Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 12/4: The Clash, “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
H/t puck. I don’t have to be asked twice to play the Clash. Mick Jones didn’t write this song on 1982’s “Combat Rock” about emigration*, but it’s not quite clear what he did write it about. Speculation has always centered on his tempestuous relationship with singer/actress Ellen Foley (it’s her voice on Meat Loaf’s “Paradise […]
Song of the Day 12/2: Paul McCartney creates “Get Back”
I haven’t seen “Get Back” yet, but I’ve noticed two common elements in many of the reviews I’ve seen — it’s really long, and there’s an amazing moment when, as the rest of the band waits for John Lennon, Paul McCartney creates “Get Back.” I’ll save you about 8 hours: Here’s that moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kOQ5sgzhRA
Song of the Day 12/1: Oasis, “Some Might Say”
Some might say that being snowed in at a remote Yorkshire pub over a long weekend with an Oasis tribute band would be an over-enthusiastic illustration of Sarte’s hell. Indeed, some already have. You can bet most of those people are not Oasis fans, and that they wouldn’t have braved a blizzard forecast to hear […]
‘Flutegrass’, Anybody?
This is but one element of Twisted Pine that you’ll savor this Saturday at the Arden Gild Hall–but only if you attend: Now, if only they knew how to have some fun… Seriously, you’re gonna skip this?? Didn’t think so. This Saturday. Arden Gild Hall. 8 pm. $20 tickets (??!!). Right here, right now: https://ardenconcerts.com/event/twisted-pine/ […]
Song of the Day 11/30: Josephine Baker, “J’ai Deux Amours”
Though you’ll find no mention of it in American media, a famous American-born entertainer today received one of the highest honors France can bestow — Josephine Baker was interred at the Panthéon in Paris, the first Black woman to join the ranks of the country’s most distinguished citizens in the famous mausoleum. Born in St. […]
Song of the Day 11/29: Ted Hawkins, “Sorry You’re Sick”
I have to thank the Spotify algorithm for introducing me to Ted Hawkins, whose tragic life story is even more incredible and diverse than his repertoire was. Hawkins was born in Biloxi, Miss., in 1936, to a prostitute; he never knew who his father was. He was in reform school by age 12, where he […]
Song of the Day 11/28: Naudo Rodgriguez, “Bette Davis Eyes”
I keep discovering stuff on YouTube I never would have searched for. I don’t even remember what I was looking for when I ran across Naudo Rodgriguez (some sources spell it Rodgrigues), who finger-picks his acoustic-electric guitar for tourists on Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. The self-taught Brazilian did some recording in that country […]
Song of the Day 11/25: The Cranberries, “Ode to My Family”
Happy Thanksgiving! Or, as they call it à Paris, jeudi. American culture is consumed everywhere, so Parisians are aware of Thanksgiving, but only expat Americans celebrate it. In some regards, this makes preparing the meal simple — the butcher down the street understood right away why we ordered a fresh whole turkey, yet it was […]
Song of the Day 11/24: Dire Straits, “So Far Away”
Mark Knopfler wrote this song, which appeared on his band’s 1985 mega-hit album “Brothers in Arms,” about the difficulty of conducting long-distance relationships by telephone. Speaking from experience, even 35 years later, in the age of What’s App and Skype, it remains difficult, though at least the phone bills are lower. To illustrate how long […]
Song Of The Day 11/23: The Drifters, ‘Up On The Roof’
I retired from Trader Joe’s on Sunday. My right hip and my right leg made the decision for me. A fantastic 12-plus year run. The perfect post-career gig. Anyway, at least in part as a salute, they had on my fave satellite music station, ‘Mo-Soul’, during my shift. Nothing but soul and r & b […]
Song of the Day 11/22: Bennett Wilson Poole, “Soon Enough”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona UK Americana sounds like a contradiction, but don’t tell the British. A lot of fans and websites there are devoted to both contemporary and classic Americana (aka alt-country). Hovering over all this is the sound of the Byrds, who some would call the best or at least most important American […]
Song of the Day 11/21: John Wesley Harding, “There’s A Starbucks (Where The Starbucks Used To Be)”
If John Wesley Harding were as popular with the public as he is with other musicians, he’d be a household name. Or would Wesley Stace be a household name? The former JWH now records under his real name, the one under which he teaches university classes and published four critically acclaimed novels. Whatever name he […]
Song of the Day 11/20: The Clash, “Somebody Got Murdered”
Actually, two somebodies. Their names were Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and while a Wisconsin jury and the judge who oversaw their killer’s trial exonerated him, they were murdered nonetheless, as dead as the lie that America is a noble experiment. It’s not — it’s an experiment to see how far capitalism can go in […]
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