Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 12/30: Kai Winding, “Time Is On My Side”
This one’s for Nancy Pelosi. Everybody recognizes this as a Rolling Stones song or, among soul music buffs, a track by Irma Thomas. But the first to record this tune by Jerry Ragovoy, the same guy who wrote “Piece of My Heart,” was jazz trombonist Kai Winding, in 1963. The title phrase and “you’ll come […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes OF THE DECADE: #’s 40-21!
40. (2016) The other song that may, or may not, have made the list if not for the video. I’m more certain about this one, though: 39. (2016) 38. (2016) My youngest daughter turned me on to this Oregon-based band. They put on a great concert. And this song is an anthem: 37. (2014) 36. […]
Song of the Day 12/29: Jefferson Airplane, “Volunteers”
Some political scientists say the U.S. meets all the conditions for a country on the brink of a revolution. Much as I’d like to believe it, I’ve heard all that before. The last time the country was on the brink of a revolution was 50 years ago, when the peace movement realized that love was, […]
Song of the Day 12/28: The Clash, “Revolution Rock”
We’re creeping up on the 40th anniversary of the U.S. release of “London Calling,” the double album that validated punk as an essential rock genre while simultaneously transcending it by employing all the musical influences punk was supposed to scorn and supplant. Jamaican music was heavily represented, by both originals and a pair of covers, […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes OF THE DECADE: #’s 60-41!
I’m having a ball doing this. Self-indulgent? Yes. But I just KNOW that you’re hearing some great tunes that you maybe never would have heard otherwise. Which has been my goal all along. 60. (2019) 59. (2015) ‘Jesus hates your high school dances.’ 58. (2017) Curtis Mayfield is on my Musical Mt. Rushmore. Sampha samples […]
Song of the Day 12/27: Tom Petty, “The Waiting”
This one’s for Donald, who is finding that waiting is indeed the hardest part. The lead single from 1981’s “Hard Promises” reached No. 19 on the Hot 100 but No. 1 on the then-new Mainstream Rock chart. Lead guitarist Mike Campbell is the MVP on this track.
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes OF THE DECADE: #’s 80-61!
There are two songs on the list that may, or may not, have made it were it not for the videos. This is one of them: 80. (2016) 79. (2018) 78. (2015) 77. (2011) 76. (2018) Maybe the only (still a) teen on my list. I almost had two songs from her on the list. […]
Bulo’s Fave Tunes OF THE DECADE 100-81!
Man, what a challenge it was to put this list together. It took me months. I’ll definitely be doing this in Spotify format a little later. I had lots of input from my family, and their influence is shot through the list–at least where I agreed with them. 2010 to 2019 is a lot of […]
Song of the Day 12/25: Greg Lake w/ Ian Anderson, “I Believe in Father Christmas”
In the UK, where singles are still a thing, bands frequently write and record Christmas songs in the hopes of scoring a seasonal hit. Greg Lake released this one in 1975, and it’s become one of the more popular holiday tunes of the rock era. Lake intended it as a song against the commercialization of […]
Song of the Day 12/24: Henry Rollins and Stephen Colbert, “Carol of the Bells”
There’s a reason this sounds nothing like a Christmas carol — it wasn’t written as one. In 1914 Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych was commissioned to create a song for choir based on traditional Ukrainian folk chants. He wrote “Shchedryk”, intended to be sung a cappella by mixed four-voice choir, based on four notes he found […]
Song of the Day 12/23: The Philadelphia Orchestra, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
In 1962 the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy recorded “The Glorious Sound of Christmas,” setting a standard for orchestral Christmas music that has never been exceeded — the LP went gold by the following Christmas, making it one of the fastest-selling classical records in history, and has never been out of print. The lush strings […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2019: The Top Ten!!
But first, a recap of all the musical goodness that has come before: ‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2019: #’s 50-31 ‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2019: #’s 30-21 ‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2019: #’s 20-11 Here we go, ready or not: 10. The Suitcase Junket is the most amazing one-man-band of the decade. He writes great […]
Song of the Day 12/22: Sufjan Stevens, “Only at Christmastime”
Nobody, not even the prolific Johnny Marx, has written more Christmas songs than multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens, who has released two Christmas albums, each consisting of more than 50 tunes on five EP-length discs. It’s not all new material — a lot of covers of traditional carols are mixed in with Stevens’ originals. The first, “Songs […]
Recent Comments