Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 7/25: The Rolling Stones, “Street Fighting Man”
If I had any skillz I’d set this to video of Portland dudes deploying leaf blowers against the federal fascists who tear-gas them. Protests sure have changed since the ’60s. “Street Fighting Man” was the lead single from “Beggar’s Banquet” in 1968, but it only reached No. 41 when some radio stations refused to play […]
Song of the Day 7/24: Bryan Ferry, “Positively 4th Street”
Bob Dylan has had some excellent musical interpreters over the years — the Byrds, the Band, early Rod Stewart — but one of the most consistent and surprising is Roxy Music lead singer Bryan Ferry. Ferry’s mannered, louche vocals would seem an odd match for the material, but he has covered Dylan repeatedly since his […]
Song of the Day 7/23: Graham Parker, “Local Girls”
Graham Parker is nearly forgotten today, but back in the ’70s, during British music’s transition from pub rock to punk/new wave, Parker was viewed as one of the scene’s angry young men, on a par with Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. His record company thought this song, from his third LP, “Squeezing Out Sparks,” would […]
Song of the Day 7/22: Randy Rainbow, “Gee, Anthony Fauci!”
With apologies to bamboozer, another topical tune, the latest number from Randy Rainbow, this one to the music of “Gee, Officer Krupke” from “West Side Story.” There are lots of people doing political parody songs, but nobody can match the production values the valuable Mr. Rainbow displays (btw, that’s his real name — his father, […]
Song of the Day 7/21: Squeeze, “Crying in My Sleep”
Another one for Diaper Donnie’s lachrymose playlist. I can keep this up until they pry his oval orifice out of the Oval Office. From the album I consider Squeeze’s masterpiece, the criminally underrated “Play,” released in 1991.
Song of the Day 7/19: Ben Folds, “2020”
Ben Folds was in the midst of an Australian tour when the coronavirus struck, and he’s been there ever since. He’s staying put and is recording his next album. Last month he released this ballad, even though the year in question is only halfway over. “We seem to be currently reliving and cramming a number […]
Song of the Day 7/18: MGMT/Earth, Wind & Fire, “Kids/September”
I’m rather unforgiving about mash-ups. I think most of them try too hard at melding disparate songs whether they really blend well or not, because the editing tools people use allow for that. They only work for me when the beats align perfectly, and they do on this one. It’s rather crude — the music […]
Song of the Day 7/17: Hildegard von Blingin’, “Pumped Up Kicks”
I probably spend too much time on YouTube, which is how I stumbled across music’s hottest new trend: Bardcore, in which modern songs are played on flutes, drums and various medieval stringed instruments. It started in April, when someone going by the name Cornelius Link made a version of a tune called “Astronomia” with medieval […]
Song of the Day 7/16: Hüsker Dü, “Makes No Sense At All”
Our man-baby president punked the media yesterday by calling a news conference and instead vomiting forth a rally speech that was incomprehensible even for him. Hence this Bob Mould song, the first and only single from “Flip Your Wig,” the 1985 LP Mould considers the band’s best. He still sings this one today. The B-side […]
Song of the Day 7/15: Sheila E. and Ringo Starr, “Come Together/Revolution”
I just caught up with last week’s online concert to celebrate Ringo Starr’s 80th birthday. Not only does the show, viewable in full on YouTube, contain lots of great tunes, it’s a testament to the progress being made in production values for this new Covid Concert format. The entire show is worth the hour of […]
Song of the Day 7/14: Paul Henreid and the cast of “Casablanca,” “La Marseillaise”
It’s not just a great national anthem, it’s a great Nazi-fighting anthem. And Paul Henreid, forever to be known as “Casablanca” Nazi-fighter Victor Laszlo, was the right man to sing it — the Austrian was so ardently anti-Nazi he was declared an official enemy of the Third Reich. Born in Trieste and trained in Vienna, […]
Song of the Day 7/13: Willie Watson, “Dancing on My Own”
Willie Watson, a founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show who went solo in 2011, has always concentrated on old-time music, so it’s not so surprising that his new-ish single, released three months ago, is a cover. What’s surprising is who he covered: Swedish disco chanteuse Robyn. “Dancing on My Own” was a top 10 […]
Song of the Day 7/11: Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters, “Cry Baby”
Diaper Donny is still blubbering like a toddler over his own fuck-ups, so here’s another number for his whine-athon. Janis Joplin’s 1970 cover is the version most Boomers are familiar with, but Garnet Mimms had a No. 4 hit with the original in 1963. His backup singers on the song aren’t actually the Enchanters — […]
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