Posts by Alby

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.…

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…

Before ELP released this track in 1970, the Moog synthesizer was a wall-sized curiosity used mainly for sound effects. Keith Emerson changed all that in about 32 bars, starting during…

In a way, this 1968 anti-war song was evidence that public opinion had turned against American involvement in Vietnam. Eric Burdon and the Animals didn't exactly have a peace-loving hippie…

Kanye West is raising hackles these days not just for supporting Donald Trump but Jesus as well, revealing a glaring hole in his understanding of both, but it's not as…

I probably feature John Prine more often that some people would like, but this is the rare Prine tune that he didn't write himself, though he did sign its composer,…

The glam rock years were strange ones, kids. Bands, particularly in England, put on makeup, glitter and androgynous outfits in emulation of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. Most of them took…

A lot of people think this is the Rolling Stones, but it's actually Jagger backed by a band of studio musicians for his star turn in the film "Performance." That's…

Python Lee Jackson was an Australian band, founded in 1965, that tried its luck in England in 1969. Despite catching the attention of producer John Peel, they didn't make it…

The only song by this quintessential San Francisco psychedelic outfit to make the singles charts, this Santana-sounding 1970 cut talks about something in short supply these days in fire-ravaged California.…