Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 8/13: Bruce Springsteen, “I’m Goin’ Down”
Enough with the ersatz Bruce — let’s play some of the real thing. Springsteen recorded this track with the E Street Band in 1982, at the same Power Station sessions at which the full-band versions of the songs on “Nebraska” were recorded (they were later scrapped in favor of the four-track demos they worked from, […]
Song of the Day 8/12: Marah, “Point Breeze”
Yesterday’s post about Jack Antonoff’s solo project Bleachers included the tune he recorded with Bruce Springsteen, and I mentioned how much it sounded like one of Springsteen’s late-period moody ballads. It reminded me that bands used to emulate a much different Springsteen — the R&B-influenced sound of the band he used to record his first […]
Song of the Day 8/11: Bleachers, “Stop Making It Hurt”
I heard this song on the radio the other day and, being a sucker for major-key pop song with a good hook, I looked up who did it, because I had never heard of Bleachers. Turns out the guy, real name Jack Antonoff, was the guitarist for Fun, which had a big hit in 2012 […]
Song of the Day 8/10: Carole King, “It’s Too Late”
Yes, we take requests — we don’t always fulfill them, but we take them — and Jason330 suggested this as the response to the UN report on climate change that concluded we’re already fucked. Might as well stay in bed all morning — not just to pass the time, but to minimize your carbon footprint, […]
Song of the Day 8/9: Kool & the Gang, “Get Down on It”
Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, alto saxophone player and founding member of Kool & the Gang, died Saturday, and while the obituaries listed the band’s numerous hit records and various lifetime achievement awards, one honor was conspicuous by its absence: They are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My theory about Hall of Fame […]
Song of the Day 8/5: Chicago, “Dialogue (Part I & II)”
The progressive-vs.-moderate dichotomy is back in the news because Bernie Sanders ally Nina Turner lost an Ohio primary to a more moderate (and more local) woman who was backed by Hillary and made her support for Biden a major theme in her campaign. It seems fresh, but that dichotomy has existed as long as the […]
Song of the Day 8/4: Cam Cole, “Mama”
I was watching the first season of “Ted Lasso,” the Jason Sudeikis comedy about an American football coach who’s hired to manage a British football squad. In one episode the owner of the team is hosting a benefit gala when the featured musical act, Robbie Williams (a big star in Britain), cancels at the last […]
Song of the Day 8/3: Hüsker Dü, “Love Is All Around” (Mary Tyler Moore theme)
Back in the days of punk rock, a lot of bands would emulate the Ramones by covering familiar songs at a breakneck tempo — think of the Clash covering “I Fought the Law,” or the Ataris’ take on Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.” Part of the fun was choosing songs totally incongruous with punk aesthetics, […]
Song of the Day 8/2: Foxes and Fossils, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”
This is the story of a local cover band that became YouTube famous. I first started seeing Foxes and Fossils in my feed a year or more ago, during the pandemic lockdown, probably because I listen to a good bit of vocal harmony stuff. I don’t recall clicking on anything, but lots of other people […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: July 2021
Kids, if you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, and you don’t like any of these tunes, then don’t get vaccinated. Self-selection isn’t just for anti-vax mouthbreathers, it’s for music hate-ahs too. Enjoy. That’s an order. I hereby predict that this will be Nathan Arizona’s Fave Of The Month: One of our […]
Song of the Day 8/1: Los Lobos, “Native Son”
H/t Nathan Arizona Los Lobos just dropped a new album of cover songs, “Native Sons,” all by bands from Los Angeles, and not just obvious choices like the Chicano band Thee Midniters — the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Blasters and even Jackson Browne are represented. Los Lobos did write one original song for the […]
Song of the Day 7/30: Kansas, “Dust in the Wind”
Robby Steinhardt, second vocalist and violinist for the band Kansas, died last week of pancreatitis, aged 71. He wasn’t the group’s leader, but his violin was the most distinctive element of their prog-rock sound, and his wild mane was its most arresting visual feature. He also served as front man during their concerts, making the […]
Song of the Day 7/29: ZZ Top, “Tush”
Texas blues-rockers ZZ Top are undergoing their first personnel change in 51 years today because bassist and second lead vocalist Dusty Hill died in his sleep Tuesday. The band became famous in the early years of MTV, which debuted about the same time ZZ Top began to augment their power-trio boogie with new wave trappings. […]
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