Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 12/6: The Four Tops, “It’s the Same Old Song”
This might be the most aptly titled song in the Motown catalog. The Four Tops were a decade into their career and had been through four record companies before joining Motown in 1963, where the Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and production team furnished them with their first hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving,” the next year. They […]
Song of the Day 12/5: The Jayhawks, “Blue”
The Minneapolis-based Jayhawks were forerunners of the folk/country/rock blend that was first known as alt-country before Americana became its generally accepted label. Despite critical acclaim they have never sold many records; their 2011 LP “Mockingbird Time,” which marked the return of founding singer/songwriter Mark Olsen, was the only time they cracked Billboard’s top 50 albums, […]
Song of the Day 12/3: Incubus, “Pardon Me”
I don’t give a crap either way if Hunter Biden goes to jail or whatever other punishment awaited him. He’s an entitled piece of shit who tried to leverage the family name into a lucrative living, so sorry, no sympathy here. And if you’re upset about his pardon because you’ve never liked the Bidens, fair […]
Song of the Day 11/28: John Lennon and Elton John, “Whatever Gets You Through the Night”
50 years ago today marked John Lennon’s last public concert appearance, with Elton John at New York’s Madison Square Garden – to honor a lost bet. “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” sprang from something Lennon heard Reverend Ike say on TV one night, and Lennon considered it a bit of a throwaway. When he […]
Song of the Day 11/26: The Rivingtons, “The Bird’s the Word”
Gotta make it quick today due to Thanksgiving prep, including picking up the bird and getting it brined, which made me think of “Surfin’ Bird,” the 1963 No. Billboard 4 hit by surf-rock Minnesotans the Trashmen. I never realized it was a cover of a song released earlier in 1963 by the Rivingtons, the doo-wop […]
Song of the Day 11/25: Boz Scaggs feat. Bonnie Raitt, “Hell to Pay”
Americans love horror stories, and Trump’s selection of a cabinet designed mainly to trigger the libs provides the media with plenty of them. As Boz Scaggs related in this blues tale, even if you buy a senator in Texas and a judge in New Orleans, there’s still hell to pay. This duet with Bonnie Raitt […]
Song of the Day 11/24: John Mellencamp, “American Fool”
“American Fool” is the name of John Mellencamp’s breakthrough 1982 album, the one that led off with “Hurts So Good” and “Jack and Diane,” the two biggest hits of his career. But in those pre-CD times there was only room for nine songs on the LP, so the album that sold 5 million copies and […]
Song of the Day 11/22: Was (Not Was), “11 MPH (Abe Zapp Ruder Version)”
A lot of music has been written about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In the immediate aftermath songs expressed the shock and grief that enveloped the nation, but within a few years they started to reflect the widespread belief that we weren’t being told the real story. These days more than two-thirds of Americans […]
Song of the Day 11/21: SSgt. Barry Sadler, “The Ballad of the Green Berets”
This one’s for George Frankel, the state senate candidate who wants to employ ex-Green Berets to keep order in high schools. “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” written by a Green Beret medic wounded in Vietnam, was released in January 1966; in the previous nine months U.S. troop presence in the country had increased from […]
Song of the Day 11/20: Donald Fagen, “I.G.Y.”
Yacht Rock might be the only music genre that got its name long after it had passed from prominence. Back when it was made, between the mid-’70s and mid-’80s, the music industry called it “adult contemporary.” Most people called it “soft rock,” which sounds oxymoronic, but so was the idea of “rock” music that rejected […]
Song of the Day 11/19: They Might Be Giants, “Don’t Let’s Start”
The title track to the 1986 debut album by They Might Be Giants is my go-to response to anyone who wants to talk to me about politics these days. To quote John and John, “D, world destruction, Over and overture, N do I need apostrophe T need this torture? … No one in this world […]
Song of the Day 11/18: Bob Mould, “It’s Too Late”
No rock singer/songwriter/guitarist has done more while being appreciated less than Bob Mould. Whether with Hüsker Dü, Sugar or solo, he has forged rage, despair and cynicism, alloyed with a dollop of hope, into music that’s spiky and aggressive yet still melodic. The perfectionism and gruffness that stood in the way of mainstream success also […]
Song of the Day 10/17: The Kinks, “You Really Got Me”
Record producer Shel Talmy died last week at age 87, and if the name is unfamiliar to you, the music he crafted isn’t. The earliest hits by the Kinks and the Who owe their tough, aggressive attitude to Talmy’s techniques and eye for talent, which he lent to scores of acts in the early days […]
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