Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 7/14: Jake Xerxes Fussell, “The River St. Johns”
Jake Xerxes Fussell is an old-fashioned folk musician, interested mostly in preservation of songs that are still in the public domain. This song, the single from his newly released album “Out of Sight,” is taken from a WPA recording from the ’30s of a blind preacher in South Carolina recalling the call of a fishmonger […]
Song of the Day 7/13: Janis Joplin, “To Love Somebody”
Most of Janis Joplin’s hits were reworked blues songs, often re-arranged to the point where the original song was barely recognizable. That’s pretty much the case with the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody,” which Joplin covered for 1969’s “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!” LP and performed live on the Dick Cavett show. […]
Song of the Day 7/12: Incubus, “Drive”
Maybe the problem with out old, out-of-touch Democrats in Congress is that they’ve never heard one of the 114 million plays this song has on YouTube, never mind iTunes and Spotify. Heck, even if they just read the lyrics they might get the message. According to singer Brandon Boyd, “The lyric is basically about fear, […]
Song of the Day 7/11: John Fogerty, “Centerfield”
Phillies centerfielder Odúbel Herrera is lost for the season to a suspension for domestic violence, and his replacement, Andrew McCutchen, tore up his knee. With the team fading fast in the standings, it might be time to give this Fogerty kid a shot. This was the title song and B-side to the second single from […]
Song of the Day 7/9: James Taylor, “Something in the Way She Moves”
El Somnambulo speculated on whether, if the Beatles had never existed, James Taylor would have had a recording career, because his first album was released by Apple Records, the Beatles’ label. That’s hard to determine, because Taylor didn’t become a star until he returned to the U.S. But it’s undeniable that George Harrison wouldn’t have […]
Song of the Day 7/8: Barclay James Harvest, “Titles”
The rom-com “Yesterday” is set in a world in which the Beatles never existed. One of the gags in the film is that, because there were no Beatles, there was therefore no Oasis. Lots of other things wouldn’t exist, either, but topping the list is this, one of Barclay James Harvest’s best-known tunes, the lyrics […]
Song of the Day 7/6: Frank Sinatra, “Summer Wind”
Though it’s not as well known as “My Way” or “New York, New York,” most people associate this song with Sinatra. Someone who loved and lost like Frank has a perfect feel for Johnny Mercer’s rueful lyrics, and his vocals, like Nelson Riddle’s arrangement, start quietly and builds to a crescendo. But those lyrics aren’t […]
Song of the Day 7/5: Barnstorm, “Turn to Stone”
Even Joe Walsh fans tend to forget that after he left the James Gang and before he joined the Eagles, Walsh moved from Cleveland to Colorado, where he formed a trio he called Barnstorm. Though intended as a group, the records were marketed as solo records, and drummer Joe Vitale and bassist Kenny Passarelli became […]
Song of the Day 7/4: Bruce Springsteen, “Born in the USA”
This song has a complicated history because of its use as a rollerball in the culture wars, but it’s interesting that the version that became a hit was never planned or intended. The song started as the title of a screenplay that director Paul Schrader sent to Springsteen when he was toying with the idea […]
Song of the Day 7/3: Ray Charles, “America the Beautiful”
This should be the national anthem, and I don’t mean just the song itself but this rendition of it. Accept no substitutes. It is no accident that Charles starts with what was intended as the song’s third verse, about war heroes. Many people think that’s a tribute to all war heroes, but “mercy more than […]
Song of the Day 6/30: Elton John and Taron Egerton, “Your Song”
“Rocketman,” the Elton John biopic/fantasy/jukebox musical, has generated only about one-tenth the box office, and even less of the buzz, of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but it has exceeded analyst expectations and is already in the black. One of the selling points in the film’s marketing was that star Taron Egerton sang all his own vocals; here […]
Song of the Day 6/29: CeeLo Green and Daryl Hall, “Fuck You”
I think of this song every time Donald Trump opens his mouth. It’s been nine years since CeeLo Green (born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway), along with collaborators including Bruno Mars, wrote the ultimate male-centric breakup song. (Note to Mike Dinsmore: This is the song that led to my realization that women tend to sing heartbreak songs […]
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