Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 3/11: Roxy Music, “Virginia Plain”
People are still talking about Alabama Sen. Katie Britt’s disastrous State of the Union response, which seems to test the theory that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. I seem to remember Bobby Jindal had already disproved it back in 2009, when he was considered the GOP’s young, fresh, not-a-white-male face. All most people […]
DL Open Thread Monday, March 11, 2024
I realize that most opposition to immigration stems from tribalism and protectionism, but something anti-immigration warriors rarely appreciate is simple economics: More people equals more economic activity. That’s why the Congressional Budget Office estimates increased immigration will add $7 trillion, with a T, to the U.S. economy over the next decade. Trump’s vow to deport […]
Song of the Day 3/10: The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet
You can discover anything on the internet, just about. That’s why the online world’s inability to discover the name of this song or the musicians who recorded it makes it The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet. This much is known with 99% certainty: The synth-pop tune was recorded in 1984 by a young teen […]
Song of the Day 3/8: Elton John, “I’m Still Standing”
Joe Biden is yet another day older, but this is the rare day when that’s not the lead story about him. Even the mainstream media had to concede that the guy who delivered the State of the Union speech didn’t look or sound like the guy they’ve been describing for months. Elton John is five […]
Song of the Day 3/7: The Beatles, “Doctor Robert”
Dr. Feelgood the Candy Man, better known as former White House doctor Ronny Jackson, has been demoted by the Navy from retired admiral to retired captain for running a pill mill out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. during the Trump administration. The Pentagon inspector general found he drank and took drugs while on duty and created […]
Song of the Day 3/6: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, “I’m Broke”
This song is what the meeting between Donald Trump and Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago must have sounded like. Guitarist and singer Black Joe Lewis was a hot item back in 2009, when he broke out at Austin’s SXSW festival and released the album “Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!” which included this track. He’s released […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Trump and Biden both won most of the Super Tuesday delegates, but with enough hiccups to give the media something to talk about. Trump lost Vermont to Nikki Haley and picked up only about 75% of the GOP votes cast, while Biden lost American Samoa to some nobody from Baltimore. As a barometer, Samoa leaves […]
Song of the Day 3/5: Melbourne Ska Orchestra, “Get Smart”
Feeling down? I find that there’s nothing like a little ska revival music to brighten my mood. Today’s exhibit A: the Melbourne Ska Orchestra, an Aussie outfit that shows how well the genre takes to a big-band treatment. The band has been around for more than 20 years, and is part of a global ska […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, March 5, 2024
The Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump can stay on the ballot in all 50 states, but the supposedly unanimous decision actually wasn’t. This is how you introduce bananas into a republic. A growing chorus is calling for Sonia Sotomayor, who is 70 and in poor health, to retire now while the Senate remains in […]
DL Open Thread Monday, March 4, 2024
Dr. John Gartner, the Johns Hopkins psychologist who last week pointed out that what passes for Donnie Dotard’s mind is slipping fast, offers even more examples piled up in the intervening week. I’ve seen several articles claiming we’re going to miss Mitch McConnell when he’s gone, which is like saying we’ll miss Putin once he’s […]
Song of the Day 3/2: Brad Fiedel, “Terminator 2 Theme”
Anti-Putin Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was buried in Moscow on Friday, a ceremony that drew thousands of chanting spectators despite threats of arrests and heavy police presence. News reports mentioned that his coffin was lowered into the grave to the theme from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” “He thought ‘The Terminator 2’ was the best film […]
Song of the Day 3/1: Judy Street, “What”
England’s Northern Soul movement is a fertile field for soul music fans looking for songs they haven’t heard a thousand times. The genre took root around 1970 in northern England, where the taste for Motown’s classic mid-’60s period lingered into the funk era. The term was coined by a London record shop owner who told […]
Song of the Day 2/29: Lana Del Rey, “Blue Skies”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona What? Lana Del Rey in the news again? Go figure. And not just because she got knocked down in Taylor Swift’s private box during a post-game Super Bowl celebration. Karma? For a time she was wearing a loser San Francisco 49ers shirt. The new news is about what made her […]
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