Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 1/27: A-ha, “Take on Me”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona There’s a scene in the Oscar-winning movie “La La Land” where we see a musician noodling on a synthesizer in a band at a pool party. Played by Ryan Gosling, he’s really a sensitive jazz guy at heart, so we’re supposed to feel sorry for him stuck in this mess. […]
Song of the Day 1/26: Big Mama Thornton, “Hound Dog”
Editor’s note: Guest post by Nathan Arizona Many of Elvis Presley’s early hits were written and performed by black rhythm & blues artists. His first single, “That’s All Right Mama,” was written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup in 1946. Elvis already knew about Crudup and other black musicians. He had seen him perform (using a […]
Song of the Day 1/25: Gene Clark, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. Gene Clark was probably the most talented member of one of the most important bands of the 1960s, the Byrds. Though Roger McQuinn, who founded the band […]
Song of the Day 1/24: The Vaccines, “If You Wanna”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. The vaccine is finally here. The Vaccines have already been here a while, since their debut a decade ago. The post-punk indie guitar band from the UK […]
Song of the Day 1/23: Peter Cooper, “715 (For Hank Aaron)”
Editor’s note: I’ve been under the weather — a kidney stone hailstorm — so Nathan Arizona has agreed to handle the Song of the Day for a spell. The great slugger Henry Aaron died yesterday and the accolades are pouring in. Here’s a song about Hammerin’ Hank, who passed Babe Ruth’s career home run record […]
Song of the Day 1/18: The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”
Phil Spector, the groundbreaking record producer and paranoid murderer who died yesterday at age 81, made an indelible mark on the recording industry by inventing the Wall of Sound. It doesn’t sound that complicated — just turn everything up to 11, right? — but when Phil Spector built his wall, he had just two tracks […]
Song of the Day 1/17: The Circle Jerks, “When the Shit Hits the Fan”
Though the song was written about America under Reagan, its core message remains true today: We all gotta duck when the shit hits the fan. The Circle Jerks formed in 1979 when vocalist Keith Morris left Black Flag and guitarist Greg Hetson from Redd Kross joined him. They became a seminal LA punk band, cited […]
Song of the Day 1/16: Dinosaur Jr., “Start Choppin'”
I have learned over the years that J. Mascis is an acquired taste that a lot of people failed to acquire, but this breakup song comes as close to mass appeal as he ever got. It delivers power-trio punch highlighted by Mascis’ searing solos in a song that’s as melodic as anything he ever wrote. […]
Song of the Day 1/15: Steely Dan, “With a Gun”
How do wingnut Congresswomen go to Congress? That’s right, with a gun. This isn’t one of the Dan’s more celebrated tunes; it was hidden in the middle of side 2 of “Pretzel Logic” and is generally regarded, even among fans, as Becker and Fagan doing a parody of the Byrds but not really pulling it […]
Song of the Day 1/14: Dandy Livingstone, “Rudy, a Message to You”
Most rock fans know this song because The Specials reached No. 10 in the UK with a cover in 1979. This is the original rocksteady version by Jamaican-born British singer Dandy Livingstone. He moved to England in the late ’60s and recorded more than a dozen albums between 1967, when “Rudy, a Message to You” […]
Song of the Day: Richard Thompson, “Oops I Did It Again”
Congrats, Donnie Two Scoops, you’re the first guy to do that getting impeached thing again. When a magazine asked Richard Thompson for a list of the best popular songs of the past 1,000 years, he responded by releasing a live double LP of the tunes he selected. Many of them are old — really old […]
Song of the Day 1/11: The Rolling Stones, “Play With Fire”
Insurrectionists are finding out that their little cosplay coup has produced repercussions IRL. Should have listened to Mick and the boys, though I suppose this song, originally the B-side of “The Last Time,” isn’t a high-rotation song on classic rock radio. It should be. If it’s not a better song than “Angie,” at least its […]
Song of the Day 1/10: Randy Rainbow, “Sedition”
You have to wonder what Randy Rainbow’s next gig will be in the post-Trump era. Will he turn into Vaughn Meader, the JFK impersonator whose career evaporated after Kennedy’s assassination? Meader was actually a musician before his First Family-spoofing comedy album, and he returned to music after his fall from popularity. Rainbow was an aspiring […]
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