Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 3/30: The Replacements, “Never Mind”
I was gonna go with something more involved, but I’m busy with houseguests, so never mind. If Paul Westerberg has ever explained the genesis of this tune from “Pleased to Meet Me,” the 1987 album the band recorded after dismissing wildman guitarist Bob Stinson, I’ve never found it. Some think it’s about Stinson getting canned. […]
Song of the Day 3/29: Joseph Arthur, “In the Sun”
Singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur once remarked that there’s something about this song that makes people want to record it for charity. Arthur wrote it in 1995, about a friend who died of cancer, shortly before Peter Gabriel discovered Arthur and signed him to his record company. Gabriel recorded it the next year for a Princess Diana […]
Song of the Day 3/28: Hot Tuna, “Water Song”
A chemical spill into the Delaware River above Philadelphia has led to warnings about the safety of the city’s drinking water, triggering a run on bottled water. “Water Song,” an instrumental by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, appeared on “Burgers,” Hot Tuna’s third LP and first proper studio recording. Its success convinced Kaukonen and bassist Jack Cassidy […]
Song of the Day 3/27: Graham Parker, “That’s What They All Say”
This one’s for all the MAGAts who either don’t realize or want to ignore that they’re in a cult. “That’s What They All Say” was the second track on “Heat Treatment,” Parker’s second LP with backing band the Rumour, released in 1976. The tune is usually described as a Dylanesque put-down, but the production by […]
Song of the Day 3/25: Elvis Costello, “(I Don’t Want to Go To) Chelsea”
“Ted Lasso” has legions of fans, but I seldom hear anyone mention its savvy use of popular music. Most shows nowadays mine the charts for songs that will heighten a scene’s impact, but I don’t know of any others that employed musicians who are real-life buskers, as the show has in its first two seasons. […]
Song of the Day 3/24: Monty Python, “The Penis Song”
Satire died a good while back, which is the only way you can tell this story is true: A principal in Florida got fired when a parent complained about an art teacher showing the class a photograph of Michelangelo’s David. The parent called it “pornographic.” The part that makes it art, or at least performance […]
Song of the Day 3/23: The Kinks, “Tired of Waiting for You”
How do you keep a liberal in suspense? Keep saying, “Today’s almost certainly the day Donald Trump will be indicted.” The bonus: Liberal pundits can debate endlessly over whether it would help or hurt him. This was a No. 1 single in the UK in 1965, but only No. 6 in the US, where the […]
Song of the Day 3/22: Joey Ramone, “Maria Bartiromo”
Joey Ramone is rolling over in his grave. In lawsuits filed in Delaware and New York, former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg says she was coached to lie in the Dominion defamation suit, and that she and Maria Bartiromo were being set up to take the fall. Fox execs, she claimed, ordered her to spy […]
Song of the Day 3/21: Classics IV, “Stormy”
Donald Trump might finally face some consequences today for his life of crime. He would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for that meddlesome porn star! The Classics IV had a string of three songs that hit the top 5 in 1968-69. “Stormy,” which reached No. 5, followed “Spooky” (No. 3) and […]
Song of the Day 3/20: Traffic, “Medicated Goo”
If you thought idiots dosing themselves with cattle dewormer would stop being a thing now that COVID is receding, you don’t know the persistence of idiots. You might have seen the news last week when an “ivermectin influencer” named Danny Lemoi died when his enlarged heart gave out. That might have killed him without the […]
Song of the Day 3/19: Joe Cocker, “With a Little Help From My Friends”
The sad story of Wrecking Crew drummer Jim Gordon came to an end last week with his death at 77 in a prison hospital, where he spent nearly 40 years after being convicted of second-degree murder for killing his mother in a schizophrenic fit. You might not know his name, but you’ve heard his work […]
Song of the Day 3/17: The Dubliners, “The Auld Triangle”
An Irish air to accompany the consumption of the green-tinted beer sure to flow copiously in Trolley Square today. Like a lot of Irish folk songs, this one isn’t as old as it sounds. It became widely known in 1954, when Irish writer Brendan Behan used it to open his play “The Quare Fellow,” set […]
Song of the Day 3/16: Randy Rainbow, “Life’s a Fucking Fantasy for Santos”
Randy Rainbow’s latest release takes on the Lyin’ King, George Santos, with a rare mash-up of two different tunes, “Life’s a Jolly Holliday With Mary” from “Mary Poppins” and the Seekers’ “Georgey Girl.” In case you haven’t been following the saga of Pinocchio of the House, a former roommate who’s been convicted of running a […]
Recent Comments