Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 6/26: The Cowsills, “Indian Lake”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona The Cowsills knew you could beat the summer heat down at “Indian Lake,” where “you can swim in the cove, have a snack in the grove/Or you can rent a canoe.” But when they recorded “Indian Lake” in 1968 they had no idea they would become the model for a […]
Song of the Day 6/25: Bobby Sherman, “Easy Come Easy Go”
It seems like most child stars have a hard time adjusting to adult life – Justin Bieber is the latest example – but maybe that’s because we don’t hear much about the well-adjusted ones. Bobby Sherman, who died at age 81 yesterday, was in his mid-20s when he became a pin-up heartthrob for the Tiger […]
Song of the Day 6/24: The Supremes, “Stop! In the Name of Love”
When is a cease-fire not a cease-fire? When it’s a Trump CeaseFire™! Here’s how you know it’s not a regular cease-fire, the kind where the warring parties have already agreed to it: It’s announced on social media instead of through official channels, and it’s announced by Trump himself. Yet media framing is that the countries […]
Song of the Day 6/23: Pat Benatar, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
Iran’s retaliation wasn’t long in coming, with missile attacks on U.S. bases in Qatar and Iraq. Because most of the people in the Trump administration like to play tough guy – the men are men, the women are men and the dogs are nervous – their attitude is embodied by Pat Benetar’s breakthrough hit. “Hit Me,” […]
Song of the Day 6/22: Black Sabbath, “War Pigs”
Let’s state right up front that the only thing Donald Trump knows about war is how to avoid serving in one, so he has no idea what form the blowback from dropping bombs on Iran might take. He’s already every other kind of pig, so he might as well add “war pig” to his CV. […]
DL Open Thread Saturday, June 21, 2025
Is it war yet? More to the point, is it our war yet? Pundits are sucking their thumbs extra-hard trying to figure out if and when Trump will join the Israel-Iran missile-exchange program, but most fail to consider the question, “What would an unimaginative reality-show host do?” They’d do exactly what Trump is doing – […]
Song of the Day 6/20: Kool and the Gang, “Summer Madness”
For roughly 90% of the human population, this will be the longest day of 2025, marking the start of astronomical summer. The atmosphere above Delaware will drive home the point next week, when temperatures are expected to tickle 100° with humidity to make it feel worse. When it’s that hot, you want something that will […]
Song of the Day 6/19: Kim Weston, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
I was shocked to learn this morning that Juneteenth is still being celebrated. With everything that doesn’t code as white and male under attack, I assumed Trump had done away with it, too. But no, despite insisting we rename Veterans Day, he hasn’t said a word about Juneteenth and couldn’t executive-order it away even if […]
Song of the Day 6/18: Vince Vance and the Valiants, “Bomb Iran”
I’m old enough to remember when John McCain caused a stir on the campaign trail in 2007 when someone asked about his stance on Iran and he jokingly sang “bomb, bomb, bomb” to the tune of “Barbara Ann”. Skip ahead 18 years and that joke is about to become official policy. The gag was an […]
Song of the Day 6/17: Paul Simon, “My Professional Opinion”
Add Paul Simon to the long list of musicians whose opening farewell did not mean goodbye. Now 83, Simon is on a 20-city tour of small venues performing two-set concerts, with multiple shows in each city to ease the strain of touring. The second set features his old songs, both hits and deep cuts. The […]
Song of the Day 6/16: Harry Richman, “I Love a Parade”
You know who doesn’t love a parade? Donald Trump. After going to all the trouble and expense of making it the centerpiece of a big, beautiful birthday celebration, he sulked through the whole thing. You can hardly blame him – it was a dull, low-energy affair that looked like it bored even the participants. For […]
Song of the Day 6/14: Elton John, “The King Must Die”
Political assassination has a long history in human affairs. Bernie Taupin wrote the lyric in 1969, the year after the MLK and RFK murders (John always wrote to Taupin’s lyrics, often paring them down from the original). The political climate obviously put to mind Shakespeare’s “MacBeth” and “Julius Caesar.” It was the closing track on […]
Song of the Day 6/13: Brian Wilson, “Caroline, No”
Brian Wilson’s musical genius was not matched by a way with words – he almost always co-wrote with a lyricist. For “Pet Sounds” he wanted to move beyond the teen-oriented tunes he composed with Mike Love, so he chose a new writing partner, a 26-year-old ad-jingle writer named Tony Asher. Stories of how they met […]
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