International
Song of the Day 6/20: A.L. Phipps and the Phipps Family, “The Great Titanic”
Five people have been lost descending to the wreck of the Titanic in a small submersible craft. A frantic search for them is underway, but unless the story gets a miracle ending, it seems the “unsinkable” ship is still claiming lives. The mythic element of the sinking of the Titanic seems to have dissipated in […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Delaware holds school board elections today. The News Journal ran a useful voters’ guide, but I don’t know if it’s behind the paywall. Meanwhile, RISE Delaware, the group fighting Gov. Carney’s proposed downgrade to state retirees’ health care, has scheduled a rally at Legislative Hall from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The never-ending legal problems of […]
Song of the Day 5/6: Go West, “The King of Wishful Thinking”
You have to feel a bit sorry for Charles III. Not only does he have to start a new job at age 74, he has to listen to an endless debate about whether the job should continue to exist. My guess is yes: the royal family reportedly generates the equivalent of nearly $2 billion annually […]
Song of the Day 4/27: Yoon Suk-yeol, “American Pie”
Joe Biden hosted a state dinner at the White House and, I guess because guest of honor Yoon Suk-yeol is president of South Korea, he turned into karaoke night. After being told “American Pie” was Yoon’s favorite song when he was in school, Biden said, “Well, we want to hear you sing it.” Yoon obliged. […]
Song of the Day 2/6: Tom Jones, “Delilah”
Many people don’t listen to lyrics, and even those of us who do often know the chorus of a popular song but get hazy on the verses. You can hear this at any crowd sing-along — mumble, mumble, mumble, then everyone, even people who don’t listen to lyrics, joins in on the chorus. This song […]
Song of the Day 2/4: Lily Allen, “Air Balloon”
Look, up in the sky! It’s a UFO! It’s the moon! It’s a…Chinese spy balloon! The media loves a balloon story — remember the Balloon Boy Hoax of 2009? — and this one has it all: International intrigue! Jet fighter planes! Calls for shooting it down! (To be fair, “shoot it down” is the knee-jerk […]
Song of the Day 12/10: Esther Phillips, “Release Me”
In their ongoing effort to show that they can act like whiny babies over absolutely anything, Republicans are bitching about Joe Biden freeing WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russia in a prisoner exchange. He did it all wrong — wrong American, wrong Russian, wrong timing — so it’s obviously bad news for Biden. It’s good […]
Song of the Day 10/21: Frank Zappa and the Mothers, “Call Any Vegetable”
Queen-killer Liz Truss was doomed from the moment the Daily Star livestreamed her photo next to a head of lettuce, with a caption asking which would last longer. The smart money was always on the lettuce — one wag wanted to know how it voted on Brexit, leaf or romaine? — because vegetables have been […]
Song of the Day 10/19: The Philadelphia Orchestra, “1812 Overture”
H/t Ben, who requested this last month. It was 210 years ago today that Napoleon began his devastating retreat from Moscow, an anniversary not observed by the French. Seventy years later Pyotr Tchaikovsky debuted this commemorative piece, scored for orchestra and artillery, for the dedication of a church that celebrated Russia’s victory, which was achieved […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022
It’s sentencing day for unrepentant state auditor Kathy McGuiness. Prosecutors want her to serve 30 days and pay a $30,000 fine. Her attorney wants her slap on the wrist to be a $1,000 fine and nothing else, not even probation. Judge William C. Carpenter’s decision will either uphold or strike at Celia Cohen’s beloved Delaware […]
Song of the Day 9/27: The Beatles, “Back in the USSR”
One one level it’s just a parody of American exceptionalism as espoused by Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys. But it doesn’t seem so funny when Russia flexes its military muscle. At least that’s how some people felt when this appeared as the first track on the double-LP White Album, released in November 1968 — […]
Song of the Day 9/23: Modern English, “I Melt With You”
Vladimir Putin is threatening to use nuclear weapons to bail himself out of the war he needlessly started. That strikes me as similar to a man who’s freezing to death deciding to set himself on fire, but it has frightened a lot people. We’ll have to see if the sentiment adds to the stockpile of […]
Song of the Day 9/19: Elton John, “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”
Though Queen Elizabeth remains dead, Britain’s almost endless period of mourning — even our British friends said yesterday that enough was enough — will come to a close today with another day-long ceremony culminating in her burial. The music will be somber — sorry, I meant sombre — but it won’t include this Elton John […]
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