Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 6/25: Old Crow Medicine Show, “Quarantined”
Old Crow Medicine Show frontman Ketch Secor released this song a month ago, when armed lamebrains were clamoring for an end to self-isolation and asserting their right to a haircut. Now that the states whose governors succumbed to pressure and reopened too soon are seeing record numbers of infections, talk of more quarantines is back […]
Song of the Day 6/23: The Ramones, “Somebody Put Something in My Drink”
Hey, kids, ‘memba that story last week about the three New York cops who got “poisoned” at Shake Shack? Turns out it wasn’t just embellished, it was made up out of whole cloth. This story — from the New York Post, so you know it’s not fake news — details the real chain of events: […]
Song of the Day 6/22: Johnniqua Charles, “Lose Yo Job”
The Black Lives Matter protests have a new theme song, thanks to Johnniqua Charles. When a security guard detained her outside a strip club back in February, the 27-year-old Charles broke into an impromptu chant and dance that was recorded by another security guard on the scene. He posted to social media with the note, […]
Song of the Day 6/21: Broadway cast of Hamilton, “The Room Where It Happens”
The title John Bolton chose for his White House tell-all turns out to be ironic. Bolton won a Pyrrhic victory Saturday when a court ruled “The Room Where It Happened” could be released over White House objections, mainly because it was already out there. His problem is that he has no supporters to buy it; […]
Song of the Day 6/20: Eric Clapton, “Tulsa Time”
Donald Trump, flailing about for a way to stop his losing streak, takes his circus to Tulsa tonight, and I swear the press hasn’t slavered for blood this intently since Evel Knievel’s attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon. Let’s hope tonight is just as big a dud (if you’re too young to remember it, […]
Song of the Day 6/19: Aretha Franklin, “Never Gonna Break My Faith”
This song, originally performed with Mary J. Blige, won Aretha Franklin the last of her 18 Grammy Awards in 2006. To celebrate Juneteenth this year, Sony released a version of Aretha singing the whole song solo, with a bit of backup by the Boys Choir of Harlem. The song was co-written by Bryan Adams — […]
Song of the Day 6/18: The Persuasions, “Electric Aunt Jemima”
Unless you’re a right-winger, you probably haven’t thought about Aunt Jemima in years, given that she’s not a real person and all. But when Quaker Oats announced they were retiring the minstrel-show-based mascot after more than 130 years, conservatives suddenly had a black person they cared about. Kill black guys for falling asleep in the […]
Song of the Day 6/16: Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Chuck D issued this call to action just over 30 years ago. The track debuted as the theme song to Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” in 1989, the year before it was released on “Fear of a Black Planet,” PE’s most highly lauded LP. Public Enemy was the biggest thing happening in hip-hop in […]
Song of the Day 6/14: The Offspring, “Come Out and Play”
More commonly known as “Keep ‘Em Separated,” this tune became a rock radio classic soon after its 1994 release. Dexter Holland, lead singer of the LA-based punk-pop group, wrote it in response to gang violence, but the chorus fits today’s police riots just as well. The song paved the way for the band’s “Smash” LP […]
Song of the Day 6/13: The Clash, “Know Your Rights”
You have three of them. The lead single from 1982’s “Combat Rock” LP remains as pertinent as when it was written. Mister, we could use a man like Joe Strummer again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lfInFVPkQs
Song of the Day 6/12: Canned Heat, “Sic ‘Em Pigs”
America, having learned nothing from the ’60s, is now repeating them in bits and pieces. Today’s riots over the police mistreatment of African-Americans harks back to yesteryear’s antagonistic relationship between law enforcement personnel, or “pigs,” as they were known among the country’s disaffected youth, and protesters of various stripes. Pre-social media, the nation’s youth used […]
Song of the Day 6/10: The National, “Karen”
There aren’t many songs written for anyone named Karen, and given the events of the past few weeks I wouldn’t expect any flattering ones will get written anytime soon. Matt Berninger of The National is an exception. “‘Karen’ is very much about my wife, whose name is ‘Carin’ — I protected her innocence by changing […]
Song of the Day 6/7: Randy Rainbow, “Bunker Boy”
So much for that image of strength Trump was trying to project by refusing to wear a mask. Between his Fence of Invincibility and his Bunker Inspection Tour, he’s managed to convey the image of a bowl of quivering curds. He’s poutine minus the potatoes. Even Randy Rainbow has noticed.
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