Arts and Entertainment
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 […]
Song of the Day 3/15: Street Dogs, “Unions and the Law”
Michigan is on the verge of becoming the first state in 60 years to roll back vulture capitalism’s odious “Right to Work” law, which allows union members to not pay their union dues. Each house of the legislature has passed a version of the bill. Once the two bills are reconciled it will go to […]
Song of the Day 3/14: Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Fall Down”
The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank shouldn’t surprise anyone. The bank, like the valley, was built on silicon chips, and silicon chips are made of sand. Castles made of sand always fall down. “Fall Down” was among the string of hits Toad the Wet Sprocket released in the mid-’90s. This one, from their LP […]
Song of the Day 3/13: Sparks, “The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte”
Cate Blanchett didn’t win the Oscar last night for her performance as an orchestra conductor in “Tár,” but would Michelle Yeoh do this? Like lots of Hollywood folk, Blanchett is a fan of Sparks, the art rock/electronica project of the Mael brothers, Russell and Ron. The duo has released 26 LPs over its 50-plus-year history, […]
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