Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 6/25: Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, “Too Late to Turn Back Now”
So let me get this straight: The revolt of the Wagner mercenaries got halfway to Moscow and then turned back. I’m no warlord, but I don’t think that’s the way you’re supposed to do it. The Cornelius Brothers and their sister Rose (eventually joined by their other sister, Billie Jo) were a family singing act […]
Song of the Day 6/24: The O’Jays, “Backstabbers”
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary forces is marching 25,000 soldiers on Moscow, and Vladimir Putin has responded in classic fascist fashion, describing it not just as treason but that old propaganda standby, a stab in the back. The O’Jays, formed in 1958, had their first Top 40 hit when “Backstabbers” reached No. 3 in […]
Song of the Day 6/23: Randy Rainbow, “Donald in the John With Boxes”
Randy Rainbow just dropped his latest, a ditty about Trump’s reading habits and storage facilities set to the tune of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” I suppose any Rainbow criticism of Trump has to be seen in context, though. Like other political humorists before him — Will Rogers, Pat Paulsen, Marianne Williamson — Rainbow […]
Song of the Day 6/22: Stray Cats, “Cat Fight (Over a Dog Like Me)”
Republicans always seem to stick together, if only because they’re the minority party in the U.S. so they’re doomed if they don’t. Give them a scrap of power, though, and they’ll fight over it like seagulls over a french fry. Case in point: The House of Representatives’ two reigning divas, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren […]
Song of the Day 6/21: Fountains of Wayne, “Sink to the Bottom”
I’ve detected a distinct lack of sympathy for the well-heeled victims of the OceanGate disaster (pro tip: never use the word “gate” in your name), so what the fuck, I can be as flip about it as the next guy. “Sink to the Bottom” was included on Fountains of Wayne’s eponymous debut LP in 1996. […]
Song of the Day 6/20: A.L. Phipps and the Phipps Family, “The Great Titanic”
Five people have been lost descending to the wreck of the Titanic in a small submersible craft. A frantic search for them is underway, but unless the story gets a miracle ending, it seems the “unsinkable” ship is still claiming lives. The mythic element of the sinking of the Titanic seems to have dissipated in […]
Song of the Day 6/19: The Rascals, “People Got to Be Free”
How does an old white guy celebrate Juneteenth? I’m going with blue-eyed soul from some of its early practitioners, the Rascals. The sentiment sounds hokey today — they don’t play this one much even on oldies radio — but it was widespread in 1968, when this song spent five weeks at No. 1 on the […]
Song of the Day 6/17: Mungo Jerry, “In the Summertime”
Some people insist summer starts with the equinox on June 21. Bollocks. June, July and August constitute “the summer,” and the people prove it every year by swarming the country’s beaches from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They take Mungo Jerry’s advice — they have a drink, have a drive and go out and see […]
Song of the Day 6/16: Pat Benatar, “Hell Is for Children”
We all realize that Republicans live in a heavily insulated bubble, but I don’t think we can grasp how weird it is in there. Every once in a while, though, one of them says something that shows they live in a very different world. Today’s example comes from Ted Cruz, who told some wingjob talk […]
Song of the Day 6/15: Rod Stewart, “Handbags and Gladrags”
Old-timers bitching about the feckless younger generation has been a constant throughout human history, and it always seems to find an eager audience. Consider this song, written in 1967 by Mike D’Abo, then the lead singer of British band Manfred Mann, chastising a teenage girl for skipping school and shopping for trendy styles. For those […]
Song of the Day 6/14: Frank and Nancy Sinatra, “Somethin’ Stupid”
Republicans are always saying something stupid, but it’s rarely “I love you.” When this song surged up the charts in 1967 the lyrics puzzled me — how could the singer spoil it all by saying “I love you”? Hey, I was 11, there were lots of things I didn’t know yet. At the time, nobody […]
Song of the Day 6/13: Dave Matthews Band, “Busted Stuff”
Unless I’m missing some nuance, MAGAt Nation is threatening to bust stuff up just because their hero is being called to account for his lawbreaking. Yes, nothing says “we’re the party of law and order” better than calling for people to break the law in support of an even bigger lawbreaker. This song first surfaced […]
Song of the Day 6/12: AC/DC, “Highway to Hell”
Yesterday’s I-95 fire and overpass collapse in Northeast Philadelphia quickly acquired a soundtrack. Somebody posted to social media a drive-by of the fire a few minutes before the collapse, black smoke billowing before they come upon the flames. I don’t think this was actually on their car radio, but some things are just too right […]
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