Alby's Latest Posts
DL Open Thread Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024
Right-wing radicals billing themselves the Army of God took to the road yesterday in a border-bound trucker convoy. They departed Virginia Beach and planned to attract participants along the way, claiming they’d arrive at the Rio Grande with 700,000 people. So far they’re about 699,900 short, partly because – cue Admiral Ackbar – IT’S A […]
Song of the Day 1/29: Prince, “Check the Record”
Prince Rogers Nelson did not have a will when he died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, so his estate went into probate and was awarded in equal shares to his six half-siblings, who split into two camps. After six years in court the sides agreed to a 50-50 split and promised to share decision-making. […]
DL Open Thread Monday, Jan. 29, 2024
Did Hamas intend to set off a region-wide war with its Oct. 7 attack? It seems they did whether they meant to or not. Now three U.S. soldiers in Jordan have been killed in a drone strike. Biden has vowed retaliation “at a time of our choosing” against the Iranian-backed militia that took credit for […]
Song of the Day 1/28: P.D.Q. Bach, “Missa Hilarious, S. N₂O”
I admit I don’t listen to as much classical music as I once did, and I think it might be because I heard so much of it as the score for cartoons. Or maybe it was early exposure to PDQ Bach, who made the solemn reverence surrounding the classical canon seem rather ridiculous. PDQ Bach, […]
Song of the Day 1/26: Tina Fabrique, “Reading Rainbow” theme
Voters scrubbed Meatball Ron DeSantis from the presidential race, but the residents of Florida have to put up with him for three more years. I’m sure he’s fuming inside his tiny shoes, and since I’m not a nice guy when it comes to dealing with assholes, I think people should push his buttons at every […]
Song of the Day 1/25: Melanie, “Look What They’ve Done to My Song Ma”
Melanie Safka, a coffeehouse folk singer thrust into stardom with her set at the original Woodstock Festival, has died at age 76. Her popular success lasted just a few years, from 1970 to 1974, but she started singing in her teens and remained active until her death. Safka was singing in small New York clubs […]
Song of the Day 1/24: The Smiths, “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want”
I’ve never understood why Donald Trump is so aggrieved. He’s no billionaire except by his own accounting, but he objectively lacks for nothing. So why does he playt this Smiths song at his rallies? He doesn’t already have what he wants? Do these lyrics really describe him? See, the life I’ve had Can make a […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024
Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary, but in a way that allows any interpretation of the data you like. He got 54.6% to Nikki Haley’s 43.1%, which is far from a landslide. But the Northeastern state was probably Haley’s best chance at a victory. Or was it? Haley has vowed to stay in the […]
Song of the Day 1/23: Elle King, “Ex’s and Oh’s”
Singer Elle King, the daughter of former SNL comedian Rob Schneider, had a career-wrecking moment at the Grand Ole Opry last Friday during a birthday tribute for Dolly Parton. She took the stage, in her own words, “hammered,” couldn’t remember most of the words to a Parton song and slurred the ones she did recall, […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024
The surest sign that Trump is off his termite-infested rocker: The months-long effort to portray Biden as senile, when of course it’s Trump whose feeble mind is splintering. Last night Trump gave a highly technical description of Israel’s anti-missile defense system: “And they calmly walk to us, and ding, ding, ding, ding, boom, whoosh, boom. […]
Song of the Day 1/22: Tom Petty, “I Won’t Back Down”
Ron DeSantis said he’d never back down, but he didn’t say he wouldn’t back away, so that’s just what he’s done. He left the presidential race with a quote he attributed to Winston Churchill. In the best MAGA tradition, it’s fake. Tom Petty wrote this in response to an arsonist burning down his house while […]
DL Open Thread Monday, January 22, 2024
A week ago, Ron DeSantis said his second-place finish in the caucuses punched his ticket out of Iowa. To be fair, he didn’t say where he was going. Turns out it’s home. Best line about it: DeSantis should have been forced to carry his non-viable campaign to term. I suppose this doesn’t matter, because research […]
Song of the Day 1/20: The Shangri-Las, “Leader of the Pack”
Mary Weiss, lead singer for the ’60s girl group the Shangri-Las, died recently at age 75. The group had a strong chart run in 1964 and ’65, including this No. 1 hit from 1964. Unlike most girl groups, the Shangri-Las – two sets of sisters from a sketchy neighborhood in Queens – had a tough-girl […]
Recent Comments