Posts by Alby

In compiling my list of 10 cover songs for the WXPN countdown, I'm prioritizing versions that reimagine or redefine the first release. Sometimes that means taking the lyrical element more…

Every year WXPN solicits listener opinions for a "top 885" list. This year the subject is cover songs, a topic that eliminates less than half of all recorded music from…

A Trump-appointed federal judge put the kibosh on Trump's plan to send the National Guard, any national guard, to Portland. We'll see how long that lasts before the six SCOTUS…

Some celebrities don't know when to shut up. Author J.K. Rowling isn't the first billionaire superstar to destroy her reputation by airing views odious to the mainstream – hey there,…

With the federal government shut down, everything except crucial work is supposed to stop. Apparently work on Trump's turd of a White House ballroom qualifies as crucial, because it will…

There's been some speculation recently that Donald Trump's "advisers" (a more accurate term would be "manipulators") are feeding him a steady diet of fake videos to influence his "decisions" (a…

Thanks to the Saudis, comedy is no longer a laughing matter. The country's latest attempt to appear less odious is the currently running Riyadh Comedy festival, featuring a bunch of…

Anyone who thinks the Trump Era calls for protest songs by folk singers should check out Jesse Welles. The 32-year-old Arkansas native has been releasing pointedly snarky tunes about timely…

Guest post by Nathan Arizona Would Cole Porter name his band Prefab Sprout? Probably not. But Paddy McAloon, leader of that British pop-rock group, has drawn comparisons to Porter for…

Donald Trump, deep into the dementia that has stalked him for years, has declared Portland, Ore., a war zone, so he's sending in the troops. There's no evidence here on…

Looks like Big Cabinet caught Trump's ear, and those just-announced 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities are going to cost homebuilders and remodelers, not to mention homeowners, even…

The musician known as Yusuf/Cat Stevens was scheduled to kick off the American leg of his current tour in Philadelphia Oct. 2, but it seems the show is likely to…