Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 6/21: Yes, “Your Move/All Good People”
A message slipped into this chess metaphor was as close to political as Yes ever got. If you only heard it on AM radio when it was released as a single in 1971, you could easily miss the “Give Peace a Chance” quote in the background vocals (according to Jon Anderson, the song is actually […]
Kerri Evelyn Harris Says What No Other Delaware Democrat Dares
Kerri Evelyn Harris joined scores of black politicians in condemning Joe Biden’s inarticulate-at-best remarks about getting along with segregationist senators early in his career. She told the Huffington Post, “That comment really took me back. It shows how removed he is at this moment of rising racial tensions that are coming back not unlike during […]
News That Isn’t About Trump
Hard as it may be to believe, or find evidence of in our media, things occur in the nation and world that have nothing to do with the marmalade menace, or Americans’ obsession with him. Just look at these fine news items from today alone: Experts find flesh-eating bacteria in Delaware Bay: A study by […]
Song of the Day 6/20: Neil Young, “Let’s Impeach the President”
Neil Young wrote and recorded his 2006 “Living With War” album in 10 days, and it often sounds like it. Granted, this isn’t a very good song if you remove the political content, but it serves as a timely reminded that Donald Trump is not the only Republican president of this century who deserves indictment […]
Song of the Day 6/19: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Kitty’s Back”
As an antidote to the new Bruce Springsteen album, a pleasant enough departure from his usual sound but about as energetic as a Perry Como record, here’s the song that might be the most rollicking rave-up in his catalog. There’s no debating that “The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle” represented the peak […]
Song of the Day 6/18: The Thorns, “No Blue Sky”
The Thorns was an interesting experiment. Solo artists Shawn Mullins, Pete Droge and Matthew Sweet began working together as a CS&N-style acoustic harmony group in 2002 for an album that turned out to be a one-off, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. The trio and backing band toured for almost a year behind the […]
Song of the Day 6/17: Al Kooper, “God Sheds His Grace on Thee”
Al Kooper is one of rock’s Zelig characters. His career started in the 1950s as a member of the Royal Teens, responsible for the single “Short Shorts.” In the 1960s he co-wrote “This Diamond Ring,” a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys, founded Blood, Sweat & Tears, took part in the famous “Super Session” […]
Song of the Day 6/16: New York Philharmonic Orchestra, “Fanfare for the Common Man”
This is probably the only piece of music in the classical canon inspired by a political speech. Henry A. Wallace, FDR’s third-term vice president, proclaimed in early 1942, “Some have spoken of the ‘American Century.’ I say that the century on which we are entering — the century which will come out of this war […]
Song of the Day 6/15: The James Gang, “Tend My Garden/Garden Gate”
Back when Midwestern power trios like Grand Funk Railroad ruled American rock, none was better than the classic lineup of the James Gang — Jim Fox on drums, Dale Peters on bass and Joe Walsh singing and playing guitar. Walsh, who of course went on to later fame solo and with the Eagles, wrote most […]
Song of the Day 6/14: Baltimora, “Tarzan Boy”
After that ’80s-sounding song yesterday, I got to wondering what would be the most ’80s song ever — the one that best embodied the sound of the decade, for good and ill. Online lists mostly look for the best ’80s songs, so you get hits by Michael Jackson and Madonna, and that Simple Minds tune […]
Song of the Day 6/13: Billy Ocean, “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going”
This song was born in the wrong decade. If it had been written and released before the mid-’70s it would be considered a Carolina beach music classic — it’s got that shag-shuffle beat. Instead Billy Ocean and his co-writers/producers went into the studio in the synth-drenched mid-’80s, dialed up the reverb on the drum track […]
Song of the Day 6/12: The Velvet Underground, “Rock & Roll”
The LP was named “Loaded” because the band’s new record company wanted an album “loaded with hits.” The result was the most pop-oriented set of Lou Reed’s career. Of course, none were actual Top 40 hits, but this one should have been. On the notes of interest front, that’s Doug Yule, not Mo Tucker, on […]
Song of the Day 6/11: Courtney Hadwin, “Hard to Handle”
This clip is from last year, but I didn’t know about it until the weekend, when it popped up on my YouTube feed because I had clicked on a different vocal-competition clip. I almost didn’t watch it because I avoid singing-contest shows in general, but like everybody else I was aware of Susan Boyle, the […]
Recent Comments