Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 9/20: Freddy Fender, “Across the Borderline”
Operation Immigrant Dump needed Donald Trump to steal the idea from ’60s Southern racists, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to put it into practice, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to fuck it up before it captured the news cycle. My question is, now that they’re turned the “immigrant caravans” of their imagination into real ones, are […]
Song of the Day 9/19: Elton John, “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”
Though Queen Elizabeth remains dead, Britain’s almost endless period of mourning — even our British friends said yesterday that enough was enough — will come to a close today with another day-long ceremony culminating in her burial. The music will be somber — sorry, I meant sombre — but it won’t include this Elton John […]
Song of the Day 9/18: The James Gang, “Funk #49”
If you weren’t a fan of the Foo Fighters you probably never heard of Taylor Hawkins before he died in March at age 50. But you’ve definitely heard of some of his admirers. Dave Grohl assembled them at London’s Wembley Stadium two weeks ago for a tribute concert, and the lineup rivaled any all-star concert […]
Song of the Day 9/16: King Harvest, “Dancing in the Moonlight”
Connoisseurs of yacht rock trace the roots of the retroactively-defined genre to the Southern California soft-rock boom of the mid-’70s, so this song is technically a precursor. No matter. One-hit wonder King Harvest released it in 1971, and though it only reached No. 13 on the Hot 100, it’s had a long afterlife on soundtracks. […]
Song of the Day 9/15: World Party, “Way Down Now”
The TV watching public (which is everybody but me, basically) is in a tizzy. The streaming services that have replaced cable TV, which replaced broadcast TV, are slashing programming, removing archived shows and pulling the plug on green-lighted productions, all because subscriber growth has slowed. Yeah, that’s the ticket — raise prices and reduce product, […]
Song of the Day 9/14: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “The Tears of a Clown”
Colin Bonini always reminded me of a clown. Not figuratively, literally. He’s a large man — his everyday shoes are clown-sized — but his smile isn’t painted on, it’s real. All he lacks is a squirting flower in his lapel. Bonini is an old-fashioned conservative who believes that taxes are too high because government spends […]
Song of the Day 9/13: Chase, “Get It On”
The early ’70s were great times for horn players who wanted to be rock ‘n’ rollers. Jazz was shrinking, and though soul revues often featured horn sections, guitars ruled rock, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else but keyboards and other rhythm instruments. That started to change in 1967, when Al Kooper and Steve […]
Song of the Day 9/12: Midlake, “Roscoe”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona Is Roscoe a productive name, as the Texas band Midlake would have it? And what the heck is an occupanther? Was “Roscoe” one of the 100 best songs of the 2000s, as Rolling Stone says? One of the best of 2006, as Pitchfork calls it? Or does it sound like […]
Song of the Day 9/11: Rage Against the Machine, “Killing in the Name”
This will be debated by future historians, but for my money the United States’ embrace of fascism can be traced to Sept. 11, 2001. Fascistic movements thrive on defense of blood and soil, and in that regard the attack by Middle Eastern extremists operated like the Reichstag Fire. Consider: In the immediate aftermath, polls recorded […]
Song of the Day 9/10: The Three Degrees, “Givin’ Up, Givin’ In”
King Charles might be new to the throne, but he’s been living under Fleet Street’s microscope for a long time, and seldom given much respect. At best he’s treated as an eccentric, the kind of guy who embraced crackpot causes like sustainable farming, global warming and classical architecture back when doing so made one a […]
Song of the Day 9/9: Chumbawamba, “Her Majesty”
The death of Queen Elizabeth II is guaranteed to reignite debates about the future of the British monarchy. Not right away, of course. Lots of people who hate the institution loved, or at least respected, a sovereign who earned her popularity by taking her ceremonial job seriously, so critics will hold their fire for 10 […]
Song of the Day 9/8: The B-52’s, “Deadbeat Club”
Some bands go on forever, the Rolling Stones being rock’s premier example. Others keep a name alive even after all the original members have departed. But most call it quits at some point. If they’re popular enough, they stage a farewell tour as a last hurrah. That’s what the B-52s are doing. The ultimate ’80s […]
Song of the Day 9/7: Maxwell, “Radiation Funk”
The invasion of Ukraine has mostly faded from the news, but one aspect threatens to put it back at the top of the broadcasts. Russia, demonstrating the ineptitude that has distinguished its war effort thus far, again shelled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, putting if off the power grid and bringing it […]
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