly to Blame”
It’s been just about a year since I first featured this Philly band in Song of the Day, and they just released a new album, “A Distant Call,” that tops the Rolling Stone September Quick Hits list of “albums you need to know about now.” This one’s better produced — not slick, but not as […]
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