Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 11/25: Boz Scaggs feat. Bonnie Raitt, “Hell to Pay”
Americans love horror stories, and Trump’s selection of a cabinet designed mainly to trigger the libs provides the media with plenty of them. As Boz Scaggs related in this blues tale, even if you buy a senator in Texas and a judge in New Orleans, there’s still hell to pay. This duet with Bonnie Raitt […]
Song of the Day 11/24: John Mellencamp, “American Fool”
“American Fool” is the name of John Mellencamp’s breakthrough 1982 album, the one that led off with “Hurts So Good” and “Jack and Diane,” the two biggest hits of his career. But in those pre-CD times there was only room for nine songs on the LP, so the album that sold 5 million copies and […]
Song of the Day 11/22: Was (Not Was), “11 MPH (Abe Zapp Ruder Version)”
A lot of music has been written about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In the immediate aftermath songs expressed the shock and grief that enveloped the nation, but within a few years they started to reflect the widespread belief that we weren’t being told the real story. These days more than two-thirds of Americans […]
Song of the Day 11/21: SSgt. Barry Sadler, “The Ballad of the Green Berets”
This one’s for George Frankel, the state senate candidate who wants to employ ex-Green Berets to keep order in high schools. “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” written by a Green Beret medic wounded in Vietnam, was released in January 1966; in the previous nine months U.S. troop presence in the country had increased from […]
Song of the Day 11/20: Donald Fagen, “I.G.Y.”
Yacht Rock might be the only music genre that got its name long after it had passed from prominence. Back when it was made, between the mid-’70s and mid-’80s, the music industry called it “adult contemporary.” Most people called it “soft rock,” which sounds oxymoronic, but so was the idea of “rock” music that rejected […]
Song of the Day 11/19: They Might Be Giants, “Don’t Let’s Start”
The title track to the 1986 debut album by They Might Be Giants is my go-to response to anyone who wants to talk to me about politics these days. To quote John and John, “D, world destruction, Over and overture, N do I need apostrophe T need this torture? … No one in this world […]
Song of the Day 11/18: Bob Mould, “It’s Too Late”
No rock singer/songwriter/guitarist has done more while being appreciated less than Bob Mould. Whether with Hüsker Dü, Sugar or solo, he has forged rage, despair and cynicism, alloyed with a dollop of hope, into music that’s spiky and aggressive yet still melodic. The perfectionism and gruffness that stood in the way of mainstream success also […]
Song of the Day 11/17: The Kinks, “You Really Got Me”
Record producer Shel Talmy died last week at age 87, and if the name is unfamiliar to you, the music he crafted isn’t. The earliest hits by the Kinks and the Who owe their tough, aggressive attitude to Talmy’s techniques and eye for talent, which he lent to scores of acts in the early days […]
Song of the Day 11/15: Weezer, “Say It Ain’t So”
I’m not sure why this 30-year-old song popped into my head yesterday – maybe because it’s been such a common response from various quarters to various Trump cabinet picks. Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo wrote the song about his father’s alcoholism and his fear that his stepfather might follow the same path. It’s such a complicated […]
Song of the Day 11/14: Willi Williams, “Armagedeon Time”
Prophesies of doom are pretty common in Jamaican music, but they don’t necessarily get all minor-key gloomy about it. Willi Williams’ “Armagedeon Time” talks about people going hungry and needing to fight for justice, but it’s hardly martial music. Maybe it’s the religion, or its well-known sacrament, that makes him sound so matter-of-fact. The lyrics […]
Song of the Day 11/13: The Hooters, “All You Zombies”
As yesterday’s Graham Parker song illustrated, something about minor chords and a reggae beat seemed to put ’70s and ’80s rockers in an apocalyptic mood. When Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman started fooling around with these chords in rehearsal, what turned into their signature song was the result. According to Rob Hyman, “We just started […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024
Despite all the post-election finger-pointing, everyone has overlooked what might have turned the tide in Trump’s favor: P’Nut the squirrel. For those too busy paying attention to important matters like the future of the nation, P’Nut was an internet star who was unfortunately in the care of Mark Longo in New York state, which bans […]
Song of the Day 11/12: Graham Parker & the Rumour, “Don’t Ask Me Questions”
There ain’t no answers in me. This was one of Graham Parker’s signature tunes when he burst onto the British music scene in the brief period in 1976 between the decline of pub rock and the rise of punk with his debut album, “Howlin’ Wind.” Most of the songs combined the horn-enhanced R&B of Van […]
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