Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 5/6: Robert Hazard, “Escalator of Life”
Like most malls across the United States, North Wilmington’s Concord Mall has been struggling for years. Now a Philadelphia-area developer that specializes in repurposing moribund malls wants to buy it in hopes of turning it into a mixed-use property with a grocery store, fitness center and outdoor green space. Enclosed shopping malls had a good […]
Song of the Day 5/5: Liz Phair, “Cinco de Mayo”
Cinco de Mayo, like St. Patrick’s Day, is observed more in the United States than in the country it honors, and for much the same reason: Beer. The Mexican military victory over a French army has been celebrated in the U.S. since it happened, back in 1862, but it only broke into the wider culture […]
Song of the Day 5/4: David Allan Coe, “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)”
I suppose Satan stopped worrying that David Allen Coe would take over, because the cantankerous country singer and songwriter finally got to meet Old Nick last week when he – Coe, not Satan – died at age 86. Coe’s career contains a curious quirk – he wrote songs that topped the charts for other artists, […]
Song of the Day 5/3: Wilco, “Impossible Germany”
Donald Trump, in another fit of pique against another erstwhile NATO ally, abruptly announced that the U.S. will move 5,000 of its troops out of Germany, apparently because its prime minister pointed out that the U.S. is being humiliated by Iran. Naturally, Trump’s response is, “I can humiliate people too, better than they can!” The […]
Song of the Day 5/2: Dan Fogelberg, “Run for the Roses”
For decades, the first weekend in May has been circled on the calendars of Delaware’s horse racing fans. The Kentucky Derby is always run on the first Saturday of the month (pandemic years excepted), with Winterthur’s Point-to-Point races held the next day. Alas, Winterthur has put its steeplechase races on hiatus, perhaps permanently, but Churchill […]
Song of the Day 4/30: Steely Dan, “Any Major Dude Will Tell You”
As the breezy B-side to “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” the most successful single of Steely Dan’s career, “Any Major Dude” got some airplay and has long been a fan favorite, included on most of their greatest-hits compilations. The lyrics are elliptical, but one line stands out as especially puzzling: Have you ever seen a […]
Song of the Day 4/29: The Beatles, “I’ll Follow the Sun”
I knew the nation’s NIMBYs will use any argument to fight the scourge of wind farms. The most prominent excuses are that they kill birds (true, but in far fewer numbers than cats and skyscrapers) and they’re eyesores that lower property values (mostly false). But I didn’t realize there’s even a NIMBY sub-group that’s battling […]
Song of the Day 4/28: The Beau Brummels, “Laugh, Laugh”
Trump and his immigrant wife are insisting that ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel for joking that Melania had the “glow of an expectant widow.” They insist this was an incitement to violence. So the guy who says vicious stuff and then claims he was joking can’t recognize an actual joke when he hears one. A mean […]
Song of the Day 4/27: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, “Blinded By the Light”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Is “Blinded by the Light” a Bruce Springsteen song or a Manfred Mann song? Bruce wrote it in 1973 but people didn’t buy it. The song was an afterthought. He put it on his debut album only after the record company insisted. The British group Manfred Mann’s Earth Band recorded […]
Song of the Day 4/26: Nirvana, “Lithium”
H/t El Somnambulo’s Sunday magazine item about lithium mining. Rechargeable batteries weren’t on Kurt Cobain’s mind when he wrote this “Nevermind” track in 1990 – back then lithium was best known as a treatment for bipolar disorder. Cobain explained that the song’s protagonist has lost his wife and turned to Marx’s opiate, religion, to stave […]
Song of the Day 4/24: Spoon, “My Mathematical Mind”
Donald Trump, who likes to brag about going to Penn’s Wharton School, is obviously bad at math – how else could he go bankrupt running casinos? He has repeatedly demonstrated his innumeracy by proclaiming that drug prices have dropped by impossible percentages well in excess of 100%. The media have mostly given him a pass […]
Song of the Day 4/23: Dave Mason, “Only You Know and I Know”
Dave Mason, the British guitarist who cofounded the psychedelic band Traffic before embarking on a solo career, died Sunday at 79. Mason wrote some classic rock staples that were bigger hits for other singers. “Feelin’ Alright?” didn’t chart for Traffic, but it was a hit for Joe Cocker. “Only You Know and I Know” missed […]
Song of the Day 4/22: The Rainmakers, “Drinkin’ on the Job”
If Kash Patel didn’t want reporters to look into his drinking, maybe he shouldn’t have guzzled beer with the U.S. hockey team at the Olympics. It would have been a bad look anywhere outside Frat Row, but it made me long for the days when the FBI director had enough sense to not get photographed […]
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