Alby's Latest Posts
Song of the Day 4/4: Randy Rainbow, “Grumpy Trumpy Felon From Jamaica in Queens”
There was no way Trump was going to get indicted without Randy Rainbow having something to sing about it.
Song of the Day 4/3: Graham Parker, “You’ve Got to Be Kidding”
Graham Parker wrote a lot of songs with dismissive phrases for titles, which is what happens when you’re a misanthrope. For some reason, I think of all of them as directed at Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was normalized last night in a “60 Minutes” interview with Leslie Stahl. This one appeared on Parker’s debut LP, […]
Song of the Day 4/1: Led Zeppelin, “Fool in the Rain”
It’s April Fool’s Day, it’s raining — call me Mr. Literal, but it’s a good excuse to play one of my favorite Zep tunes. This one supposedly originated because John Paul Jones and Robert Plant heard so much samba music when they were watching the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Plant and John Bonham turn […]
Song of the Day 3/31: Dewey Cox, “Guilty as Charged”
I’d like to see Donald Trump do this song when he appears in court. It’s one of the 33 tunes used in the 2007 movie “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” with John C. Reilly in the lead role. The film, a parody of the musician biopics that were so popular in the ’00s, didn’t […]
Song of the Day 3/30: The Replacements, “Never Mind”
I was gonna go with something more involved, but I’m busy with houseguests, so never mind. If Paul Westerberg has ever explained the genesis of this tune from “Pleased to Meet Me,” the 1987 album the band recorded after dismissing wildman guitarist Bob Stinson, I’ve never found it. Some think it’s about Stinson getting canned. […]
Song of the Day 3/29: Joseph Arthur, “In the Sun”
Singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur once remarked that there’s something about this song that makes people want to record it for charity. Arthur wrote it in 1995, about a friend who died of cancer, shortly before Peter Gabriel discovered Arthur and signed him to his record company. Gabriel recorded it the next year for a Princess Diana […]
Song of the Day 3/28: Hot Tuna, “Water Song”
A chemical spill into the Delaware River above Philadelphia has led to warnings about the safety of the city’s drinking water, triggering a run on bottled water. “Water Song,” an instrumental by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, appeared on “Burgers,” Hot Tuna’s third LP and first proper studio recording. Its success convinced Kaukonen and bassist Jack Cassidy […]
Song of the Day 3/27: Graham Parker, “That’s What They All Say”
This one’s for all the MAGAts who either don’t realize or want to ignore that they’re in a cult. “That’s What They All Say” was the second track on “Heat Treatment,” Parker’s second LP with backing band the Rumour, released in 1976. The tune is usually described as a Dylanesque put-down, but the production by […]
Song of the Day 3/25: Elvis Costello, “(I Don’t Want to Go To) Chelsea”
“Ted Lasso” has legions of fans, but I seldom hear anyone mention its savvy use of popular music. Most shows nowadays mine the charts for songs that will heighten a scene’s impact, but I don’t know of any others that employed musicians who are real-life buskers, as the show has in its first two seasons. […]
Song of the Day 3/24: Monty Python, “The Penis Song”
Satire died a good while back, which is the only way you can tell this story is true: A principal in Florida got fired when a parent complained about an art teacher showing the class a photograph of Michelangelo’s David. The parent called it “pornographic.” The part that makes it art, or at least performance […]
Song of the Day 3/23: The Kinks, “Tired of Waiting for You”
How do you keep a liberal in suspense? Keep saying, “Today’s almost certainly the day Donald Trump will be indicted.” The bonus: Liberal pundits can debate endlessly over whether it would help or hurt him. This was a No. 1 single in the UK in 1965, but only No. 6 in the US, where the […]
Song of the Day 3/22: Joey Ramone, “Maria Bartiromo”
Joey Ramone is rolling over in his grave. In lawsuits filed in Delaware and New York, former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg says she was coached to lie in the Dominion defamation suit, and that she and Maria Bartiromo were being set up to take the fall. Fox execs, she claimed, ordered her to spy […]
Song of the Day 3/21: Classics IV, “Stormy”
Donald Trump might finally face some consequences today for his life of crime. He would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for that meddlesome porn star! The Classics IV had a string of three songs that hit the top 5 in 1968-69. “Stormy,” which reached No. 5, followed “Spooky” (No. 3) and […]
Recent Comments