Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 3/7: Every Mother’s Son, “Come on Down to My Boat”
This seems like a good time to get a bargain on a super-yacht, as governments around the world (not the US, yet) have begun seizing atop-the-liquid assets owned by oligarchs close to Putin. There are upwards of 10,000 boats of over 24 meters around the world, and a trade industry group estimates 7 to 10 […]
Song of the Day 3/6: Cake, “I Will Survive”
A song for Ukraine, which Putin thought would crumble, lay down and die. Not so far. There have been nearly 200 covers of this song, in more than a dozen languages, since Gloria Gaynor’s original in 1978. Cake’s 1996 version is the only one I’ve heard that strips it down and gives the bass a […]
Song of the Day 3/4: Electric Light Orchestra, “Showdown”
It’s raining all over the world. From “On the Third Day,” ELO’s third LP and its first without co-founder Roy Wood, released in 1973. The single reached No. 12 in the UK but couldn’t crack the top 40 in the US. Jeff Lynne played the guitar solo on Marc Bolan’s Gibson Firebird. The song was […]
Song of the Day 3/3: Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Exodus”
As might be expected, the Russian war on Ukraine has produced lots of refugees — more than 1 million so far, according to the United Nations, about 2% of the country’s population. Officials expect that as many as 4 million people eventually will leave, with another 3 million displaced within the country. Most European Union […]
Song of the Day 3/2: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, “The Great Gates of Kiev”
Keith Emerson was probably the most technically accomplished keyboard player rock ever saw, and he loved to show off his chops by covering the classics. For The Nice, his band before ELP, he scored rock arrangements of pieces by composers from Sibelius to Bach to Dave Brubeck. So nobody was surprised in 1971 when his […]
Song of the Day 3/1: Paul Simon, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”
In another sign that the pandemic is slackening, New Orleans is celebrating Mardi Gras this year after Covid forced last year’s cancellation. You can watch some of the parades live at a link provided at the link above. Though it’s now considered a minor song in his catalog, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” was […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: February 2022
Some months there’s no unifying principle, just a bunch of cool tunes hanging out with each other. This is such a month. Could this be Nathan Arizona’s fave for Feb.?: Al convinced me to reconsider my ambivalence about Big Thief. This song is not typical of their output. Perhaps that’s why I like it: […]
Song of the Day 2/28: Sting, “Russians”
In 1985, when Ronald Reagan was saber-rattling against the Soviet Union, Sting included this song on his first solo album, “Dream of the Blue Turtles.” Released as the fourth single from the LP, it reached the top 10 in several European nations, but only No. 12 in the UK and No. 16 in the US, […]
Song of the Day 2/27: Rod Stewart, “Only a Hobo”
For a while in the early ’70s, Rod Stewart was the best Bob Dylan interpreter around. His recordings don’t make the “Best Bob Dylan Covers” lists anymore, but this one was so good it kept Dylan from officially releasing his own version for decades. It had been released to the public only once before Stewart […]
Song of the Day 2/26: Gabriel Sullivan, “The Rust, the Knife”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona The desert, with its big sky, endless waves of sand and scattered cactuses, has inspired a lot of music lately. It’s no surprise that dry and dusty New Mexico and Arizona are the center of this hybrid of Mexican-flavored rock guitars,Tex-Mex trumpets, Latin cumbia and spaghetti western/noir moodiness. Even the […]
Black Opry Revue Preview: Part Two
We’re bringing these incredible artists to the Arden Gild Hall this Saturday. In conjunction with Black History Month, and presented in partnership with the Delaware Division Of The Arts and radio station WXPN. (Up-to-date vax cards and masks required.) You can get tickets right here. I promised that you would hear from all five performers. […]
Song of the Day 2/25: Procol Harum, “A Whiter Shade of Pale”
I don’t expect the death last week of Gary Brooker, frontman for Procol Harum, to put a stop to fans advocating for the band’s induction to the Rock Hall of Fame, but it does make it beside the point. Brooker, who founded the band from the remnants of his earlier group, the Paramounts, was its […]
Song of the Day 2/24: John Paul Jones and Playing for Change, “When the Levee Breaks”
Playing for Change, the non-profit music education charity that proselytizes and raises money by sharing covers featuring musicians both famous and obscure from all over the world, dropped a killer track this week. Featuring John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass, it answers the musical question, “If you replaced Jimmy Page with Derek Trucks, […]
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