Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 11/9: Janis Joplin, “Mercedes Benz”
Several Janis Joplin songs will make WXPN’s Greatest Songs by Women Countdown next month. This, the last one she ever recorded, got my vote. Joplin recorded the tune in one take on Oct. 1, 1970, three days before she died. She wrote it two months earlier in a bar in Port Chester, N.Y., by riffing […]
Song of the Day 11/8: Kristin Hersh, “Me and My Charms”
I engaged in lots of strategic voting when I filled out my list of the 10 greatest songs by women for WXPN. I didn’t agonize over which Joni Mitchell song to include, because I figure she’ll have 20 entries among the 885-song countdown. She doesn’t need my help. And while the rules allow any song […]
Song of the Day 11/7: Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, “Out of Control”
In honor of Trump’s meltdown on the stand in his fraud trial yesterday. Wayne County, who became Jayne County more than 40 years ago, was involved with Andy Warhol in the New York avant-garde scene and formed a proto-punk band in the early ’70s that influenced David Bowie and the glam rock trend. Her penchant […]
Song of the Day 11/6: The Sugarcubes, “Birthday (Ammæli)”
Here’s one from my WXPN list of Greatest Songs by Women. The not-yet-mononomous Bjôrk Guðmundsdóttir fronted the Icelandic avant-rock sextet the Sugarcubes when she wrote the lyrics to the song that broke the band, and Icelandic music in general, to a world audience in 1987. Of the enigmatic lyrics she said, “It was only an […]
Song of the Day 11/5: The Beatles, “Now and Then”
Forty-six years ago John Lennon sat down at his piano, turned on his tape recorder and played a song he was working on that wasn’t quite complete. Last week, after decades of musical massaging, “Now and Then” finally got an official release as the final Beatles song. It’s incorrect to call it a “new” Beatles […]
‘XPN’s Top Songs By Female Artists: Nathan Arizona’s Ballot
“Based on some combination of ‘accomplishment,’ impact, historical significance and what I like.”-Nathan Arizona 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
Song of the Day 11/3: Kate Bush, “Hounds of Love”
El Somnambulo posted yesterday about WXPN’s year-end countdown being devoted to female artists this year. So is this year’s class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, being inducted tonight in Brooklyn. There are three, count ’em, three women among the seven honorees: Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow and Kate Bush. Elliott and Crow are […]
‘XPN’s Top Songs By Female Artists Poll: My Ballot
Every year, WXPN does an 885 Countdown featuring different themes. This year, for the first time, they’re featuring best songs by female artists, which can include groups as well. For at least the last ten years, I think the importance of the music of female artists has significantly outshined that of their male counterparts. Here’s […]
Song of the Day 11/12: Eva Cassidy, “Autumn Leaves”
Who looks at fallen leaves and thinks of lost love instead of hours of raking and bagging? A guy without a lawn, that’s who. Iconic lyricist Johnny Mercer spent most of his life in New York and Hollywood, so I doubt he ever heard a gas-powered leaf blower. But then Mercer wasn’t working from scratch. […]
Song of the Day 11/1: The Jaynetts, “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses”
El Somnambulo’s fave tunes for October includes a psychedelic cover of this 1963 girl-group nugget by the Jaynetts, who are considered a one-hit wonder but didn’t really exist at all. The Jaynetts and the song were both the brainchildren of an A&R man for Chess Records named Abner Spector, who wrote and produced a hit […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: October 2023
There were more than 14 great tunes that I heard this month. However, I make the rules, and I must abide by the rules. So the great tunes that won’t officially be released until 2024 will make the lists–in 2024. Plenty of compensation, though: Ladeez and gentlemen, your microdose musical experience of the month: Cyrus […]
Song of the Day 10/31: Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, “Monster Mash”
Yes, you’ve heard it a million times. Everybody’s heard it a million times, and lots of them know some of the lines, even if they’re too young to know that “mash” was short for the “mashed potato,” a national dance craze back in 1962. Bobby Pickett, who died in 2007, was an aspiring actor who […]
Song of the Day 10/30: Reba McEntire, “Turn on the Radio”
This year saw an odd trend in the agritainment business: Reba McEntire-themed corn mazes. Corn mazes are a seasonal money-maker for small farmers who market the farm along with its crops, and they’ve been around long enough that a business has sprung up around them. I suppose if you have to come up with a […]
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