Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 8/31: The Beach Boys, “All Summer Long”
The title track to the Beach Boys’ 1964 LP was never released as a single in the U.S., so most people didn’t hear it much until George Lucas used it as the end credit music for his breakout hit “American Graffiti, which might be why most people never noticed the anachronism — the film is […]
Song of the Day 8/30: Iris DeMent, “Wasteland of the Free”
Another song for the “Nothing Has Changed” playlist. Folk/country artist Iris DeMent is probably best known for her song “Our Town” and her duets with John Prine, but back in 1996 she released this protest song on her third album. The song and album both went over poorly with the conservative crowd that listens to […]
Song of the Day 8/29: R.E.M., “Nightswimming”
This tune, initially recorded during sessions for the band’s breakthrough “Out of Time” album, saw release on the band’s 1992 “Automatic for the People” LP. Most REM songs started with the music, but Michael Stipe wrote these lyrics first and then asked guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills if they had anything that would […]
Song of the Day 8/28: The Rembrandts, “Just the Way It Is, Baby”
The Rembrandts were just two guitarists, Danny Wilde (lead vocals) and Phil Solem (lead guitar), who hit the Top 20 with this catchy kiss-off in 1990. They are, unfortunately, remembered mainly for the theme song to “Friends,” a tune despised by just about every fan of the band and millions of others besides.
Song of the Day 8/26: Elvis Costello, “Watch Your Step”
“Trust,” released in 1981, is one of Elvis Costello’s under-appreciated efforts, mostly remembered only for “Clubland.” I always liked this track, with its understated air of menace, Costello’s vague but witty wordplay and Steve Nieve’s soulful organ fills. If you have any idea what the lyrics actually refer to, drop a line in the comments. […]
Song of the Day 8/25: Edwin Hawkins Singers, “Oh Happy Day”
Back in the day, the Top 40 included all sorts of music, even gospel, as evidenced by this song hitting No. 4 in the country in 1969. Edwin Hawkins, director of the Northern California State Youth Choir at Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, California, recorded it for an LP intended as a […]
Song of the Day 8/23: Primitive Radio Gods, “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand”
Another one-hit wonder from the ’90s, “Phone Booth” traveled a long road to No. 1 on the modern rock chart in 1996. It started several years earlier, when songwriter Chris O’Connor was fronting a band called the I-Rails in southern California. They recorded four albums to little attention and O’Connor was recording material for a […]
Song of the Day 8/22: Fastball, “The Way”
Fastball is a band out of Austin, Texas, that formed in 1995 and scored a massive modern-rock hit in 1998 with this rockabilly-flavored tale of a road trip with no destination. Technically they’re not a one-hit wonder — a couple of other songs from the same LP reached the charts, and they were nominated for […]
Song of the Day 8/21: Willie Nelson, “Red Headed Stranger”
The title song and the conceptual genesis of the album that made Willie Nelson’s career. “The Tale of the Red Headed Stranger” was a nearly forgotten country tune that Willie used to play as a DJ when it came out in 1954. His then-wife suggested he build a concept album around it, which he did […]
Song of the Day 8/20: Old 97’s, “Buick City Complex”
I drove the other day past the Boxwood Road plant, still under demolition, and didn’t realize I should have rolled up the windows. Most of the buildings are now piles of rubble, but the administration building was still half-standing. Nobody has written a song about Boxwood yet, the way Rhett Miller did for the Buick […]
Song of the Day 8/19: Bill Deal and the Rhondels, “May I”
It’s beach music, it’s blue-eyed soul, and while it only reached No. 39 on the Hot 100, it made a national act out of a band that had been playing the Virginia-Carolina beach music circuit for more than a decade but had never released a record before. The song was written and originally done by […]
Song of the Day 8/17: Roger McGuinn, “Ballad of Easy Rider”
Actor Peter Fonda died yesterday at age 79, 50 years after the release of his most famous film project, “Easy Rider.” Fonda asked Dylan to write the film’s theme song. Though Dylan declined, he did give Fonda a few lines on a napkin and told him, “Give this to McGuinn. He’ll know what to do […]
Song of the Day 8/15: Charles Manson, “Look at Your Game Girl”
Director Quentin Tarantino’s latest “let’s wish away the bad parts of history” film is tangentially related to the Manson Family murders in 1969 Los Angeles. Some critics have complained that the soundtrack is poorly fitted to the material, consisting of pop tunes instead of the psychedelic sounds emerging at the time. Surprisingly, considering Tarantino’s do-anything-for-a-shock […]
Recent Comments