Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 8/4: Aerosmith, “Dream On”
Some of the rock bands that formed in the ’60s are still performing live – some are on their third or fourth farewell tour. But bands formed in the ’70s and beyond don’t seem to have the same luck. Aerosmith, formed in Boston in 1970, just called it quits on the cusp of their planned […]
Song of the Day 8/2: Rupert Holmes, “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”
These hot, sticky days call for tropical drinks with tiny umbrellas in them, and no tropical drink with a tiny umbrella is more popular than the piña colada – nobody ever wrote a song about the mai tai, did they? Sorry, Parrotheads, margaritas aren’t served with cocktail umbrellas, and “Margaritaville” wasn’t a No. 1 hit. […]
Song of the Day 7/31: Prince, “On the Couch”
JD Vance, the Ted Cruz of the North, did not write in his memoir that he once had sexual congress with a latex glove wedged between his couch cushions. But when someone on the internet said he did – the since-gone-viral tweet cited specific pages, which helped sell the gag – the claim took off. […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Everyone knows the story of the emperor’s new clothes, but I think they miss the point of it. As Hans Christian Andersen told it, two con-men told the king their cloth was invisible to stupid people, so everyone pretended they saw it to avoid appearing stupid. It took a child to blurt out that he […]
Song of the Day 7/30: Flavor Flav, “Unga Bunga Bunga”
OK, who saw this one coming? A major financial backer and official hype man for the U.S. women’s water polo team is none other than Flavor Flav, who came to fame as Chuck D’s sidekick in Public Enemy before he went mainstream on reality TV. If you have to ask why, you don’t understand modern […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, July 30, 2024
I’ve kept up my vaccinations, so I’m immune to Olympic fever, but as a part-time resident of Paris I’ve been following organizers’ quixotic quest to have athletes swim in the Seine, always a sketchy plan because the water is often polluted. Sure enough, the triathlon, scheduled for this morning, was postponed because fecal coliform levels […]
Song of the Day 7/29: The Police, “Every Breath You Take”
Though 1983 was the year Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” put five singles on Billboard’s Year-End Top 100 chart, even “Billy Jean” missed the top spot. It finished second to what became The Police and Sting’s signature song, “Every Breath You Take,” the highlight of the band’s best-selling LP, “Synchronicity,” which was just rereleased with lots of […]
DL Open Thread Monday, July 29, 2024
I was assured several days ago that Republicans would welcome a race against Kamala Harris because they had lots of ways to attack her. So far the attacks have been off-the-bottom-shelf specials noting that, hmm, let’s see…Apparently she’s a woman and she’s Black, so she slept her way to the top when she wasn’t being […]
Song of the Day 7/26: The Who, “Did You Steal My Money”
A musical question Bethany Hall Long’s campaign donors should be asking her husband. From “Face Dances,” the 1981 album that was the band’s first with Kenney Jones in place of the late Keith Moon.
Song of the Day 7/24: Harry Belafonte, “Cocoanut Woman”
The siloed existence of American political reporters is a wonder to behold. They talk confidently of how Kamala Harris is perceived by the public without ever acknowledging that, as countless person-on-the-street interviews demonstrate, most people cannot name the current vice president without prompting. So when I read a story about how she’s a joke, I […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Karl Baker at Spotlight Delaware dove into the 2024 Delaware Bond Bill so you don’t have to, and he found lots of specific projects under vague descriptions, obscuring the total of $50 million the state, Gov. John Carney, will spend on buildings in Wilmington, future Mayor (he hopes) John Carney. Lots of other nuggets in […]
Song of the Day 7/23: McFadden & Whitehead, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”
The Harris for President people have their hands full, so I doubt anyone has thought about what the campaign’s theme song should be. I humbly propose this 1979 disco hit, which captures the sudden burst of enthusiasm Democrats are feeling with passing of the torch. Philadelphia sports fans of a certain age might remember the […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, July 23, 2024
America’s political scribblers have been having a conniption for the past 24 hours because Democratic voters and donors rallied to Kamala Harris as soon as Biden announced his withdrawal from the race. The punditocracy, you see, wanted the candidate chosen at the party convention, the way their grandpappies did it, and they’re doing their damndest […]
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