Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 10/26: The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army”
It’s been an awful year all over the world, which might help explain why a woman confronted Edinburgh, Scotland, street musician Matt Grant last week by grabbing his guitar from his hands and smashing it on the sidewalk. Deprived of his means of earning a living, Grant posted an appeal on GoFundMe. He got a […]
Song of the Day 10/25: Jerry Jeff Walker, “Mr. Bojangles”
It almost has the certainty of scientific law: Any hell-raising musician will reach his commercial peak with a song that’s slow and sentimental. It certainly proved to be the case for Ronald Clyde Crosby, better known as Jerry Jeff Walker. Like Townes Van Zandt, another Texas outlaw-country legend, he managed to become famous despite never […]
Song of the Day 10/23: The Spencer Davis Group, “Gimme Some Lovin'”
Note: This is a guest post by Nathan Arizona. Spencer Davis, who died this week at 81, was one of the most important pioneers of British electric blues-rock and the whole British Invasion. He’s not one of the most famous, but maybe he should be. Davis led the Spencer Davis Group, formed in Birmingham in […]
Best Pro Rasslin’ Segment In ForEVER!
As many of you know, my El Somnambulo monicker comes from my fictitious lucha libre background, featuring my legendary but totally made-up feud with the dastardly Teletubbymundo. I love pro rasslin’s zaniness, which WWE has excised from its product as Vince McMahon falls deeper into senility. Fortunately, a new alternative, AEW (All Elite Wrestling), premiered […]
Song of the Day 10/22: Audience, “Indian Summer”
This week might have been too damp to qualify as actual “Indian summer” weather, but I’m not going to let that stop me from resurrecting the only charting single ever released by the British band Audience during its five-year original existence from 1969 to 1973. Though usually lumped in with the progressive-rock movement, Audience’s blend […]
Song of the Day 10/21: Gen X, “Dancing With Myself”
The jokes about Jeffrey Toobin, the CNN pundit and New Yorker writer who was suspended for exposing himself during a Zoom meeting, pretty much write themselves, but that hasn’t stopped people from taking their shots — I particularly liked the wag who declared that Toobin shouldn’t resign, he should stick it out. Far be it […]
Song of the Day 10/20: Jeff Bridges, “Maybe I Missed the Point”
Actor Jeff Bridges tweeted out some news yesterday by quoting his most iconic movie character: “As the Dude would say, new shit has come to light.” That was his way of announcing that he’s been diagnosed with lymphoma. Though “The Big Lebowski” might be his best-remembered role, it’s not the one that earned him his […]
Song of the Day 10/19: The Beach Boys, “‘Til I Die”
Mike Love is still adding to his resume as rock ‘n’ roll’s biggest asshole, this time by headlining a Trump fund-raising concert in Orange County without telling Brian Wilson and Al Jardine beforehand. That duo quickly disavowed any connection with Trump, and you can tell they wish they could cut their connections with Love as […]
Song of the Day 10/18: The Avett Brothers, “Early in the Morning”
HBO is running a “West Wing” reunion show with an interesting twist — the cast assembles for a stage reading of a highly-regarded episode that originally aired in February 2002. The actors slipped into their old roles easily, but IMO the most interesting part was the way director Thomas Schlamme adapted the TV script for […]
Song of the Day 10/16: Poco, “A Good Feelin’ to Know”
Buffalo Springfield had three guitarists who were also singers and songwriters. Stephen Stills and Neil Young found greater fame after the group disbanded, but Richie Furay, who had the best voice of the three, never managed to break through to success or fame. He and Jim Messina, Buffalo Springfield’s replacement bassist and frequent producer, hooked […]
Song of the Day 10/15: Alison Krauss, “When You Say Nothing at All”
Here’s the perfect song for Amy Coney Barrett, who spent hours this week saying nothing at all. Alison Krauss recorded it for a 1994 tribute album to Keith Whitley, who had a No. 1 country hit with it in 1988, the year before he died. Krauss’ version was released as a single only after radio […]
Song of the Day 10/14: Curtis Mayfield, “(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go”
When Curtis Mayfield left his group for a solo career in 1970, most people were expecting his solo LP “Curtis” to feature the sort of melodic, uplifting soul music that the Impressions had made their trademark. It did — “Move On Up,” one of Mayfield’s greatest songs, kicked off the LP’s second side and served […]
Song of the Day 10/13: Richard Thompson, “Persuasion”
Despite a 50-plus-year career filled with more high points than the landscape of Nepal, Richard Thompson remains what John Peel called him early in his career, “the best-kept secret in the world of music.” He’s equally adept on both acoustic and electric guitar, and his melodic compositions, whether pure folk or folk-rock, tap into emotions […]
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