Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 7/1: Counting Crows, “Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)”
Before Counting Crows became famous, the band circulated a demo tape that set off a bidding war among record companies. Most of the songs were rerecorded with T-Bone Burnett at the controls and appeared on their breakout 1993 LP “August and Everything After,” but this one was left out, apparently because upbeat jangle-pop didn’t fit […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: June 2021
Yet another diverse set of divertissements, featuring a couple of songs I’d missed from earlier this year. Enjoy! If you’re gonna cover a Leonard Cohen song, might as well make it your own. Like this: Memo To Self: This is the second song I’ve posted from this album. Plus one from Jenn Wasner, who […]
Song of the Day 6/30: Todd Snider, “Can’t Complain”
Like his onetime mentor John Prine, Todd Snider’s songs, built from simple chords and clever lyrics, fall into a category between folk and country that the label “Americana” doesn’t quite capture. He’s been recording since 1994, but I only learned about him because Spotify informed me that, given my love for Prine, I’d probably like […]
Song of the Day 6/29: OMC, “How Bizarre”
This was the song of the summer 24 years ago, when it was inescapable on radio and MTV. Despite never being released as a single, it topped Billboard’s airplay chart in summer 1997, after reaching No. 1 first in the group’s native New Zealand, then in Australia and several European countries. OMC was started as […]
Song of the Day 6/27: Mumford and Sons, “Hopeless Wanderer”
Mumford and Sons, the British band that soared to popularity a decade ago by dressing up like farmers and playing Americana, hit the news this week when their banjo player left the band because, basically, he’s a right-wing dude-bro, and fans weren’t happy about it. Winston Marshall, 33, the group’s co-founder and a self-described “trustafarian,” […]
Song of the Day 6/24: Tom Cochrane, “Life Is a Highway”
In honor of the Senate’s infrastructure deal, which apparently will be confined to not much more than highways. This one pops up all the time on classic rock radio, and to be honest I never knew when it was released. I don’t recall it ever being a new song — it just started showing up […]
Song of the Day 6/23: Ohio Players, “Funky Worm”
Have you seen any stories about this invasive species of Asian “jumping” earthworms that’s tearing up forest land in the Midwest? Check the link and prepared to be creeped out. But do it while you listen to the Ohio Players’ first charting single, from their 1973 LP “Pleasure.” It was a No. 1 R&B hit, […]
The Claudettes Coming To Arden!!
WHO, you might ask… My kind of band. First concert I’ve booked since the pandemic took live music away from us. Why tell you when I can show you?: And the opener? The most-in-demand keyboard player in Chicago, who just HAPPENS to be the chief songwriter and the keyboard player for the Claudettes, Johnny Iguana. […]
Song of the Day 6/21: Blue Cheer, “Summertime Blues”
The year: 1968. The place: San Francisco, home to the blues-rock hybrid that came to be known as psychedelic or acid rock. The band: Blue Cheer, named for one of Owsley Stanley’s LSD recipes. The song: “Summertime Blues,” the biggest hit (Billboard No. 8, 1958) for rockabilly pioneer Eddie Cochran, who had a knack for […]
Song of the Day 6/20: Nat King Cole, “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer”
Has there ever been a summer better suited to nostalgia than this one? After the Year Without a Summer, people are going to appreciate every little pleasure a good bit more. Nat King Cole was more TV star than singer by the time this jolly number reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1963. […]
Song of the Day 6/18: Bowling for Soup feat. Hanson, “Where’s the Love”
How’s this for postmodernism in practice: A punk-pop band popular in the ’00s covers a hit by a ’90s boy band, gets them to sing back-up on the single, then sets the whole thing to a video featuring animation in the ’70s style of “Scooby Doo.” Bowling for Soup’s sense of humor always distinguished them […]
Song of the Day 6/17: Boz Scaggs, “We Were Always Sweethearts”
This one’s for El Somnambulo, the biggest Boz Scaggs fan I know — and not just of the “Silk Degrees” tunes that remain in classic-rock rotation today. This song led off 1971’s “Moments,” Scaggs’ second solo album after leaving the Steve Miller Band, but it was his first-ever single. You’d think its Latin rhythm and […]
Song of the Day 6/16: Steve Miller Band, “Space Cowboy”
Jason330 posted a photo of Jeff Bezos’ mighty Space Dildo the other day, which drove home the fact that we’re now in the age of the space cowboys — not real cowboys, just play-acting rich guys with egos as big as their dreams. Beats Disneyland, I guess. This song dates back to the original Steve […]
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