Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 7/16: The Delfonics, “La-La (Means I Love You)”
William “Poogie” Hart, whose soaring falsetto as lead singer of the Delfonics helped define Philly soul, died Thursday in Philadelphia at age 77. Hart and his brother Wilbert had formed vocal groups with various classmates at Overbrook High, but Hart was singing on his job at a barbershop when an impressario named Stan Watson heard […]
Song of the Day 7/15: The New Pornographers, “The Laws Have Changed”
I have no idea what prompted Carl Newman to write “It was crime at the time but the laws we changed ’em” — this song appeared on the band’s second LP, “Electric Version,” back in 2003, and besides, they’re Canadian — but it certainly seems to apply these days, doesn’t it? Except nowadays the title […]
Song of the Day 7/13: Graham Gouldman and Brian May, “Floating in Heaven”
NASA has released the first batch of images captured by the Webb space telescope, and rock’s top astrophysicist, Brian May, has teamed up with 10cc songwriter Graham Gouldman on a new tune to celebrate the occasion. You’ve probably seen this widely reproduced image showing scores of galaxies. What you might not have seen is how […]
Song of the Day 7/12: Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Joseph Henry “T Bone” Burnett is probably best known for producing the soundtracks to the Coen brothers’ movies, particularly “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Inside Llewyn Davis,” but he’s also got a side line: Designing new analog sound recording/playback systems. Back in 2008 he announced something called CODE, which purported to reproduce master-tape sound […]
Song of the Day 7/10: The Heimatdamisch, “Highway to Hell”
It’s not showing up on the GPS, but I’m pretty sure we’re rolling down the highway to hell, which gets us there a lot faster than that old ferry boat ever could. As my dad used to say, we’re making good time. The Heimatdamisch is a Bavarian band in the New Folk movement — what, […]
Song of the Day 7/8: Chris Isaak, “Somebody’s Crying”
You’ve probably noticed that pronouns have become politically loaded. It’s become more common for people to declare themselves non-binary and ask that people use “they” instead of “he” or “she” because they don’t want to be assigned a gender or its attendant roles. I admit it irks me sometimes, particularly when I’m reading an article […]
Song of the Day 7/7: The Who, “Boris the Spider”
Despite what Pete Townsend says in the introduction, it’s not a very strange song — it was just decades ahead of its time when it debuted on “A Quick One” in 1966. Yeah, sure, it’s supposedly about a spider. He couldn’t very well have called it Boris the Johnson, now, could he? That would have […]
Song of the Day 7/6: Elvis Presley, “That’s All Right”
Elvis Presley, it turns out, is still a box-office draw. Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” is officially a hit, moving not only movie tickets but lots the King’s greatest hits albums too. Like most of Luhrmann’s films, this one is getting mixed reviews, based mostly on whether the reviewer likes or dislikes Luhrmann’s frenetic directing style. Even […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes For June 2022
Dave Alvin singing about a train? Know any better way to kick off a best-of-the-month wrap-up? I don’t. This belongs in the pantheon of their very best: This whole album’s great. Gild Hall possibility?: I DARE you not to like this: Nathan Arizona’s Fave Of The Month? It’s only 106 seconds long, but it’s a […]
Song of the Day 7/4: Taj Mahal, “Ain’t Gwine to Whistle Dixie (Any Mo’)”
I dunno about you, but I’m not feeling all that patriotic today as a Confederacy-worshiping minority tries to steer the country back to the past. Nobody should be whistling Dixie any more, but this buoyant tune always puts me in a better mood. Taj Mahal was born Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. The son of […]
Song of the Day 7/3: Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”
The story of Randy Bachman’s guitar came full circle this week. In case you missed the story when it broke last fall, Bachman lost the 1957 Gretsch guitar — one he bought as a teenager with his lawn-mowing money — when it was stolen in 1976. He searched for it fruitlessly for decades, until last […]
Song of the Day 7/1: Donald Byrd, “A Portrait of Jennie”
Last night was bittersweet for jazz fans — it was the last weeknight broadcast by DJ Bob Perkins on Temple University’s WRTI (90.1 FM), where he held down the 6-9 p.m. slot for the past 25 years. Now 88 years old, Perkins will continue to host his Sunday jazz brunch from 9 a.m. to 1 […]
Song of the Day 6/30: Moby Grape, “Murder in My Heart for the Judge”
I’m sure millions of people these days can relate to the sentiment expressed by Moby Grape’s Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson, first released on “Wow,” the band’s flawed 1968 follow-up album to their eponymous LP of 1967. That album would have established them as San Francisco’s best band if their manager and record company hadn’t […]
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