Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 1/26: Daniel Deitrich, “Hymn for the 81%”
Most people outside the evangelical community, believers and unbelievers alike, are struck by the hypocrisy of these Bible thumpers who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus the Nazarene while failing spectacularly to follow his example in real life. Some people inside the evangelical community have noticed it, too. Daniel Deitrich, an ex-evangelical young minister […]
Song of the Day 1/25: Randy Rainbow, “That Don”
I know his fans, which is just about everyone, have seen the latest Randy Rainbow video. It’s funny and catchy, as always, but though the tune was familiar I couldn’t quite place it. But when I showed it to a thirty-something, he immediately recognized it as “Gaston,” a comic tune from Disney’s “Beauty and the […]
Song of the Day 1/24: The Band, “It Makes No Difference”
I listened to Adam Schiff’s closing speech last night, and thought of this song — not just the title, but the sense of regret and resignation Rick Danko expresses so eloquently. Centrists, moderates, whatever you want to call the people who want our politicians to get along and work together — they need to understand […]
Song of the Day 1/23: Bruce Springsteen, “Prove It All Night”
Adam Schiff’s new theme song. If Midnight Mitch insists, Schiff and the House impeachment managers can indeed prove Trump’s abuse of power and obstruction all night. The song appeared on Springsteen’s underappreciated “Darkness on the Edge of Town” LP in 1978. Released as a single, it only made #33 on the Hot 100. This performance […]
Song of the Day 1/22: J.J. Cale, “After Midnight”
Thanks to Moscow Mitch McConnell, anyone who wants to watch the Senate trial of the Marmalade Menace will have to stay up after midnight. I think J.J. Cale summed up this strategy in the lyrics: Gonna cause talk and suspicion We gonna give an exhibition We gonna find out what it is all about Guitarist […]
Song of the Day 1/21: Pigmeat Markham, “Here Come the Judge”
Some say this was the first rap song, which would be quite a distinction for Chitlin’ Circuit vaudevillian Dewey “Pigmeat” Markham, born 1904, whose “here come the judge” routine was adopted by and immortalized on TV’s “Laugh-In.” I, on the other hand, say this is the perfect theme song for the opening day of this […]
Song of the Day 1/20: Bob Dylan and Clydie King, “Abraham, Martin and John”
Everybody who’s old enough remembers the Dion version of this response to the twin assassinations of 1968, penned, incongruously, by Baton Rouge musician Dick Holler, the same guy who wrote “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” Dion’s harp-filled production laid on the schmaltz, but many singers over the years, from Marvin Gaye to Emmylou Harris, have […]
Song of the Day 1/19: Generation X, “Your Generation”
Before Douglas Coupland’s book, before demographers’ appropriation of the term, a bunch of louts from London led by a bloke named William Broad formed a band to take advantage of the burgeoning punk scene. Taking their name from a pop-sociology book of the mid-60s, written about the generation that included the Beatles and the Stones, […]
Song of the Day 1/18: The Clash, “Wrong ‘Em Boyo”
“London Calling,” the Clash double LP released 40 years ago this month, stunned audiences who thought punk rockers were just a bunch of low-talent yobs by presenting a array of rock and roll musical styles reinvigorated with punk-rock energy. Three of the 19 tracks were covers, including this remake of a fairly obscure Jamaican track […]
Song of the Day 1/17: Dave Matthews Band, “The Best of What’s Around”
The Rock Hall of Fame, like the NFL’s, announces a list of nominees for the honor, then excludes a bunch of them in a final vote, which always struck me as a crappy thing to do to the also-rans. This year’s batch of nine Rock Hall rejectees included several that arguably belong more than some […]
Song of the Day 1/16: T. Rex, “Hot Love”
Better late than never, T. Rex has finally been admitted to the Rock Hall of Fame in its newest class, along with such rock-adjacent artists as Whitney Houston and Biggie Smalls (the Doobie Brothers, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails round out this year’s honorees). This non-album single was the band’s first of four UK […]
Song of the Day 1/15: Brook Benton, “A House Is Not a Home”
In honor of Sen. Dave McBride (h/t El Somnambulo), whose house in New Castle County is not his home, though we never need an excuse to showcase a Burt Bacharach/Hal David tune. The song was first recorded in 1964 by Dionne Warwick, who made a career of turning Bacharach compositions into hits, but it was […]
Song of the Day 1/14: The Band, “Chest Fever”
Sorry I’ve been absent for a couple of days — I came down with one of the various viruses (non-computer variety) making the rounds. I doubt it was actually “chest fever,” but I couldn’t find a song called “non-stop vomiting.” Released on The Band’s debut LP “Music From Big Pink,” the tune served as a […]
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