Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 2/15: Randy Rainbow, “The Tango: Vaccine”
It had been nearly nine months since Randy Rainbow’s last musical parody video before he dropped this one on the unsuspecting internet last week. I was concerned that, like earlier comedians who hitched their stars to a president — JFK impersonator Vaughn Meader is the poster boy for this — Rainbow wouldn’t be able to […]
Song of the Day 2/14: Randy Newman, “Falling in Love”
If you wanted to commission a love song for a late-’80s rom-com, is Randy Newman the guy you’d turn to? As his girlfriend asks in the video, “What’s the matter? Phil Collins busy?” He probably was, so they hired Newman, and even got him to act in a promotional video for the song. I’ve never […]
Song of the Day 2/13: Marillion, “Gazpacho”
I admit I never thought I’d actually find a song called “Gazpacho,” but when Congressdope Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed her thoughts about the gazpacho police — I understand they only take cold cases — I looked for one out of due diligence. Here it is, though unlike Trout Fishing in America’s “Pico de Gallo,” it’s […]
Song of the Day 2/12: Weezer, “Hash Pipe”
Very little American media output crosses the Atlantic, the obsessions of right-wing agit-prop shops like Fox even less than the rest. But enough spam email has slipped through for me to learn that these rube-fleecers are claiming the Biden administration is handing out free crack pipes, as if anyone has used a crack pipe in […]
Song of the Day 2/11: Hot Chocolate, “Brother Louie”
Hot Chocolate was a British soul band best known for their 1975 international hit “You Sexy Thing,” a disco standard that reached No. 3 in the US. But it was another band that became a one-hit wonder with this tune by the band’s songwriting team of singer Errol Brown and bassist Tony Wilson. The band […]
Song of the Day 2/10: Todd Rundgren, “Dust in the Wind”
First off, no, this isn’t the Kansas tune. It predates it by six years. Fifty years ago this month, then 23-year-old Todd Rundgren released what’s widely regarded as his magnum opus, the double LP “Something/Anything?” For the first three sides of the album Rundgren, already an experienced producer, not only wrote and sang all the […]
Song of the Day 2/9: Fountains of Wayne, “Amity Gardens”
There are lots of songs about real places, but I don’t know of any song that celebrates a real place more obscure than Amity Gardens, Pa. That’s what you’d expect from the wry sense of humor that typified Fountains of Wayne, this century’s most accomplished power pop band. Composer Chris Collingwood, who founded the band […]
Song of the Day 2/8: Glen Campbell, “Just Another Piece of Paper”
The National Archives had to send — who? A-men? — to Mar a Lago to fetch Trump’s love letters from Kim Jong-un which, as the linked story dryly notes, “did not reduce tensions with North Korea.” The manbaby president’s habit of tearing up official papers has also been back in the headlines. Other presidents wrote […]
Song of the Day 2/7: The Beach Boys, “Sloop John B”
Seems like a good time for a vacation in the Bahamas, doesn’t it? Drunken first mate, cook with the fits, even, in the original version, a captain with a greedy pig — at least it’ll be warm. The origins of this sea shanty are unknown, though apparently there is or was a wreck in Nassau […]
Song of the Day 2/6: Urge Overkill, “Positive Bleeding”
I keep rediscovering bands from the ’90s, the last decade when there were so many you might miss a few. Until I heard this tune on a throwback radio show recently I had forgotten all about this Chicago power trio. Urge Overkill was two guys who met at Northwestern University in 1985, along with a […]
Song of the Day 2/5: Mason Williams, “Classical Gas”
Once upon a time it wasn’t uncommon for instrumental tracks to become massive hits. One of the biggest came from one of the most unconventional people to ever create one. Mason Williams was a classically trained guitarist, but that’s not how he made his living. During the folk-crazy ’60s he worked in comedy clubs playing […]
Song of the Day 2/4: Fela Kuti, “Why Black Men Dey Suffer”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona For the second year in a row, the most interesting Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee is probably the Nigerian Fela Kuti. And once again he’s probably the least known to a general audience. Kuti (often known just as Fela) didn’t make it his first year and might not […]
Tinsley Ellis FINALLY Returns To the Arden Gild Hall!
Two years after he was supposed to appear here, thanks to Covid. In fact, his 2020 show was to be an Album Release Show. His 2022 show will be an Album Release Show. Only–it’s a brand new album. He will have a four-piece this time, including, wait for it, a Hammond B-3 player. Here are […]
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