Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 2/23: The Records, “Starry Eyes”
The Records were a British power-pop band of the late ’70s-early ’80s, one of the post-punk, skinny-tie, jangly-guitar outfits that carried the torch for rock ‘n’ roll against its deformed bastard child, disco. They never broke through as a band except for “Starry Eyes,” released in 1978, and even that stalled out in the bottom […]
Song of the Day 2/20: Steely Dan, “Only a Fool Would Say That”
Every time I hear another attack on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez this song pops into my mind. Some people say this is the Dan’s answer to John Lennon’s “Imagine,” (Lennon, remember, was the “Fool on the Hill”), belittling the idea of “a world where all is free.” This being Steely Dan, that’s open to some interpretation — […]
Song of the Day 2/19: The Rolling Stones, “Hand of Fate”
The star of this track is a guy who almost became a Rolling Stone. Wayne Perkins was a session guitarist out of Muscle Shoals, one of a half-dozen or so who auditioned for Mick Taylor’s job after Taylor left the band in 1974. Keith Richards later said the “Black and Blue” album, released to mixed […]
Song of the Day, 2/18: The Nazz, “Open My Eyes”
It’s hard for those who didn’t live through the ’60s to appreciate how large the Beatles loomed over pop culture. Not only did their music spawn entire new genres, they also starred in films that influenced how bands presented themselves. In the case of “Open Your Eyes,” the Nazz ripped off the Who’s “Can’t Explain” […]
Song of the Day 2/17: Paul Anka, “Wonderwall”
That Ryan Adams cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” is great, but it’s so gloomy. Paul Anka, on his album of rock covers, gave it a much more upbeat, ring-a-ding-ding reading that gets my foot tapping every time.
Song of the Day 2/16: Ryan Adams, “Wonderwall”
Ryan Adams has found himself in a world of trouble for something rock stars used to consider one of the perks of the job: Smutting around with underage girls. The New York Times gave Adams the full #metoo treatment, interviewing several aspiring young musicians plus Adams’ ex-wife, actress Mandy Moore, who all painted pretty much […]
Song of the Day 2/15: Ten Years After, “I’d Love to Change the World”
This song, the highlight of the band’s 1971 album “A Space in Time,” was by critical consensus the pinnacle of British blues guitarist Alvin Lee’s career, though I have to agree with Robert Christgau about the empty philosophy Lee espouses — “Fellow seems to believe that if you ‘tax the rich to feed the poor’ […]
Song of the Day 2/14: Syl Johnson, “Is It Because I’m Black”
Once upon a time in America, people didn’t tiptoe around issues of race. The fight for civil rights legislation was hard and bitter, and the racists didn’t keep their feelings hidden. (Look at those old photos of young whites pouring ketchup and mustard on young blacks who were integrating lunch counters — they didn’t even […]
Song of the Day 2/13: Flash Cadillac, “She’s So Fine”
When I got to thinking about bands that sound like throwbacks, I realized that sometimes they do it on purpose — for example, when a movie is set in the past. Consider this nugget from the “American Graffiti” soundtrack. Back in the early ’70s the country went through a wave of nostalgia for the music […]
Song of the Day 2/12: IBM 7094, “Daisy Bell”
Yesterday Jason slagged Greta Van Fleet for sounding “old,” because their classic-rock sound and Robert Plant-manque lead singer make them sound like a 50-year-old band, Led Zeppelin. Well, I’m here to argue that old music is one of the best art forms for speaking to us from the past, and serves as a point of […]
Song of the Day 2/11: Greta Van Fleet, “Highway Tune”
Last night’s Grammy Awards got the Song and Record of the Year right — Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” won both — but no Grammy Awards ceremony would be complete without some shocking snubs and undeserved victories. No victory was more controversial than Best Rock Album winner Greta Van Fleet, a young Michigan quartet featuring […]
Song of the Day 2/10: Childish Gambino, “This Is America”
With the Grammy Awards on TV tonight, here’s a song nominated for song of the year, record of the year and best music video, and it deserves to win all three. The video been viewed 482 million times on YouTube since its release last May, when it set off weeks of criticism, interpretation and arguments […]
Song of the Day 2/9: Jackson Browne, “Doctor My Eyes”
Jackson Browne came of age at the dawn of the Southern California singer-songwriter boom, releasing his first album in 1972. This song, with its bouncy beat undercut by bleak, despairing lyrics, became a surprise hit. Browne apparently worked on this song for months before speeding up the tempo and ditching an even bleaker third verse. […]
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