Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 1/9: Was (Not Was), “Dad I’m in Jail”
Lots of people who joined Vanilla Isis should be singing this one this morning, though maybe without the “Dad” — I read somewhere that the average age of the cosplay commandos is over 40. This is the last track from the 1982 Was (Not Was) LP “What Up, Dog?”
Song of the Day 1/8: Elton John, “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”
The Republican rush for the exits had generated plenty of people saying “I-never-thought” and “we-only-meant,” but one word has been conspicuously absent from any Republican I’ve heard. Guess what it is. The second single from John’s “Blue Moves” LP reached No. 6 in the U.S. (No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart). In 2002, British […]
Song of the Day 1/6: Old Crow Medicine Show, “Marching Through Georgia”
H/t Ben, for suggesting this as the song to listen to today. I’d like to hear it sung by a chorus led by Stacey Abrams, but I’m happy to settle for the Old Crow Medicine Show version, recorded for their 2013 LP “Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War.” It was written the […]
Song of the Day 1/5: Ray Charles, “Georgia on My Mind”
Hey, Georgia is on everyone’s mind today. Personally, I expect Democrats to be just as disappointed with the results as they were with the rest of 2020’s senate elections, but until the polls close this evening, there’s always hope. Hoagy Carmichael wrote this tune in 1930, but its wasn’t until Ray Charles sang it for […]
Song of the Day 1/4: Gerry and the Pacemakers, “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying”
Gerry Marsden, lead singer and main songwriter for Merseybeat pioneers Gerry and the Pacemakers, died yesterday of a heart infection at age 78. Before Beatlemania became a worldwide phenomenon, Marsden and his mates — originally billed as the Mars Bars until the candy company objected — were the main rivals to the Fab Four. They […]
Song of the Day 1/2: Brittany Howard, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
So I’m minding my own business the other night, reading online while my wife watched TV, when the speakers swelled with someone singing what sounded like a gospel song. I looked up and there was Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes belting out this tear-jerker from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel,” better known to younger generations […]
You Simply MUST Watch ‘Trial 4’.
It’s on Netflix. An incredible episodic documentary about a 1993 killing of a Boston policeman, and how the ‘justice’ system fixated on a Black suspect who spent 22 years in prison. Each episode is around 55 minutes long, and it’s compelling TV. Everybody who wished to speak had the chance to speak. You will get […]
Song of the Day 1/1: Ferko String Band, “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers”
With luck, the cancellation of the Mummers Parade this year should forestall yet another blackface incident, but let’s face it — mummery’s roots are intertwined with minstrelsy’s, and not everybody is OK with that. Ferko String Band found that out in 2013 when the went with the theme “Bringin’ Back the Minstrel Days.” What they […]
Top Songs of the Day for 2020
I’m not a big fan of year-end lists, but everybody else seems to like them. Yossarian was right: If everybody else feels that way, then I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn’t I? These are the 2020 Songs of the Day that got the most hits: John Prine, “That’s How […]
Song of the Day 12/31: Dougie MacLean, “Old Lang Syne”
I imagine lots of people will ignore the risks to hold New Year’s Eve parties, though I doubt they’ll be as big or raucous as usual. But no matter how people celebrate the turning of the calendar, it’s quite likely they’ll mark the moment by singing, or at least listening to, the song most of […]
Song of the Day 12/30: Tony Rice, “Church Street Blues”
The deadly year of 2020 claimed yet another notable musician on Christmas Day when influential bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice died, age 69, at his North Carolina home — according to longtime friend and collaborator Ricky Skaggs, while he was making his morning coffee. Rice’s impeccable flat-picking influenced virtually every bluegrass flat-picker since his days with […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2020: The Top Ten!
Well, actually, 11. How do I fit 11 songs into my Top 10? You’ll just have to scroll through the list to find out. But, first, a recap for all of you latecomers and/or those who just want to have all this goodness in one place: ‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2020: #’s 50-41 ‘Bulo’s Fave […]
Song of the Day 12/29: The Bee Gees, “Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)”
However you felt about them at the time, the new documentary “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” on HBO takes viewers on a roller-coaster ride tracking the course of their career. The brothers Gibb had three separate periods of success, each time followed by popular rejection that forced them to reinvent […]
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