Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 5/15: Spinal Tap, “Rock and Roll Nightmare”
They’re not asking for my two cents, but I think the Rock Hall of Fame is squandering a golden opportunity by not enshrining Spinal Tap. Not only are they known and loved by a wide swath of the rock-fan public, they’re almost universally loved by musicians. Everybody would want to play at the ceremony. Spinal […]
Song of the Day 5/14: Big Thief, “Little Things”
I know El Somnambulo doesn’t care for this band all that much, but this was the first thing I heard by them when it came out last year and I still really like it. I get the impression they’re some sort of indie darlings — the fact that leader Adrianne Lenker spent her childhood in […]
Song of the Day 5/12: Leonard Cohen, “Everybody Knows”
I assume everybody knows this Cohen classic, if not from his 1988 album “I’m Your Man,” then from its plentiful covers and frequent use in movies and TV soundtracks. But El Somnambulo quoted it to conclude today’s open thread, so you can use this as a soundtrack. The song was Cohen’s first of many collaborations […]
Song of the Day 5/10: Steve Miller Band, “Living in the U.S.A.”
For historical context, musicians like Steve Miller were trashing the emptiness of American culture way back in 1968, when Boz Scaggs was still in the band and Miller still delivered raw San Francisco blues-rock. He wasn’t wrong, so conservatives, rather than addressing the criticism, have been having a hissy fit about it ever since. Our […]
Song of the Day 5/9: The Judds, “Mama He’s Crazy”
The Judds ruled country music in the ’80s. This song was their second single, the first of a nearly unbroken string of 14 that reached No. 1 on the country charts from 1984 through 1989. The mother-daughter duo ended in 1991, when Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and retired. Musically Wynonna’s husky, bluesy voice […]
Song of the Day 5/7: Dave Alvin, “Plastic Rose”
When Dave Alvin released his second solo album, “Blue Blvd,” in 1991, the Washington Post reviewer complimented it by saying the songs were like Raymond Carver stories. Alvin once told an interviewer that because he never became a star, he didn’t travel in a plane or tour bus, so he was free to observe the […]
El Som’s One-Song Concert Sales Pitch: Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs
No, it’s not an outlier. You’re gonna get a whole evening of N’Awlins party music if you join me at the Arden Gild Hall, Friday, May 13 at 8 pm to see, hear, and hopefully, dance to, Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs: Tickets are only $20, $15 if you’re an Arden Club member (well, there […]
Song of the Day 5/5: Beck, “Loser”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 is weak even by the institution’s abysmal standards. The best-known inductees are Dolly Parton (despite her request not to be considered), Lionel Richie, Carly Simon — I’ll let you know when we get to actual rock acts — and Eminem. True rock music is represented […]
Song of the Day 5/4: Graham Parker, “You Can’t Be Too Strong”
A lot of critics think this song, whose lyrics provided the title for Graham Parker’s 1979 album “Squeezing Out Sparks,” is the best he ever wrote. But if you ever need an example of confirmation bias in action, consider how many people think this is an anti-abortion song. Parker has gotten pushback about the song […]
Song of the Day 5/3: Johnny Cash, “Camptown Races”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona The Kentucky Derby is Saturday. Somebody will bet on the bay. Doo Dah. The singer in Stephen Foster’s “Camptown Races” did not bet on the bay. He blew his money on the bob-tail nag. This was the first widely popular American horse racing song. That’s fitting, since Foster was pretty […]
Song of the Day 5/2: Squeeze, “The Day I Get Home”
“I eat the lines ahead of me.” Chris Difford wrote that line more than 30 years ago, before you had to take your shoes off at the airport. From the Squeeze album I praise all the time because I consider it one of the peaks of intelligent rock songwriting, 1991’s “Play.” And, because one knock […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: April, 2022
No better way to start out this month than with one of my fave artists of recent times. I love this song: If you like(d) Ought like I do (did): Struggled to guess Nathan Arizona’s fave this month. Settled on this one. Could be wrong, though: Gotta see ’em live: If Little Steven’s Underground Garage […]
Song of the Day 5/1: The Motown Manifestos, “Papa Was a Running Dog Lackey of the Bourgeoisie”
Happy International Workers’ Day, or la Fête du Travail as the government here prefers to call it. Workers just call it May Day. John Lennon once remarked that “Imagine” was basically the Communist Manifesto set to music, but he didn’t quote that document directly. This song does. The tune was part of the National Lampoon’s […]
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