Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 7/22: Dave Mason, “We Just Disagree”
A message for people who know who they are. Dave Mason is one of those rockers who, like Mick Ronson, was famous as a sideman but never became a front-rank star himself. He’s best known as a founding member of Traffic, a group he subsequently left and rejoined several times. He also did a good […]
Song of the Day 7/20: Aaron Neville and Jim Henson (as Ernie), “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon”
It’s been 50 years since we got there and there’s still nobody living on the moon. Heck, we don’t even visit any more. But that’s not really what this Sesame Street classic is about. Composed by Jeff Moss, one of the show’s staff writers, it first appeared on TV in 1978, sung by Jim Henson […]
Song of the Day 7/19: Jonathan King, “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon”
The 50th anniversary of the first moon landing has triggered a wave of nostalgia for the space race of the ’60s. This song was written and recorded in 1965 by British hitmaker Jonathan King, who was still a student at Cambridge at the time. He said later that the lyrics were his attempt to satirize […]
Song of the Day 7/18: Johnny Clegg, “Scatterlings of Africa”
South African musician and anthropologist Johnny Clegg, who died Tuesday at age 66, had a brief window of exposure in the U.S. back in the ’80s, when apartheid came under increased pressure from most other industrialized countries. Clegg’s bands Juluka and Savuka, each formed by Clegg and a native African, broke the country’s laws simply […]
Song of the Day 7/17: The Gourds, “Gin and Juice”
Snoop Dogg wrote and Dr. Dre produced this hip-hop classic in 1994, and the Gourds covered it less than two years later. An alt-country band from Austin, The Gourds recorded 10 albums before going on hiatus six years ago, but this cover of Snoop Dogg’s hit, sped up and changed to a major key, was […]
Song of the Day 7/16: Roomie ft. Christine O’Donnell, “I’m Not a Witch”
Hey kidz, ‘memba the innocent days of nine years ago? Mike Castle was running for Senate and when he was challenged by Christine O’Donnell we all had a good laugh. When she released her still-infamous campaign ad, the Gregory Brothers were there to Songify it. It was just one of a string of hilarious but […]
Song of the Day 7/14: Jake Xerxes Fussell, “The River St. Johns”
Jake Xerxes Fussell is an old-fashioned folk musician, interested mostly in preservation of songs that are still in the public domain. This song, the single from his newly released album “Out of Sight,” is taken from a WPA recording from the ’30s of a blind preacher in South Carolina recalling the call of a fishmonger […]
Song of the Day 7/13: Janis Joplin, “To Love Somebody”
Most of Janis Joplin’s hits were reworked blues songs, often re-arranged to the point where the original song was barely recognizable. That’s pretty much the case with the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody,” which Joplin covered for 1969’s “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!” LP and performed live on the Dick Cavett show. […]
Song of the Day 7/12: Incubus, “Drive”
Maybe the problem with out old, out-of-touch Democrats in Congress is that they’ve never heard one of the 114 million plays this song has on YouTube, never mind iTunes and Spotify. Heck, even if they just read the lyrics they might get the message. According to singer Brandon Boyd, “The lyric is basically about fear, […]
Song of the Day 7/11: John Fogerty, “Centerfield”
Phillies centerfielder Odúbel Herrera is lost for the season to a suspension for domestic violence, and his replacement, Andrew McCutchen, tore up his knee. With the team fading fast in the standings, it might be time to give this Fogerty kid a shot. This was the title song and B-side to the second single from […]
Song of the Day 7/9: James Taylor, “Something in the Way She Moves”
El Somnambulo speculated on whether, if the Beatles had never existed, James Taylor would have had a recording career, because his first album was released by Apple Records, the Beatles’ label. That’s hard to determine, because Taylor didn’t become a star until he returned to the U.S. But it’s undeniable that George Harrison wouldn’t have […]
Song of the Day 7/8: Barclay James Harvest, “Titles”
The rom-com “Yesterday” is set in a world in which the Beatles never existed. One of the gags in the film is that, because there were no Beatles, there was therefore no Oasis. Lots of other things wouldn’t exist, either, but topping the list is this, one of Barclay James Harvest’s best-known tunes, the lyrics […]
Song of the Day 7/6: Frank Sinatra, “Summer Wind”
Though it’s not as well known as “My Way” or “New York, New York,” most people associate this song with Sinatra. Someone who loved and lost like Frank has a perfect feel for Johnny Mercer’s rueful lyrics, and his vocals, like Nelson Riddle’s arrangement, start quietly and builds to a crescendo. But those lyrics aren’t […]
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