Arts and Entertainment

Donald Trump proclaimed himself King of America yesterday. He's really just Mayor of Simpleton. This Andy Partridge song was on the 1989 LP "Oranges and Lemons." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Da9sc6YDBo

UFO was one of the earliest British bands to earn the label "heavy metal," forming in 1968, the same year as Black Sabbath. They never managed to score a hit…

This song seems appropriate considering that not only is it Passover, we're also afflicted by a ruler deaf to the pleas of the people. Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1958…

The roll call of the stricken continues. Marianne Faithfull has been hospitalized in London with covid-19 since late last week. She recorded this with John Prine for his 1995 LP,…

John Prine has been writing about his place in the afterlife throughout his career, starting with "Please Don't Bury Me" from 1973's "Sweet Revenge" LP. “That song was originally about…

We didn't realize it when this song was released on "Talking Book" in 1972, but it was warning us about the coronavirus. Don't believe me? Then explain these lyrics, which…

From the last album before their breakup, back when Jeff Tweedy was still in touch with his punk roots. This was mostly a swipe at their old record company, which…

Amid the COVID-19 catastrophe, deaths from other causes continue apace. Bill Withers, 81, died Monday in Los Angeles of heart failure, apparently unrelated to the coronavirus. Withers was a working…

To properly honor Adam Schlesinger, the most prolific pop tunesmith of his generation, would take a month or two of Songs of the Day. He wrote dozens for his best-known…

If it weren't for Joan Jett, Alan Merrill and the Arrows would be unknown in America instead of just obscure. But they were so big in Britain in the mid-'70s…