Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 10/24: Glen Campbell, “Wichita Lineman”
This song contains a not-quite-rhyming couplet that many people consider, in the words of British author Dylan Jones, “one of the most exquisite romantic couplets in the history of song.” Jones has written an entire book about what he calls “the world’s greatest unfinished song.” Jimmy Webb wrote it at the direction of Glen Campbell, […]
Song of the Day 10/22: The Guess Who, “Undun”
Randy Bachman wrote a lot of classic rock hits for the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, most of them on a guitar he bought when he was 19 years old with money he made mowing lawns, a 1957 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins model in western orange with black DeArmond pickups. It was stolen in 1976, […]
Song of the Day 10/21: Crash Test Dummies, “Superman’s Song”
I don’t know if anything was lost in translation, but I hear the Faux News Freakout of the Week is over DC Comics changing Superman’s slogan from “Truth, Justice and the American Way” to “Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow.” Never mind that DC Comics are sold around the world, and that the majority of […]
Song of the Day 10/19: Jonathan Richman, “Velvet Underground”
I haven’t seen the new Todd Haynes documentary about the Velvet Underground yet, but many of the reviews make a point of praising his affecting interview with Jonathan Richman. Though VU influenced thousands of bands, Richman is the sole musician Haynes shows talking about that. Richman met the Velvets as a teenager — the documentary […]
Final Call For–Sierra Hull!! Queue Up For–The Claudettes!!
This coming Saturday night. Ordinarily this concert would have sold out long ago. But COVID has impacted ticket sales all across the country. However, this show will likely still sell out as we only have about 50 tickets remaining. Her music starts with bluegrass and then takes off from there. Here is what Sierra is […]
Song of the Day 10/17: Future Islands, “Seasons (Waiting on You)”
I was walking through a metro station the other day when I saw an advertising poster for Future Islands, and my mind instantly flashed back to this performance from 2014, when the band made its television debut on David Letterman’s show. Thanks to frontman Samuel T. Herring’s impassioned delivery the performance went viral, which was […]
Song of the Day 10/15: Lemonheads, “Into Your Arms”
The Lemonheads might have been the most commercially viable jangle-pop band of the early ’90s, and this was their biggest hit. Like many of Evan Dando’s best songs, it’s melodic, a little melancholy and it clocks in at under 3 minutes. It spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, though […]
Song of the Day 10/14: Gary Bartz, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, “Day By Day”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona The title says “Jazz Is Dead,” but they don’t mean it. I guess you could say it’s ironic. Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s recording series by that name features plenty of jazz. But they mix it up with soul, R&B, hip-hop and some electronics. This is almost nothing like […]
Nicole Atkins Comes To Arden This Saturday!
The show was a late addition to our fall schedule because The Suffers, who had originally been booked, had to cancel their entire fall tour. So, the show has fallen unfortunately under the radar. But Nicole Atkins is a great songstress, and I know that those of you who haven’t already seen her will love […]
Song of the Day 10/13: Bob Dylan, “Things Have Changed”
This song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2001 for its inclusion on the soundtrack of “The Wonder Boys,” and its chorus about sums it up for me — people are crazy and times are strange. I’m locked in tight. I’m out of range. I used to care, but things have changed. […]
Song of the Day 10/12: Lulu and the Lampshades, “Cups (When I’m Gone)”
In 1928 A.P. Carter, patriarch of the singing Carter family, asked the musical question “Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?” Three years later he answered it in the affirmative with “When I’m Gone,” popularly known as “You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone” after it was reworked a few years later by J.E. Mainer and […]
Song of the Day 10/11: Dave Clark Five, “Any Way You Want It”
Unless you were alive at the time, it’s almost impossible to believe that the Dave Clark Five weren’t just the first British band to follow the Beatles in the British Invasion — they played the Ed Sullivan Show twice in March 1964, the month after the Beatles debuted there — they actually rivaled the Fab […]
Song of the Day 10/10: Marvin Gaye, “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby”
This was Marvin Gaye’s follow-up single to his No. 1 smash “Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and like that song it was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong — but not for that purpose. The tune was first released on a 1966 Temptation album, but was never released as a single. Whitfield retooled it […]
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