Arts and Entertainment
Live Music Returns–Gloriously–To Arden
What a joyous event. The great Molly Tuttle and the wonderful singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Rachel Baiman wowed the crowd in the Shady Grove yesterday. The weather was gorgeous and everybody was stoked. The rules were simple: You didn’t need to wear a mask except when you got up to go somewhere (beer table, merch table, Port-A-Potty). We […]
Song of the Day 5/25: Starship, “We Built This City”
There is a widely held misconception about this song. It is not the “worst song” of all time. It’s the most hated song of all time. It might sound like a semantic difference, but it’s not. The worst songs aren’t catchy ditties that go to No. 1 and are named “worst ever” 20 years after […]
Song of the Day 5/24: Pink Floyd w/ Stephane Grappelli, “Wish You Were Here”
I’m not much of a Pink Floyd fan — I probably haven’t listened to “Dark Side of the Moon” all the way through in 40 years — but you don’t have to be to know this song, a staple of classic-rock radio since its 1975 release. But, not being much of a fan, I wasn’t […]
Song of the Day 5/23: Frank Zappa, “Montana”
As if the story of the Hockessin woman who dognapped her neighbor’s 6-month-old Pyredoodle and dumped it on a New Jersey roadside wasn’t weird enough, the victim said this incident prompted her and her family to move to Montana. Frank Zappa had the exact same idea nearly 50 years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smZA9Jv3qH0 The backing vocals were […]
Song of the Day 5/21: Pink Floyd, “Have a Cigar”
This one’s for El Somnambulo, who’s a bit miffed that guys who smoke expensive cigars will pay a lower tax rate than people who smoke El Ropos. Contra Sigmund Freud, sometimes a cigar is not a cigar. For Roger Waters, it represented the greed of the music industry, which isn’t surprising, as almost everything represented […]
Song of the Day 5/20: Carole King, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”
There’s no question Carole King belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — she’s been there, along with her first husband and lyricist, Gerry Goffin, since 1990. By one standard, she’s the preeminent female songwriter of the second half of the 20th century — she wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that reached the […]
Song of the Day 5/19: Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
For some reason, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame couldn’t simply place Gil Scott-Heron among the pantheon. He’s in this year, but as an “early influencer.” If they’re talking about his influence on rap, well, that’s undeniable, but that shortchanges an artist whose body of work towers above some of the acts already in. […]
Song of the Day 5/18: The Go-Go’s, “Our Lips Are Sealed”
I like the Go-Go’s, really I do. Their peppy power pop fit nicely with the New Wave movement of the early ’80s and MTV made sure you noticed how easy they were on the eyes. I saw them play at the UD Fieldhouse — the old one north of Main Street that had acoustics like […]
Song of the Day 5/16: Billy Preston, “Nothing From Nothing”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is deeply flawed, but it does serve to shine an annual spotlight on some musicians who have faded into obscurity. Billy Preston will be honored this year, 15 years after his death, with the Hall’s Musical Excellence Award, which it gives to sidemen, producers and the like. Sure, […]
Song of the Day 5/14: Todd Rundgren, “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”
The poobahs who run the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally got around to admitting Todd Rundgren this year, in his 25th year of eligibility as a solo artist. That says a lot more about the people making these decisions than it does about Todd Rundgren, who has disdained the institution from the first. […]
Song of the Day 5/13: Foo Fighters, “Big Me”
Yes, you are getting old. The Foo Fighters were among those selected for the 2021 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which means the band, which started as a solo project by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl after Kurt Cobain’s suicide, has been around for 25 years. Grohl, now 52 years old, has […]
Song of the Day 5/12: Tré Burt, “Under the Devil’s Knee”
Protest songs are pretty common, but really effective ones are not. I heard this the other night on the folk show on WXPN, and I think it belongs in the latter category. All I know is about him is that he’s from Sacramento and has been signed by John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, signifying a […]
Song of the Day 5/11: Randy Rainbow, “Clang, Clang, Clang Went Josh Hawley”
Randy Rainbow, like the rest of the media, has mostly moved on from the Last Guy and has now focused his attention on the lesser imps and demons who populate Cult 45. Rainbow’s already-impressive production values also seem to have improved.
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