Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 6/5: XTC, “King for a Day”
While Donald Trump is in England having monarch envy, the lads of XTC had his sort pegged back in the Thatcher era. “King for a Day,” which appears on the band’s 1989 album “Oranges and Lemons, was written and sung by bassist Colin Moulding, the less prolific of the band’s two songwriters (guitarist Andy Partridge […]
Song of the Day 6/4: The Kinks, “Sunny Afternoon”
The Kinks had a string of hits during the original British Invasion that became instant garage-rock classics. “Sunny Afternoon,” released in the summer of 1966, continued Ray Davies’ move toward more sophisticated music and socially conscious lyrics that had begun with “Well Respected Man” the year before. It also demonstrated his strong music-hall leanings. Davies […]
Song of the Day 6/3: 13th Floor Elevators, “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
Roky Erickson, one of rock’s most famous burnout cases, died Friday in Texas. Erickson’s 13th Floor Elevators, formed when he was still a teenager, pioneered psychedelic rock (and championed psychedelics) until Erickson had a psychotic break and was diagnosed as schizophrenic. He was institutionalized for three years and subjected to electroshock therapy, breaking up the […]
Song of the Day 6/2: Charles Bradley, “Lucifer”
Two posthumous singles by the late Charles Bradley, the Screaming Eagle of Soul, have been released in the past month. They were recorded in late 2016, shortly after Bradley learned he had stomach cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. He died less than a year later. Bradley, who had little education, usually wrote by ad-libbing vocals […]
Song of the Day 6/1: Paul Simon, “Mother and Child Reunion”
Ever since “Graceland” Paul Simon has been scorned over his penchant for what’s now called cultural appropriation. But time was he wasn’t universally condemned for traveling abroad to tap into foreign musical traditions. Back in the day musicians celebrated the broader exposure. “Mother and Child Reunion,” for example, helped introduce reggae to a broad U.S. […]
Song of the Day 5/31: Leon Redbone, “Diddy Wah Diddy”
Leon Redbone died Thursday. As best anyone could tell, he was 69. Most people first saw him on TV in the mid-’70s, maybe on Saturday Night Live or the Tonight Show. He usually came on with the briefest of introductions, sometimes alone, sometimes accompanied by, say, a single clarinet, a droll, mysterious man out of […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: May 2019
A couple of slices of Orbison Noir are but two (or three) of the many standouts in a great month for music. Arranged alphabetically as always. Enjoy this month’s feast for your ears: The band’s name is Goon: He may already be too big for the Gild Hall, but we’re trying: One of our fave […]
Song of the Day 5/30: Wilson Pickett, “Hey Jude”
This is not only one of the best R&B covers of a pop song you’ll ever hear, the guitar by Duane Allman is credited with giving birth to the entire Southern Rock genre. Wilson Pickett recorded it at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, where Allman was working as a session guitarist. It was Allman who […]
Song of the Day 5/29: The Isley Brothers, “Summer Breeze”
Used to be that R&B acts would cover mainstream pop hits routinely, often improving them in the process. You can’t find a better example than what the Isley Brothers did with this Seals and Crofts hit. They slowed it from mid-tempo to ballad, dressed it in Ron Isley’s passionate vocals and Ernie’s expressive electric guitar […]
Song of the Day 5/28: The Valentinos, “Lookin’ for a Love”
People know this song from Bobby Womack’s 1974 release, which reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 (No. 1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart), but that wasn’t its first time around the track. That came back in 1962, when it was released by the Valentinos on Sam Cooke’s SAR label. The Valentinos were Cooke’s […]
Song of the Day 5/27: War, “Summer”
Didn’t mean to run another War song so soon, but to quote the lyrics, summertime is here. Yes, I know Americans foolishly start their seasons with a celestial solstices and equinoxes (most other countries don’t), but I ascribe to a more commercial definition. It’s not so true anymore, but in my youth Boardwalk businesses opened […]
Song of the Day 5/26: The Little Darlings, “Little Bit O’ Soul”
Every once in a while I learn that a hit song that I thought was original is actually a cover. That’s the case here. The song was a hit in 1967 but was written in 1964 by English songwriters John Carter and Ken Lewis, who a decade later had a hit with “Beach Baby,” the […]
Song of the Day 5/25: Blues Image, “Ride Captain Ride”
This band was a true one-hit wonder. Originally from Florida, Blues Image moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and released one album before 1970’s “Open,” which included their only hit, written by guitarist/vocalist Mike Pinera and keyboard player Skip Konte. It reached No. 4 and was one of the songs of the summer that year. […]
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