Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 1/31: Joni Mitchell feat. Neil Young & The Stray Gators, “Turn Me On I’m a Radio”
Joni Mitchell is going to sing at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, the first time she’s ever performed at the ceremony, and I admit to mixed feelings. It’s great that Brandi Carlile has coaxed Mitchell into making her first public appearances in years, and I’m sure the fans will be thrilled to see her, just […]
Song of the Day 1/30: Alice in Chains, “Lab Monkey”
The residents of a small town in Georgia are about to be outnumbered by monkeys, and they’re not happy about it. Bainbridge, Ga., population 15,000, recently approved construction of a $396 million facility to breed macaques for medical research that will eventually house 30,000 of the creatures. Laboratories have been scrambling for monkeys since China […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024
Right-wing radicals billing themselves the Army of God took to the road yesterday in a border-bound trucker convoy. They departed Virginia Beach and planned to attract participants along the way, claiming they’d arrive at the Rio Grande with 700,000 people. So far they’re about 699,900 short, partly because – cue Admiral Ackbar – IT’S A […]
Song of the Day 1/29: Prince, “Check the Record”
Prince Rogers Nelson did not have a will when he died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, so his estate went into probate and was awarded in equal shares to his six half-siblings, who split into two camps. After six years in court the sides agreed to a 50-50 split and promised to share decision-making. […]
Song of the Day 1/28: P.D.Q. Bach, “Missa Hilarious, S. N₂O”
I admit I don’t listen to as much classical music as I once did, and I think it might be because I heard so much of it as the score for cartoons. Or maybe it was early exposure to PDQ Bach, who made the solemn reverence surrounding the classical canon seem rather ridiculous. PDQ Bach, […]
Song of the Day 1/26: Tina Fabrique, “Reading Rainbow” theme
Voters scrubbed Meatball Ron DeSantis from the presidential race, but the residents of Florida have to put up with him for three more years. I’m sure he’s fuming inside his tiny shoes, and since I’m not a nice guy when it comes to dealing with assholes, I think people should push his buttons at every […]
Song of the Day 1/25: Melanie, “Look What They’ve Done to My Song Ma”
Melanie Safka, a coffeehouse folk singer thrust into stardom with her set at the original Woodstock Festival, has died at age 76. Her popular success lasted just a few years, from 1970 to 1974, but she started singing in her teens and remained active until her death. Safka was singing in small New York clubs […]
Song of the Day 1/24: The Smiths, “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want”
I’ve never understood why Donald Trump is so aggrieved. He’s no billionaire except by his own accounting, but he objectively lacks for nothing. So why does he playt this Smiths song at his rallies? He doesn’t already have what he wants? Do these lyrics really describe him? See, the life I’ve had Can make a […]
Song of the Day 1/23: Elle King, “Ex’s and Oh’s”
Singer Elle King, the daughter of former SNL comedian Rob Schneider, had a career-wrecking moment at the Grand Ole Opry last Friday during a birthday tribute for Dolly Parton. She took the stage, in her own words, “hammered,” couldn’t remember most of the words to a Parton song and slurred the ones she did recall, […]
Song of the Day 1/22: Tom Petty, “I Won’t Back Down”
Ron DeSantis said he’d never back down, but he didn’t say he wouldn’t back away, so that’s just what he’s done. He left the presidential race with a quote he attributed to Winston Churchill. In the best MAGA tradition, it’s fake. Tom Petty wrote this in response to an arsonist burning down his house while […]
Song of the Day 1/20: The Shangri-Las, “Leader of the Pack”
Mary Weiss, lead singer for the ’60s girl group the Shangri-Las, died recently at age 75. The group had a strong chart run in 1964 and ’65, including this No. 1 hit from 1964. Unlike most girl groups, the Shangri-Las – two sets of sisters from a sketchy neighborhood in Queens – had a tough-girl […]
Song of the Day 1/19: The Honeycombs, “Have I the Right?”
Donald Trump apparently has never been a music fan. He’s never seen going to concerts, and we don’t hear about his Spotify playlists – a far cry from the days when we got regular reports of what was on Obama’s iPod. It’s Trump’s loss. If he had listened to more music back in the ’60s […]
Song of the Day 1/18: The Bee Gees, “Words”
Every MAGA accusation is a confession – why do you think they keep talking about mental health when we bring up gun violence? – which is why Fux News et al like to harp on Joe Biden’s mental acuity. It deflects from Donald’s. Trump has long gotten a pass because he’s been a logorrheic rambler […]
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