Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 12/17: Kiri Te Kanawa, “O Holy Night”
If you’re not a church-goer you might not realize that, as pious as this song sounds, most Christian denominations do not have it in their hymnals. The reason is as old as religion itself: Religious intolerance. “O Holy Night” is the English translation of the original French “Cantique de Nöel,” which despite its subject matter […]
Song of the Day 12/16: Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”
If you’ve ever seen one of those listicles of the best and worst Christmas songs, you might have noticed an oddity – several of the songs appear on both lists. I’ve seen “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the most popular song in Delaware according to this story, atop both lists, and “Feliz Navidad” […]
Song of the Day 12/15: The Roches, “Deck the Halls”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona WXPN voters couldn’t find even one song by the Roches to place on the station’s just-concluded listeners survey of the 885 best songs by women. But the harmonizing sisters are going to sing a couple of Christmas carols for you today anyway, through the time-traveling magic of YouTube. The Roches […]
A Headline I Couldn’t Resist
I know the print/online media love stories that make you go “Click!” but sometimes you just can’t resist. This one did it for me: GOPer Goes on Bizarre Rant About the Quality of Santa’s Glass of Milk on House Floor It’s what I think of as a mystery headline, as in, “What the fuck is […]
Song of the Day 12/14: Buck Owens, “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy”
I think most people sour on the Christmas music played on the radio and at commercial establishments because the playlist is too short. It consists of five or six dozen songs familiar to almost everyone, most of them recorded by dozens of artists. They vary only in their arrangement and production – the songs themselves […]
Song of the Day 12/13: Brenda Lee, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
If you venture out in public much you’re probably sick of Christmas music by now, but it’s my policy to listen to only 12 days of Christmas music. I’m starting a day early this year because a record most people have heard their entire lives just made it to No. 1 on the Hot 100. […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023
Does what’s left of the Republican Party understand it’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia? On one hand, they’re stupid, so they might not realize where that dark money comes from now that the NRA’s Russian cover has been blown. On the other, even the stupidest among them, Kevin McCarthy, figured it out years ago, […]
Song of the Day 12/12: Carole King, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”
WXPN’s contest countdown is nearly through (as I post this there are fewer than 60 songs to go) and most of the entries I put on my ballot because I thought they’d be underrepresented have been played. So have most of my late rejects. This song has been played, too, but not by this artist. […]
I Don’t Give a Fuck What You Think About Israel and the Palestinians
Seriously, I don’t give a flying fuck what you think, and if you’re honest with yourself – a heavy lift for a lot of people – you don’t give a flying fuck what I or anyone else thinks, either. Simple acid test: Has a month-plus of nonstop discussion of this changed your mind about it? […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023
Governments around the world like to pretend they’re doing something about global warming, but for all the talk about renewables, 80% of the world’s energy is still derived from fossil fuels. Lots of petroleum-producing countries, and oil industry in this one, want to keep it that way. Their latest victory came at the UN’s COP28 […]
Song of the Day 12/11: Laurie Anderson, “O Superman”
WXPN’s year-end countdown of the 885 Greatest Songs by Women – I know, the title sounds more ridiculous every time you hear it – reached my pick for No. 1 yesterday afternoon. “O Superman” clocked in at No. 262, between Phoebe Snow’s “Poetry Man” and Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces.” I don’t know if […]
DL Open Thread Monday, Dec. 11, 2023
Cynics might consider a UN climate conference a study in hypocrisy – thousands of people burned fossil fuel flying to a desolate stretch of sand atop a petroleum patch so they can emit a lot of hot air pretending to do something about global warming. Oil-rich nations, though, see it as an existential threat. Reuters […]
Song of the Day 12/8: Imogen Heap, “Hide and Seek”
WXPN’s countdown of the 885 Greatest Songs By Women – yes, it’s grandiose, but they had to call it something – has passed the halfway mark, and my strategy of picking cuts I thought might otherwise be ignored isn’t looking too successful. So far only two of my 10 selections, “Birthday” by the Bjork-led Sugarcubes […]
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